A survey was sent out to various people from different age groups. 8 questions were asked, shown below.
The data collected from the survey allowed for a general knowledge of the interaction between users, pod-style coffee, and disposal. The survey received 35 responses, thus providing us a large enough group to see trends made. Majority of the individuals surveyed for college age, which allows us to have a general idea on their interaction pod-style coffee consumption. The pod-style coffee machines are used at a high rate (only 10.8% have never used on). So looking into the habits for disposal of the pods is very vital.
In general, the responses indicated majority of people recycle most times (86.5%), if not all the time (27%). The survey did indicate that people have a general idea on what can be recycled (75.7%). This shows us that the recycling system has not done a sufficient job, as many people aren’t fully aware of what the recycling numbers mean (86.5%) which is a large component of recycling. Given the background of pod-style coffee machine, they indicated it is required to clean and separate the pods before recycling them. However, for disposal only 8.1% of people indicated they clean the pods before the recycle them. Clearly there is an effort to recycle, but a lack of understanding on what allows the pods to be recycled. This point is realized again as in the study, 13.5% never cleaned the pods, 40.5% sometimes cleaned the pods, 32.5% most times cleaned the pods, and 13.5% always cleaned the pods. This indicated either there is a lack of effort by users or lack of knowledge. This was answered in the survey question about why people throw pods in the garbage: 27% indicated they didn’t know how to dispose of it properly, 21.6% didn’t have the time, and 8.1% decided it wasn’t worth the effort. As we see there is a combination of reasons for not recycling, but the largest reason is knowledge.
Overall, this study showed that coffee pods are highly used individuals in this study (mainly college students). For the most part, they want to be environmentally cautious, however, due to a lack of knowledge many individuals do not properly dispose of the pods. This blame is both on the user, recycling centers, and the companies making the pods. To fully become more environmentally cautious: users need to make an effort and understand the recycling system, recycling centers need to be clear about the recycling system and processes to ensure recycling of pods, and pod creators need to establish an easier method for users to properly dispose of the pods.