Canada’s Competition Bureau fined the Canadian arm of Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc. US$2.37 million for misleading consumers on recyclability claims about its K-Cups.
K-Cups are Keurig Canada’s signature single-use coffee pods.
Government arbitrators found Keurig Canada’s claims to be inaccurate since outside the provinces of Quebec and British Columbia, most municipal recycling programs don’t accept K-Cups.
Keurig had also advised consumers that the K-Cup pods could be recycled if the tops were peeled off and the grounds emptied without mentioning additional steps required by some recycling programs.
The Competition Bureau, a law enforcement agency of the Canadian government, also required Keurig Canada also needs to pay an additional US$67,000 for the agency’s costs, donate US$630,981 to a Canadian environmental charity, and publish corrections online, in print, and on the packaging of its new brewing machines.
