With Earth Day around the corner on April 22, there's no better time to rethink how we consume our favorite daily rituals, like coffee. Single-serve coffee is convenient, however, plastic coffee pods trashed in landfills could circle the planet 10 times.

Charleston-based Cambio Roasters, a family-owned coffee company, is tackling the problem with fully recyclable aluminum pods. We caught up with CEO and founder Kevin Hartley to learn more.

How did this innovation come about?
As the former Chief Innovation Officer at Keurig, I saw firsthand the environmental challenge created by single-serve plastic coffee pods. During my time there, I became increasingly concerned about the 40 million plastic pods entering landfills and oceans daily.

The idea for Cambio Roasters was born from a personal mission to reimagine the single-serve coffee experience. We wanted to create a pod that not only delivers exceptional and organic coffee but also helps solve the problem of plastic waste. Aluminum emerged as the perfect solution — it's infinitely recyclable, provides superior flavor preservation, and can break the plastic pod cycle. The name "Cambio" means "change" in Spanish, which perfectly captures our mission to transform the coffee industry.

How do aluminum coffee pods compare to plastic ones in terms of taste, sustainability, and coffee freshness?

Aluminum is really a game-changer. Unlike plastic, it creates an impermeable barrier against oxygen and moisture — the two biggest enemies of good coffee. This means our aluminum pods keep coffee at peak flavor from roasting to brewing. So when you drink a cup of Cambio coffee, it’s just how the roast master intended.

Sustainability-wise, aluminum is 100% recyclable and can be infinitely recycled without losing quality, as opposed to plastic, which rarely gets recycled. Unlike plastic, aluminum blocks light, oxygen, and moisture, delivering a consistently fresh cup of coffee that plastic pods simply can't match.

Aluminum is 100% recyclable. | Photo by Ben Chrisman via Cambio Roasters

What impact do plastic coffee pods have on the environment, and how does Cambio Roasters’ innovation help reduce waste?

~20 billion single-serve plastic coffee pods are used annually, the majority ending up in landfills. Plastic pods can take up to 500 years to decompose. Our aluminum pods are designed to be easily recycled through standard aluminum recycling streams. By creating a pod that's both high-performance and environmentally responsible, we're providing a direct solution to this massive single-use plastics problem.

Where can consumers purchase Cambio Roasters’ aluminum coffee pods, and are there plans to expand distribution?
Consumers can purchase our coffee pods directly through our website, Amazon, and Walmart. We’re also in select retailers across the country: Harris Teeter, Giant Martin, and Walmart. We're actively expanding our distribution, with plans to enter other major retailers this year.

How does the pricing compare to traditional plastic pod options?

We've strategically positioned Cambio at price parity with other coffee pod brands. We're deliberately absorbing a higher cost because we didn't want to create an expensive, niche product. Our focus is on making a meaningful environmental impact. We wanted to make sustainable coffee accessible to everyone, not just a select few who can afford a premium price tag.

Anything else you’d like readers to know?
Cambio donates 20% of profits to Food 4 Farmers, an organization that helps coffee-farming families combat food insecurity.

We also offer a free recycling program with TerraCycle — just collect your used pods, send them back with a prepaid label, and TerraCycle will recycle the aluminum and compost the grounds. And through our partnership with 4Ocean, every $40 spent on our site helps remove one pound of plastic from oceans and waterways.