Coffee is one of the most consumed products in the world, however, it is bringing a negative impact on the environment as 99 percent of coffee are being discarded. 　　Each year, around 16 billion pounds of coffee are produced, leaving landfills brimming with 23.5 million tons of biomass, which is equivalent to the weight of nearly 39,000 airbus airplanes. 　　To solve the problem, some coffee companies created a single-serve coffee. Instead of making a full pot of coffee and just drinking a cup or two, the coffee maker offers an easy solution: one cup, one cartridge, one coffee serving. And coffee makers received positive response with the one-serving coffee, as the product accounted for 49 percent of total coffee maker sales in 2011. 　　However, the problem remains there. Now in addition to leftover coffee grinds, there are also the leftover cartridges, and oftentimes those cartridges aren't recyclable. 　　"They're convenient and we live in a very disposable and fast moving culture, but the environmental aspects definitely don't outweigh the convenience when it comes to these cups," said Jessica Lass from Natural Resources Defense Council. 　　Now landfills are stuck with this new and massive environmental assault, and the recycling center says its difficult to recycle those cartridges. 　　"In this configuration with the paper fused to it and the foil glued to the top, it's impractical if not impossible to be able to try to recycle this thing." 　　In response, coffee makers say they are still searching for solutions to its one-cup coffee packaging challenge.