The German city of Hamburg has banned coffee pods from government-run buildings. In an attempt to become more environmentally friendly, the city said it will no longer spend taxpayer money on products that don't meet its high sustainability standards.

Coffee capsules, like those sold by the Nestle (NSRGY), Keurig (GMCR) and other brands, are specifically mentioned in the city's new guidelines, because they create unnecessary waste and contain aluminum. A spokesman for the city said the pods contain 3 grams of waste for every 6 grams of coffee.

But the list of prohibited items goes far beyond coffee. It includes plastic cutlery and plates, water, beer, and soft drinks in disposable packaging, as well as certain cleaning products and even wall paints.

"The city can help ensure that environmentally harmful products are purchased less frequently and that sustainable products achieve even greater acceptance in the market. Our objective is to increase the share of environmentally friendly products significantly in order to help combat climate change," said Hamburg senator Jens Kerstan

Capsule coffee machines have become increasingly popular in recent years, thanks to the convenience they offer. Euromonitor said pods have seen "colossal growth" and remain the major growth driver in the U.S. coffee market.

The National Coffee Association estimates more than quarter of U.S. households now own pod coffee makers.

But critics of the capsule coffee trend point out the pods are extremely difficult to recycle. They combine different materials, including plastic and aluminum, which can't be easily split from each other. Separating materials is crucial in the recycling process.

Some of the most popular brands behind coffee pods -- Keurig in the U.S. and Nespresso in Europe -- offer recycling options that include pick-up and drop-off service for used pods, but they don't release figures about the amount of pods that end up in landfills.

They also offer recyclable varieties of their pods, provided users are willing to do their part and separate the metal portion of the pods from the rest before recycling.

Keurig has promised to make all K-Cups recyclable, but only by 2020. "It's a very complex challenge ... the pods must keep coffee fresh before brewing, withstand the heat and pressure during brewing, and be easily punctured with a needle as part of the brewing process," the company said on its website.

Read More

Make that black coffee order a double.

Upping your coffee intake may help reduce your chances of developing alcohol-related cirrhosis, according to a review done by the journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics of multiple existing studies.

Drinking just two more cups of coffee every day may lower the risk of developing the liver condition by 44%, according to researchers who analyzed nine studies that examined the relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of cirrhosis.

More than 430,000 participants were a part of the nine studies. The duration of these studies varied, but the longest one lasted about 20 years. In eight of the nine studies examined, researchers found increasing coffee consumption by two cups per day was "associated with a statistically significant reduction in the risk of cirrhosis." The review, published January 25, is the first meta-analysis to show the potential protective properties of coffee.

Dr. Oliver Kennedy, who conducted the research as part of a team at Southampton University in the United Kingdom, told CNN the team combined the data of these existing studies to calculate a more precise relationship between coffee and the risk of cirrhosis.

They found that the risk of cirrhosis was lower at higher levels of coffee consumption. "For example, compared to no coffee, 1 cup per day was associated with a 22% lower risk of cirrhosis and 4 cups per day was associated with a 65% lower risk. However, there may be an upper limit beyond which there is no further benefit," Kennedy said.

But while coffee may reduce the risk of cirrhosis, it will not fully counteract the harmful effects of excess alcohol consumption, Kennedy added.

 

Cirrhosis is a condition that deteriorates the liver, replacing healthy tissue with scar tissue that blocks blood flow. Common causes for the liver disorder are chronic hepatitis infections, excessive alcohol consumption, immune diseases, obesity and diabetes. And the damaging condition can be fatal, according to the National Institution of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

However, Dr. Hillel Tobias, a liver specialist and chairman of the American Liver Foundation's National Medical Advisory Committee, says the possible preventative effects of coffee are not new. A 2015 reported cited a potential link between coffee's health benefits and cirrhosis preventions.

"The problem is that most professionals in the liver community find this hard to accept," Tobias told CNN. "The physiological and biochemical basis has not been established and some experimental evidence is needed. Right now, many of these studies are based on historical information provided by patients."

Tobias said the possibility of patient subjectivity and statistical errors makes him leery of such studies claiming to have a simple fix for cirrhosis.

It should also be noted that some of the studies that were reviewed did not account for other risk factors for cirrhosis like obesity and diabetes, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics says in its report.

The findings mean more research is needed, Kennedy said. "We now need to conduct proper clinical trials, similar to those necessary for authorization of a new pharmaceutical product, so that doctors and health policy makers can make specific recommendations, he said.

It's important to also keep in mind that the amount of alcohol-related liver damage varies from person to person, Tobias explained. For example, women can't metabolize alcohol as quickly as men. Maintaining healthy eating and drinking habits is a good way to prevent some cases of cirrhosis, according to Tobias.

In the United States, alcoholism is the second-most common cause of cirrhosis. Excessive alcohol consumption can lead to fat accumulation and inflammation of the liver, according to NIDDK.

It's recommended that moderate drinking for men is two drinks per day and one drink per day for women, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Read More