a) That's the box, the pods are bought in. I think the point of pods, is that you don't need to "manage" your own storage, when I want to that, I can also use powder.

b) What do you think this dissolves to? Microplastic. The thing we currently have a hard time keeping out of our water reservoirs, rivers, and oceans. Where does it end up? In the (waste) water. Nice.