OK, I have a very un-eco friendly confession to make. I now own a Keurig coffee machine. For those who aren't familiar with it, it is similar to a Tassimo machine. Each cup of coffee is brewed individually. There are lots of choices of flavours and strengths.
The drawback is that this machine creates a lot of waste, and uses a lot of energy and resources to produce its little plastic coffee filters. Instead of one coffee filter (made of renewable bamboo, unbleached and fully compostable) and organic, shade-grown RFA certified coffee, I now am using a little plastic cup, lined with a filter of dubious origin, filled with enough coffee (also of dubious origin) to make a single cup of coffee.
The great thing about the Keurig is that I am no longer wasting coffee by either a) making too much and pouring it down the drain because I can't drink it all or b) not getting around to my second cup of coffee for hours so the original pot ends up being bitter, and therefore making a fresh pot that ends up down the drain because I can't drink it all.
My Keurig machine came with its own reusable filter, so I can use my own coffee brand from before (which I will once the prepackaged kind that came with the machine are gone). As well, some of the packages that came with the machine contain up to 30% RFA-certified coffee.
So until I start using my own coffee and the reusable filter, I've decided to recycle the K-Cups. The means tearing off the foil lid, emptying the coffee grounds into the composter, pulling out the filter and putting it in the composter, and then recycling the lid and empty plastic cup. Lots of extra effort, but worth it to me.
My boyfriend has a K-Cup coffee maker. I really like how you explain it's value beyond just making a cup of coffee - i.e. saving alot of wasted pots that could have happened otherwise! And was also happy to hear that the cups themselves are recyclable! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome Urban Girl! I actually find that I really am using less coffee, water, etc., because I only make a cup when I'm ready to drink it. Neat, eh?
ReplyDeleteI love my Keurig as well, but feel like I'm going against all my eco-geekness in using such a machine! I too bought the My K Cup and use my own grinds, but I do like the convenience of the K-Cups for when I have company. For a while I was doing the same as you, by taking them apart. But I found out that the plastic cups are not recyclable. Is your Blue Box program accepting them? My city will not accept them because they do not have a recycle symbol on the bottom. Even on the Keurig site they say that they are making efforts to find solutions to the waste and elude to them not being recyclable! Oh, it's not easy being green!
ReplyDelete[http://myownkarma@ecosense.tumblr.com]
I like how you've found a way to make an inherently wasteful object into a more sustainable one. But for everyone else who does not have a Keurig, I'd like to let you in on a secret: excess coffee or tea need not be dumped in the sink. Once cooled, coffee and tea make great fertilisers.
ReplyDeleteI always water my plants with left-over tea and coffee, and my flower pots and garden flourished.
I think that it is very important to recycle these items because there are plenty of k-cups to go around. There are so manyK-cup varieties that everyone can be satisfied with one of the flavors. One thing that I love about the k-cups is that there are many reputable coffee producers who have a k-cup. There are plenty of great shops like starbucks, dunkin donuts, green mountain coffee and the list goes on. K-cups only continue to strengthen their market share as more flavors are created and brands that are creating those flavors. I continue to be excited about the new flavors that keep coming out and I think that the keurig machine will continue to have its place in the coffee market.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone. We're almost out of cups, so will see how the transition goes....
ReplyDeleteI received a Keurig as a gift and didn't want to accept it because of the k cups but I didn't want to be rude so I didn't say anything. A couple days later I discovered that I had the option of using reusable k cups (as mentioned in your post). I was very excited about my new gift and that I didn't have to feel guilty about all the plastic k cups. :)
ReplyDeleteLinda - I use both the reusable and regular k-cups. I figure the reusable balances out the regular ones, somehow. :) Thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI just recently got a keurig machine from the in-laws, and i too felt bad about the amount of waste for a cup of coffee.. I also compost the coffee and filter when im done, and recycle the aluminum, but the plastic cups arent actually recyclable :( BUT~!! for those that garden I thought of a great way to re use them! if you are doing seedlings indoors, start them in the cups! they are the perfect size, and already have a drain hole in the bottom!
ReplyDeleteJust my two cents to help :)
Just to help you with change 132. A Canadian company just developed a 90% biodegradable cup. No mess like the reusable ones. Organic. Fairtrade. And biodegradable. Hope you keep writing. This is great!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.vancouversun.com/business/firm+develops+biodegradable+single+serving+coffee/8525837/story.html
oh how we justify and support non-sustainable creations!
ReplyDeleteDidn't know you could recycle K-cups. Will have to search for a nearby facility!
ReplyDeleteFunny how we can justify all the unnecessary waste to our environment.
ReplyDeletewhat percentage of people are peeling the lid off putting using compost for coffee grounds and most areas wont recycle the plastic waste kind of disgusting DONT YOU THINK
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