Recycle those K-cups (Change 132)

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.

No more disposable coffee cups (Day 13)

I hadn't realized how much waste goes into disposable coffee cups, until I was at my inlaws' this weekend.  My SIL and BIL enjoy their Tim Hortons' and often make at least one run a day to the coffee shop.  While we were there, DH and I consumed at least one a day ourselves, bringing the disposable coffee cup total to a minimum of 4 a day, plus carrying tray.  That was 16  for the weekend, not including the cups that DH and I consumed on the way down and way back.

It made me think about all the times I slip into the Tims' or Starbucks drive thru while running errands, between school bus pick-ups and on the way to work at the library.  How many of us do the same?

I always thought that paper cups were compostable or recyclable, but according to Environment Canada (http://www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=En&n=3BBFB2B6-1) they are not, and should be tossed in the garbage.  This contributes 114.5 MILLION kilos of paper waste into the landfill each year!  That's a lot of garbage.

It certainly gets me thinking about how to change that statistic.  The most obvious way is to use the travel mug that I carry on road trips.  And ask for a refillable mug if I'm in a restaurant.  Make my own coffee and take it with me in a thermos.

And most importantly, not be afraid to ask for the server to pour my coffee in a travel mug when I'm in the drive thru.