Keurig coffee makers have been all the rage for several years, and for good reason. They are convenient. Like, super convenient. You can get your coffee started within seconds and ready to sip in around one minute. But we have a gripe…a HUGE gripe in the MASSIVE amounts of single-use plastic as a by-product of this convenience. A few years ago, The Story of Stuff reported that the number of K-cups that had already been thrown away could circle the entire planet more than 10 times. In case you haven’t noticed, we live on a very big planet. Even worse than that is the estimate that at least 25% of American households have a Keurig or other single-cup machine. That’s around 75 million K-cups being thrown into the trash daily. Recently the company responded to criticism by promising to produce the pods out of recyclable materials. However only a small percentage of recycling facilities will accept them and not everyone will recycle anyway.
We understand that the need for convenience often pushes out the little voice of reason (or guilt) each time you throw away a K-cup. After all, the struggle to complete the 15-minute hustle to shower, gather your things, track down your keys, feed the dog, and evacuate the premises in the morning is real. So here some alternatives that you can feel good about!
Reusable K-Cup
In case you weren’t aware, many companies have come to the waste rescue on this one. Mainly in the form of reusable k-cups. Just put your coffee grounds into the k-cup, place into the machine, and press start. We don’t have a favorite style here since they all seems to still contain plastic. However, we’ll overlook it in favor of reducing the billions of k-cups headed towards landfills near you. Warning: It’ll cost you an extra 10-15 seconds each morning to save the planet.
Paper Single-Use Filters
Just like with regular drip coffee makers, manufacturers are now producing paper filters for single-cup coffee makers like the Keurigs. Sure, paper filters still create waste. But since they come from a renewable resource and biodegrade, they still rate pretty high with us and save a few seconds during clean up too.
French Press
Personally, we’re coffee snobs so we’re willing to put a bit more work into our morning brew by using our french press. This allows us to control the strength of the coffee and has zero waste (we compost our used coffee grounds). If you want to get your own french press, we like this stainless steel model because it has no plastic and is durable. Over 3300 reviewers have rated it 5-stars! Honestly, it still only takes a few minutes to make the coffee, however you must wait for the water to heat up first.
Ceramic Drip
If we are making single cups, we use a ceramic drip like these. This is also how we make coffee while camping and traveling to AirBnBs where we’re not certain they have a coffee pot. (That makes for an irritating morning realization). Again, it’s easy to make. Simply add your grounds to the drip and pour hot water over them. Although you can get paper filters for the ceramic drip, we prefer a reusable style similar to this one to avoid waste.
Stainless Steel Drip
We also love the companies that are making drippers out of stainless steel like this one with very high reviews, this one, and this one that allows you to drip directly into a glass collection beaker (remember science class?).
Roast
Your Own
As we mentioned, we’re coffee snobs. We’re willing to take a little extra time for a quality cup of Joe. So much so, in fact, that we roast our own coffee beans. It’s actually easier than you think. Rather than roast every day, we make a few day’s worth at a time, usually on the weekend. Then we keep some other beans around for days when we are out of home-roasted coffee beans and need our morning fix. If you are interested in roasting your own coffee beans, we just bought this 5-pound bag from Amazon. There are some other highly-rated options here.
Coffee is ingrained in our culture, our history, and our morning ritual. But, it doesn’t have to be harmful to the planet. Think about your habits. What change can you make to minimize the waste from your morning brew?
Recent Comments