If you are an avid coffee drinker, the line from T.S Eliot's poem, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock," "I have measured out my life in coffee spoons" is most likely very relatable to you. You can track the progression of your day based on the cup of coffee you have consumed, your first cup from home, your second from the Starbucks by school, the third from the dining hall at school or work, and so on. However, as dependent as everyone is on their coffee fix, does anyone ever wonder how their caffeine consumption is impacting the environment? As the trend moves more people away from traditional drip coffee brewers to the Keurig brewing systems, people need to realize the large detrimental impact that the K-cup is having on our environment and why we need to collectively #killthekcup.
It has been estimated, according to an article publish by the Atlantic this past March, that in just 2014 alone the amount of k-cups thrown away could circle the earth 12 times, and because as of today one in every three American households own a Keruig brewing system, logic will tell you that that number has only grown. Even if you are not particularly environmentally conscious, doesn't that number bother anyone? Or possibly cause them to cringe every time they enjoy a cup of coffee while knowing their their pleasure is causing their planet's destruction? If it doesn't, I suggest watching the short youtube video Kill the K-cup, that should give you environmentally conscious nightmares.
To get back on track, K-cups are extremely damaging to the environment and they are not biodegradable at all. This is because, as John Sylvan, the creator of the K-cup stated for an article for the Atlantic that, "The plastic is a specialized plastic made of four different layers." The cups are made from plastic #7, a mix that is recyclable in only a handful of cities in Canada. That plastic keeps the coffee inside protected like a nuclear bunker, and it also holds up during the brewing process. A paper prototype failed to accomplish as much.” Sylvan notes the problematic situation with the k-cup and in his article with the Atlantic admits that he does feel bad for creating it, and that he almost wishes he didn’t. He further went on to say that while he has sold his share in the company, he has reached out to suggest to Keurig Green Mountain as to how they could create a more eco-friendly product, which they seemed to ignore.
The Keurig company has put out a statement saying that their products will be biodegradable by the year 2020, and to me that is unacceptable. In a slightly aside parallel, this situation is akin to Sea World saying they will stop breeding orcas but will still hold them in unnatural conditions in concrete tanks. Keurig is appeasing to those slightly less invested in the environment by saying, yes they will create a biodegradable product, but hold tight, we'll work real hard on it and have it available to you in 2020. Our earth is not something we can compromise over a cup of coffee, and Keurig needs to produce a biodegradable cup in sooner than five years.
Though in general I've been giving the Keurig company a bad rap, when taking the waste of the K-cup out of the equation, it is more efficient that traditional methods of coffee making in which large amounts of water and coffee are used to make coffee but it often goes un-drunk, and a great deal of energy is invested in keeping the coffee warm. In fact, though these results may be biased based on the source , “Most homes that brew entire pots of coffee end up throwing out 12 to 15 percent of the pot, on average, which actually represents 25 liters of wasted water (by Keurig Green Mountain’s calculations).” So where is the compromise between using a largely energy efficient machine but not using wholly wasteful k-cup? A resubale pod! If you want to stick with the Keurig brand you can by a my K-cup, but I got my resuable pod from a third party brand at Wal-Mart and it works great. Instead of buying expensive K-cups which in a sixty pack, with a 20% off coupun from Bed Bath and Beyond, costs $0.53 per cup, you could fill your resuable pod with regular grounds such as Maxwell House at $0.08 a cup. Using a resubale pod not only does the environment a favor, it does youself one as well.
When it comes down to it, just think about what Mike Hatchey, one of the creators of the Kill the K-cup video, said when he stated, "If you ever find yourself throwing out a K-Cup, and then you remember that 13 billion went into landfills last year, do you feel okay contributing to that? That's what it comes down to.” Don't be okay with the number and be proactive in the health of our planet to #killthekcup
