The new rage is K-cups, also known as Keurig individual cups of coffee. Not only do these individual coffee cups have individual packaging that is not recyclable, it also has its own coffee maker that you have to purchase in order to use the K-cups. The idea of these coffee cups bothers me, deep down to my hippie core. Is it really that complicated to make an individual cup of coffee, especially when there are small 4 cup coffee makers and individual french presses?
I decided to take a look into the Keurig company and see what they have to say about their glaring sustainability issue. They claim on their website that, “all companies have sustainability issues.” This may be true but not all companies have products that are so unsustainable. They also claim they are diligently working on making recyclable K-cups in order to be more sustainable. Even if they do make recyclable cups, they have to make their consumers recycle the cups, which is an issue in itself.
They also claim, “it’s a challenge to create a K-Cup® portion pack that is recyclable and delivers an extraordinary cup of coffee.” Sustainability is always the last priority, but this is why we have so many environmental, economic, and social issues currently. By not thinking of sustainability with initial development we end up paying the price in the end, or the environment (or our children) pays the price.
Keurig also states, “We are very sensitive about the waste created by the K-Cup® portion packs and are investigating alternative materials. Finding a solution for this is a priority for us, and one we hope to have before long.” I find this hard to believe since their entire product is based off of wasting individual cups every time you make a cup of coffee. If they were really concerned, they would have not made the product in the first place.
Another thing that needs to be noted is if the coffee in the K-cups is even sustainable. Also, all these plastic cups first originate from oil – the most unsustainable product we use today. So please, if you care about sustainability, do not buy into one of these unsustainable contraptions and stick to making individual cups of coffee.
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