All those K-cups hitting the trash ... ugh! Turn them into seed starters. Cut the top off, pull out the paper filter insert with the coffee, add some starter soil, plant when sprouted. Hole in the bottom provides drainage.
![[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/seed-starter-webp.177100/ "[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter")
K-cup Seed Starter
- Thread starter jebatty
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Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
K-cups are a serious blight on the planet. Even the inventor regrets making them. It's good that you are finding a meaningful use for them.
Not bad, but an even better idea if you want to reduce waste with almost no reduction in convenience (maybe 5 seconds to measure out tablespoon or two of grounds?): Reusable single serve cups.
If you got tricked into buying one of the malfunctional "Kuerig 2.0's", there's ways to get 3rd party reusable cups to work with them.
Bonus feature: instead of paying $28.50/pound ($11.99 for 16 x 0.42 oz. cups at Target), you pay typically ~$10/pound, and you have more choices of beans/grounds.
Savings per year at one cup per day: $177.
Amount you have to value your time before that 5 seconds of lost time is worth more than the money saved: $350 / hour.
If you got tricked into buying one of the malfunctional "Kuerig 2.0's", there's ways to get 3rd party reusable cups to work with them.
Bonus feature: instead of paying $28.50/pound ($11.99 for 16 x 0.42 oz. cups at Target), you pay typically ~$10/pound, and you have more choices of beans/grounds.
Savings per year at one cup per day: $177.
Amount you have to value your time before that 5 seconds of lost time is worth more than the money saved: $350 / hour.
I do have to point out, however, the significance of the K-cup waste volume is probably slightly exaggerated. The plastic-coated foil bags most gourmet coffee is sold in are also non-recyclable and non-compostable. A 12 ounce bag has the same amount of coffee as ~29 K-cups. There's fewer square inches of material in the bag than in 29 K-cups, but it's a thicker material. I wouldn't be surprised if these bags comprise at least half as much material per volume of coffee as a K-cup.
I guess if somebody wanted to quantify the difference and they have a decent kitchen scale, they could measure an empty coffee bag and some empty K-cups to compare.
I guess if somebody wanted to quantify the difference and they have a decent kitchen scale, they could measure an empty coffee bag and some empty K-cups to compare.
jb6l6gc
Minister of Fire
I Just use plastic tubs. Not only are they recyclable but make great containers for various things like fasteners in my garage!
After my first two keurigs crapped out after just more than a yr each I decided to go back to the good old fashioned coffee pot.
After my first two keurigs crapped out after just more than a yr each I decided to go back to the good old fashioned coffee pot.
We get our coffee in bulk. It goes into a lined paper bag that we reuse when we get more and that is emptied into a recycled Trader Joes cardboard coffee cylinder can.
I'm not promoting K-cups. I also use the fillable and reusable cups, my wife does not. Just an idea on a way to make a piece of trash reusable.
Kcups are awesome. I am currently within walking distance of the factory and manage to acquire cases of them for free. Currently sipping on a 16 oz fill of Italian roast, black.
At home I only have a drip coffee maker and folgers decaf grounds. Washable filter. Drinking this fancy Kcup coffee has been enlightening, I can't make such a good cup at home.
The waste. Yes, a problem. Same with water bottle waste, milk jugs, oil jugs, etc.
At home I only have a drip coffee maker and folgers decaf grounds. Washable filter. Drinking this fancy Kcup coffee has been enlightening, I can't make such a good cup at home.
The waste. Yes, a problem. Same with water bottle waste, milk jugs, oil jugs, etc.
sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
In theory you can, but the recycling value of each cup is so small the effort is of debatable value. Also many recyclers have problems with small items clogging their sorting machines, which is why it is common for them to ask customers not to include lids in the recycling.
I think a fully compostable K-cup would be a better goal. I'm pretty sure there's some third party compostable cups on the market, but I have no idea if they actually keep the grounds as fresh as the plastic cups with foil lids.
Interestingly, I just did a search for "recycle K-cup" to see if anybody actually does this, and apparently somebody makes a dedicated cutter that trims the top off exactly like jebatty did, and they claim you can put both the plastic and the foil in the recycling.
https://www.recycleacup.com/how-it-works/
![[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/177/177187-980de1003d708e3fdbdf7f4a27cc9f1d.jpg?hash=GdBbfVMuJL "[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter")
My understanding is that the plastic currently used in KCup pods is not recyclable. Keurig says they hope to have changed their plastic to polypropylene #5 in four years.
http://www.keuriggreenmountain.com/...roducts/OurProducts/ReducingProductWaste.aspx
In-depth look at the world of the KCup and all things Keurig.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/
http://www.keuriggreenmountain.com/...roducts/OurProducts/ReducingProductWaste.aspx
In-depth look at the world of the KCup and all things Keurig.
http://www.theatlantic.com/technolo...-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/
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We're approaching the point where there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish. The less we employ one-use plastics in our lives the better. Our kids and grandkids deserve better.
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![[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/177/177240-c2a5f6c3757ddefb8cba5b78a356035b.jpg?hash=JJz1E9J4dz "[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter")
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sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
Approaching 2050? Wow. That is sure a stretch. I love how a snapshot in time is grabbed to set off the environmental alarms.
It's good to extrapolate data, but come on...so much changes in the materials/plastics industries that we have no idea what we will be using 20 years from now, let alone 34 years.
The problem with plastic in our waterways is that people are trashy! People need to stop trashing the areas they live. Urban areas seem to be the worst. Not one piece of trash on the road where I live, past the burbs.
It's good to extrapolate data, but come on...so much changes in the materials/plastics industries that we have no idea what we will be using 20 years from now, let alone 34 years.
The problem with plastic in our waterways is that people are trashy! People need to stop trashing the areas they live. Urban areas seem to be the worst. Not one piece of trash on the road where I live, past the burbs.
Dismissing the message doesn't change the current situation or rate of increase. It's also possible they have underestimated human disregard for living in their own swill.
According to the report, worldwide use of plastic has increased 20-fold in the past 50 years, and it is expected to double again in the next 20 years. By 2050, we’ll be making more than three times as much plastic stuff as we did in 2014.
The majority of plastics in the water come from Asia as they crave the products of western culture but have little sanitation infrastructure to cope with the inundation of plastic packaging and bottles. But per capita, the US is among the worst per capita plastics consumption. A lot of this is at the convenience of bottling companies like Pepsico and Coca Cola. We need cradle to grave ownership here of materials used in manufacturing to stem the tide of single-use plastics. The burden should be on the producer and not the taxpayer for landfilling and cleanup.
According to the report, worldwide use of plastic has increased 20-fold in the past 50 years, and it is expected to double again in the next 20 years. By 2050, we’ll be making more than three times as much plastic stuff as we did in 2014.
The majority of plastics in the water come from Asia as they crave the products of western culture but have little sanitation infrastructure to cope with the inundation of plastic packaging and bottles. But per capita, the US is among the worst per capita plastics consumption. A lot of this is at the convenience of bottling companies like Pepsico and Coca Cola. We need cradle to grave ownership here of materials used in manufacturing to stem the tide of single-use plastics. The burden should be on the producer and not the taxpayer for landfilling and cleanup.
You can do the math but by this quote it looks like our rate of increase is slowing significantly. Wow, pat on the back?
Different time period. Doubling in 20 yrs which will still be 40x 70 yrs ago. At some point there will be a decline and end. The question is end of what?
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sportbikerider78
Minister of Fire
I don't really see how plastic consumption is an issue...as long as you are not being irresponsible with the waste.
Recycling is a good thing, but you also have to consider the total energy spent to gather, sort, clean, grind, process and then transport to be used again. In many cases, you're likely better off just grinding it up and putting it in the landfill. Or burning it in a controlled environment.
Recycling is a good thing, but you also have to consider the total energy spent to gather, sort, clean, grind, process and then transport to be used again. In many cases, you're likely better off just grinding it up and putting it in the landfill. Or burning it in a controlled environment.
That is the issue. Mankind has shown itself to be selfish and quite irresponsible. It's not better to grind up and put in to a landfill. It is better to design and employ recyclable plastics and stop putting more stuff into the waste stream that will not degrade, all at the expense of the taxpayer. Germany has had a cradle to grave laws for decades now and the difference in waste reduction is very large. We can and must do better. A lot of our plastics consumption is a manufactured demand and unnecessary. KCups and bottled water are the poster children. Net result - look around the world.
http://www.fair-fish.ch/blog/archive/2011/05/28/plastic-in-the-sea-from-water-we-drank.html
![[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/177/177316-7accbf70dec4de7a4d4efd85f70683f8.jpg?hash=ETIVX64Q19 "[Hearth.com] K-cup Seed Starter")
http://www.fair-fish.ch/blog/archive/2011/05/28/plastic-in-the-sea-from-water-we-drank.html
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Duh on my part. We use refillable k-cups but recently upgraded from coffee in recyclable plastic containers to that in the bags. I hadn't thought about the trade-off with the bags though I have looked for other ways to reuse them. Going to have to buy coffee in bulk like begreen does or go back to the recyclable plastic containers.
I used to purchase a k cup alternative on Amazon for my mother. Coffee is suspended in mesh bag. Lot less plastic. They were sued by green mountain over design and they won. Better value for sure. I get local roasted and ground coffee in high tech zip loc bags and reuse them for other things prior to disposal.
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