Turn Your Keurig Green: Eco-Solutions for Your Plastic Monster

You don’t have to give up your Keurig completely to help the environment. In this post we’ll share four tips for making your machine more eco-friendly.

In case you haven’t heard, Keurig machines are pretty bad for the environment. Plastic K-Cups produced enough trash in 2013 alone to circle the earth 11 times. And while Keurig Green Mountain has pledged to produce a fully recyclable pod by 2020, we have to come up with ways to curtail the machine’s massive footprint in the meantime.

Maybe you still want to purchase a Keurig for the convenience factor, or maybe you already have one laying around the house. Is the solution not to use one at all?

Not necessarily.

There are still plenty of ways to use your Keurig while reducing its environmental impact.

Here are just four of the many things you can do to get use out of your Keurig without feeling guilty.

Use a reusable filter (with eco-friendly coffee)

When you’re using plastic single-serve pods, the waste comes from using them once and then throwing them away. Here’s an easy solution — get something you can use more than once!

Reusable filters like Keurig’s own My K-Cup or the Ekobrew allow you to fill them with coffee grounds and use them just like a regular single-serve pod. When you’re done, all you’ll be left with is compostable coffee grounds.

For the busy coffee aficionados out there, one bonus advantage of using a reusable filter is that you get to brew your own coffee. Loyal to a certain brand or roast but love the convenience of simply popping in a pod and pressing a button? Now you can have both.

Use compostable pods

Okay, we have to say it… Compostable pods are awesome.

Unlike using a reusable filter with your own coffee, compostable pods are just like single-serve K-cups with one important exception. They’re compostable!

This way you don’t have to mess with grinding whole beans yourself or settling for stale coffee already ground when you buy it.

Just like K-Cups, compostable pods offer a variety of roast profiles and flavors. Simply insert your favorite kind, brew it, throw it in the compost bin, and you’re done.

With pods like the compostable coffee k-cups from Tayst, every single component of the pod will break down and contribute vital nutrients to the earth’s soil. And with a monthly subscription, both you and the planet can have something to continuously enjoy.

Compostable pods are a great option if you want to be eco-friendly but don’t want the hassle of a reusable filter.

Go “half and half”

One cool thing about the Keurig is that it doesn’t just make coffee. Hot chocolate, tea, and apple cider pods can be delicious — though they’re equally as harmful.

But who wants to give up hot cocoa? Don’t worry, you don’t have to.

One idea is to stop buying single-serve cocoa, tea, and cider pods and use sustainable products instead. You can combine gourmet hot cocoa or apple cider mix with hot water from your Keurig so that “half” the drink comes from the Keurig and the rest doesn’t leave any waste.

You can do the same thing with tea bags, which are also a single-serve item. Why use a plastic pod? Pick up some eco-friendly tea bags and use hot water from the Keurig to make a relaxing and delicate brew.

There are other things I love to do with a Keurig, too, like making ramen or instant noodles. You can even use it to quickly prepare oatmeal before heading off to work or school in the morning.

The possibilities here are endless. You can still get a lot of use out of a Keurig without it harming the environment.

Make crafts from non-recyclable K-cups

What if you still have some K-cups laying around? You don’t have to throw them in the trash, only for them to end up in a landfill or the ocean. And just because you can’t recycle them, it doesn’t mean that you can’t upcycle them.

The internet is full of amazing DIY crafts and projects that you can do with plastic pods. Plant a tiny garden or turn them into lanterns. You can even use them to freeze fresh herbs.

Make a date night out of it or have some fun with your kids. Here’s 25 ideas to help you get started.

Conclusion

The Keurig is a really convenient machine. That’s why everyone has one now, isn’t it? But we shouldn’t forget about the impact it’s having on the environment. With just a few tweaks and a little creativity, your contribution can go a long way to keeping coffee a sustainable industry and, most importantly, keeping our planet safe.

Have you done something creative to reduce your machine’s eco-footprint? What ideas do you have to turn your Keurig green? We’d love to hear from you.

Written by: Zach Thanasilangkul

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