Keurig coffee machines last a long time, they look great in an apartment and, most importantly, they make satiating our daily caffeine requirements extremely fast and convenient because the single-cup machine is just so easy to operate. Unfortunately, though, the K-Cups have become infamous in recent times due to their environmental impact. Is it true about the evils of coffee pods? Once again, it is unfortunate that in spite of being so convenient and popular, there is ample truth to the wasteful nature of the generalKeurig single serve coffee pods that have made it infamous.
Does that mean you have to give up on your Keurig coffee? Not at all, because convenient coffee doesn’t have to be harmful if you are simply aware of your options. Let us now take a look at the problems regarding the K-Cups and how to solve them without having to give up on the single servers altogether.
What is the Primary Problem Concerning the K-Cups?
In the year 2015, it was estimated that ten billion K-Cups were produced and sold in the US with enough plastic in the pods that would be sufficient to wrap the entire planet 10.5 times around!
Given the rising danger and impact of general, nonbiodegradable plastic on the environment, this became a serious concern for not just the US, but the entire world.
How are the Manufacturers Responding Since?
Manufacturer response is often the most important aspect of dealing with such widescale and imminent problems and in this case, the result has been somewhat mixed.
Not every company that produces the pods for the Keurig coffee machines has switched over to environmentally sustainable materials. Unless the number increases significantly soon, the impact on the planet is very concerning.
How Can the Consumer be Useful in Ushering Change?
The consumer is all-powerful, especially in the customer-centric business model practiced by companies today. If more people who love their single cup coffee from the Keurig coffee makers became aware of the impact of nonbiodegradable K-Cups and switched over to products that only utilized sustainable materials for the production of their pods, more manufacturers would have to follow environmental regulations, just to maintain their revenues.
These third-party K-Cups are biodegradable pods for Keurig machines and they come from Glorybrew, setting an example of the route that every other Keurig coffee pod manufacturer should also take. In fact, the compostable pods that Glorybrew sells for Keurig coffee machines are more than just biodegradable since the whole thing turns into actual soil in just about eight weeks, which is incredible, to say the least!
This isn’t the same as recyclable pods or plain old biodegradable pods mind you, as the soil which the discarded pods turn into can then be added back to the environment without any negative repercussions at all. If there was ever a solution to enjoying your convenient K-Cup in the morning, while contributing to a greener tomorrow at the same time, then this is it. The fact that these compostable pods also come in a whole range of flavors and in varying strengths of caffeine is just the cherry on the top of it all!
Technology offers solutions to dead-end problems and this is just a brilliant example of exactly that. Most of us need our daily dose of caffeine early in the morning and Keurig coffee machines do make the entire process a lot less hassle. However, that convenience cannot justify endangering the planet that our children will inherit from us, so switch to a compostable, third-party pod for your Keurig coffee machine and enjoy your morning coffee without a hefty dose of guilt to go with it.