Every day, I stroll into my room around 6:30 p.m. after a thrilling day of work and classes. I sit down at my desk with my Spongebob mug, scavenge through my covert box of assorted K-cups and mentally prepare myself for the scrumptious delight that my Keurig produces. Maybe I’m biased because I adore everything with a fire-truck red hue, but I’ve really developed an appreciation for my little red Keurig.
So what’s the big deal with these “K-cups”? Well, they offer a no-mess situation for people like me that always spill things — especially after arising as a zombie every morning after my slumber. And just when it seems as if my sluggish eyes have been glued shut by cobwebs and the Sandman’s sandy magic, the last thing I want to do is think about how to make coffee. K-cups also offer a fast, easy solution for people that aren’t gifted with using a filter and want their coffee within three minutes of pressing a button.
However, here’s my confession. As someone passionate about the environment, I may talk the talk, but I don’t walk the walk when it comes to K-cups. I love them way too much to give them up. I’ve gone through about 80 so far this semester. But despite the convenience that they offer, that’s a lot of trash that I am contributing to.
According to the East Bay Express, if you use the U.S. Census Bureau’s report of the total U.S. population and estimate that at least one-third of the population is using single-cup tea or coffee brewers at home, then that adds up to around 966 million pounds of waste every year. Just imagine — this roots from one little coffee pod that you can fit into your hand!
Fortunately, Keurig produces an alternative to the K-cup — a reusable coffee filter that has the same shape as a K-cup so it can fit in the holder in the machine. The possibilities are endless.
Recently, Starbucks introduced a nifty new spring blend boldly flavored with milk chocolate and sweet orange notes, inspired by a bold fusion of Latin American and East African flavors. I thought about how great it would be if they made a spring blend K-cup. Then, I had my Jimmy Neutron moment … Brain Blast!
All you have to do is buy the bag of coffee and put the ground beans in the reusable filter and … Voila! Any coffee you want can be brewed in a Keurig.
So for all you caffeine lovers with a single-cup coffee brewer at home, let’s stop living our lives with #nofilter. Coffee filters are our friends. And every time you use a reusable filter, one less coffee pod will end up in the landfill. But that doesn’t convince people.
So, I suppose you could go on Starbucks’ website right now and buy 12 K-cups for the standard price of $19.99. Or you could get one pound of the same coffee for $14.95 and put it in a reusable Keurig K-cup coffee filter. It’s your choice.
Jennifer Ruth is a College of Arts and Sciences junior. She can be reached at jenruth@bu.edu.
