K-Cups, the ubiquitous single-serve coffee pods made by Keurig, have become extremely popular in recent years. However, there are many reasons why you should consider stopping your use of K-Cups.
What are K-Cups?
K-Cups are single-use plastic coffee pods that are designed for use in Keurig coffee makers. Each K-Cup contains ground coffee and is sealed with plastic and foil. To brew a cup of coffee, you simply insert a K-Cup into your Keurig machine and press start.
The convenience and ease of use have made K-Cups incredibly popular. In 2016 alone, over 9 billion K-Cups were sold. However, this convenience comes at a cost to the environment. Here are some of the main problems with K-Cups:
K-Cups produce a lot of plastic waste
K-Cups are almost entirely made of plastic. The cup, lid, and foil topping are all plastic. This plastic is not recycled and ends up in landfills. Given how many K-Cups are used each year, we’re talking about billions of pieces of plastic waste.
Most plastic K-Cups are not accepted by municipal recycling programs. Even if you try to separate the plastic lid, foil, and cup, most recycling centers do not have the ability to recycle them. The thin plastic ends up in landfills or even in our waterways.
K-Cup plastic waste statistics
- 9 billion K-Cups were sold in 2016 in the US alone
- 25 billion K-Cups have been sold since 2010 globally
- Enough K-Cups were sold in 2016 to wrap around the Earth 10.5 times
- Only 5% of K-Cups are recyclable
As you can see, the plastic waste produced by K-Cups is astronomical. Very little of it is actually recyclable, meaning most K-Cups will end up in a landfill for centuries.
K-Cups are more expensive than regular brewed coffee
When you break down the cost per cup, K-Cups are far more expensive than brewing a pot of coffee. Take a look at this cost comparison:
| Brew Method | Cost Per Cup |
|---|---|
| K-Cup | $0.50 – $0.75 |
| Drip coffee maker | $0.05 – $0.15 |
As you can see, the per cup cost of K-Cups is 4-15x more expensive than brewing a pot of coffee! While the upfront machine cost might be lower, you end up paying way more per cup over time.
Why are K-Cups so expensive?
There are a few reasons why K-Cups end up being pricier:
- Packaging – The plastic pods and foil lids have manufacturing and transportation costs
- Portion control – You can only brew a single serving at a time
- Branding – You are paying for the branded/specialty coffee name
- No bulk discounts – Unlike coffee beans, you can’t buy K-Cups in bulk
K-Cups provide convenience and fun flavors, but you pay a premium price for that convenience!
K-Cups use a lot of resources to produce
When you factor in the plastic, foil, coffee beans, and manufacturing processes, K-Cups require far more resources to produce than traditional coffee brewing. Each little pod might seem insignificant, but multiply that by the billions sold each year.
Just looking at the plastic alone, here is an estimate of the resources required to make K-Cups:
Resources used in K-Cup plastic production
| Resource | Amount used for 9 billion K-Cups |
|---|---|
| Water | 1.3 billion liters |
| Crude oil | 115 million liters |
| Natural gas | 440 million cubic feet |
As you can imagine, producing billions of K-Cups requires an incredible amount of natural resources. The plastic alone leads to high water and fossil fuel usage.
K-Cups often contain lower quality coffee
Coffee connoisseurs will tell you that K-Cups often contain lower quality coffee compared to fresh beans. As coffee sits around in warehouses and on store shelves for months, it loses freshness and flavor. The packaging for K-Cups also allows oxygen to seep in, causing the coffee to go stale faster.
Single serve pods are not able to contain high quality, fresh roasted coffee beans. So what you end up tasting is lower quality coffee. If you want a truly great cup of coffee, brewing fresh roasted beans is best.
The plastic can leach chemicals into your coffee
There is some concern that the plastic used in K-Cups may leach unwanted chemicals into your coffee as the hot water passes through. Research has shown that substances like BPA and phthalates can migrate from plastic into liquids. These substances act as endocrine disruptors and have been linked to health issues:
- Increased risk of heart disease and diabetes
- Hormonal issues
- Fertility and reproductive problems
- Cancer
More research needs to be done into how much leaching occurs during the short brew time. But it is concerning to ingest hot liquids through plastic every day.
K-Cups are not eco-friendly or sustainable
When you add up all the plastic waste, resources used in manufacturing, and lack of recycling, K-Cups are objectively bad for the environment. Some sobering facts:
- Over 60 billion K-Cups have been sold since 2010
- 500 million K-Cups end up in landfills each year
- The plastic from K-Cups takes centuries to degrade
- Most K-Cup brands do not use recyclable packaging
- K-Cups require far more resources like water and oil to manufacture compared to drip coffee
The convenience comes at a high cost to the environment. There are far more eco-friendly ways to enjoy coffee that don’t create mountains of plastic waste.
More sustainable coffee options
- Drip coffee maker
- French press
- Pour over
- Reusable K-Cup with your own coffee
- Compostable coffee pods
Voting with your wallet matters too! Supporting brands that use compostable or reusable pods sends a message.
What about recycling K-Cups?
Keurig launched a recyclable K-Cup version in 2016 that has a peel-off foil lid that exposes the plastic. While technically recyclable, there are some caveats:
- The recyclable K-Cups need to be disassembled before recycling – most people won’t take the time to do this.
- Many municipal recycling facilities are not equipped to handle K-Cups yet.
- The recycling rate for K-Cups is still extremely low at under 10%
- It still produces unnecessary single-use plastic waste.
While it’s a step in the right direction, recyclable K-Cups are not the solution. The vast majority still end up in landfills. And recycling still uses resources and energy compared to reusing.
Conclusion
K-Cups provide a convenient way to quickly brew a single serving of coffee. However, that convenience comes at a much larger cost to the environment and your wallet. Billions of K-Cups are ending up in landfills each year and they require substantial resources to produce.
For both financial and environmental reasons, it’s wise to switch from K-Cups to a more sustainable coffee method. Your morning brew might take a couple more minutes, but the impact is hugely beneficial for the planet. There are many quick and easy eco-friendly brewing options to choose from.
So consider ditching the K-Cup habit. Your wallet and the planet will thank you.