However, Their Inventor, John Sylvan, Regrets Creating Them. He Originally Designed Them

Over the last decade, coffee pods have become increasingly popular for their convenience and novelty.

However, their inventor, John Sylvan, regrets creating them. He originally designed them for office use only. And yet, coffee pods (or “k-cups”) are now a common fixture in many kitchens around the world.

An estimated 30+% of American households have a Keurig or similar coffee pod machine, accounting for an almost 5 billion dollar market last year. Certainly, I can understand the appeal of an at-your-fingertips 24/7 coffee maker, but as most things that seem too good to be true… coffee pods have a dark side (and it isn’t just the dark roast they hold).

Coffee pods generate massive amounts of plastic waste each year. They are not biodegradable or recyclable (though some companies have started makingbiodegradableoptions).

Last year, enough k-cups were sold that if they were placed end-to-end, they would circle the globe 10.5 times. And that is just the amount sold in one year! In fact, almost 10 billion individual coffee pods were sold in the last year and that number seems to be rising.

With the rising levels of BPA and other plastic chemicals found in our groundwater, ocean water, and even buried under 30 feet of ice at the south pole, experts warn that these chemicals may be contributing to the rising health problems we are seeing worldwide.

Coffee pods alone are a significant source of plastic chemicals in landfills, and unfortunately, their popularity only seems to be growing.

To be fair, Green Mountain (who owns Keurig) announced plans to make their coffee pods recyclable by 2020, but that still means billions more plastic cups will enter the landfills in the next five years, and even if/when they are recyclable, many people won’t recycle them.

You have to take them apart, separate the plastic, compost the coffee grounds and dispose of the top. Too much work for something that’s all about convenience!

Equally menacing are the potential health concerns associated with disposable coffee pods.

They are plastic, so all the usual problems associated with consuming foods or drinks in plastic containers apply, but are actually intensified because hot liquid is used, allowing more plastic chemicals to transfer into the coffee. Though Keurig recently confirmed that its pods are BPA free, they did test positive for estrogenic activity and may also containpolystyrene, a possible carcinogen.

And then there is the financial issue. If the health and environmental aspects aren’t enough to convince you, individual coffee pods are an absolutely horrible deal. With the amount of coffee that is in each pod,apound of coffee costs over $50!

If budget is an issue, these should be the first to go!

So what’s the Solution?

First of all, DON’T BUY A COFFEE POD BREWING MACHINE!And if you have one, get rid of it.They aren’t worth the health, environmental and financial downsides.

Look, I’m a coffee drinker andI’m not advocating avoiding coffee! Just brew it in an environmentally and health conscious way.

Believe me, it’ll taste better, and the planet will thank you!