ECOfreak: Pod People, One Cuppa Joe at a Time

By Desiree Parker Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Every time I go visit my parents, I cringe when they get up each morning and go to the kitchen and make themselves a cup of coffee from their single-use coffee pod machine.

You know what I’m talking about – that coffee maker that’s imminently convenient – you just pop in a little plastic pod with a single serving of coffee, stick your mug under the spout, and voila! A steaming cup of yummy gourmet coffee.

This is the most horrific step backwards in eco-consciousness I’ve ever seen. I mean, if we were in a cartoon world, the evil villain who wants to destroy earth is rubbing his hands together and laughing maniacally as these pods and their associated coffee makers find their way on the shelves of every major retail store out there.

They are, literally, everywhere I look now.

I try to explain to my dad why this is a bad idea while he stands there waiting for his cup to fill up.

This is non-recyclable plastic you’re throwing into the trash every day, which will end up in an overflowing landfill, I tell him. Also, you’re paying for the extra packaging it takes to store these pods, which means more boxes and shrink wrap and all that mess.

And do you really think that it’s a good idea to pour boiling-hot water into a chemical-laden colorful little plastic cup and then drink what comes out of it? Yuck.

But it’s so delicious, and fresh, and easy, he argues.

I used the thing two times, and felt so horribly guilty I went to the coffee shop 15 minutes away to get my coffee. And then I got there and shook my head at the gas I had just wasted getting across town, not to mention the fact that I forgot to bring my travel mug and now I was just about to use more disposable stuff to hold my super-expensive coffee I was going to purchase.

And then I got the bright idea that I’d get a new travel mug while I was there, and use that, which I did – but there are those pesky greenhouse gasses emitted each time a factory plops out another travel mug.

IS THERE NO END TO THIS MADNESS?

Someone at the New York Times came to the same conclusion recently (read that story here). The Times reporter focuses his attention on Green Mountain Coffee (the brand my dad and stepmom use), a company very proud of their eco-friendly practices.

The Times story points out that Green Montain composts its coffee grounds, has created an eco-friendly paper cup, and recently installed a solar array on one of their buildings.

“More than 80 percent of Green Mountain’s $803 million in sales last year came from nonrecyclable, nonbiodegradable, single-use coffee pods and their brewing systems,” the story says. And this year the company plans to sell three billion of these pods.

There are apparently some options in the works, including a paper pod design, but my question is: Why didn’t these brilliant designers think of this to begin with?

I think the likely answer is that plastic is still insanely cheap.

Why don’t we add a killing-the-planet tax to plastic used in manufacturing and packaging? I mean, you add one cent per pound or something, and send all that cash towards green initiatives, and you’ve probably got yourself a billion dollars a year.

Okay, maybe that’s a silly idea. But still, on the Green Mountain website they say, “we believe in using the power of business to make the world a better place… our goal is to create truly inspired coffee that’s environmentally sound, socially just, and undeniably delicious.”

Um, I’d call that a little bit hypocritical.

Sadly, I haven’t convinced my parents to ditch their machine. And, what’s worse, one of them has found its way into our office! I guess all there is left to do is start a company that makes things out of these pods – like wall art or dog houses, or something.

Website for the week
Just because it isn’t on the front page of national newspapers anymore doesn’t mean it’s gone. Here’s a good story about the possible long-term effects of the Gulf Coast oil spill from Discovery.com. This is something we’ll be learning about for years to come, and I don’t think there will be a lot of good news on the horizon. I hope I’m wrong about that.

Tip for the week
Let’s talk coffee for a minute, since it’s something many of us drink every morning. Is there something in your coffee routine that could be a little greener? I keep my coffee grounds for the garden in a Tupperware container, especially in the fall and spring when I’m planting and when the houseplants look a little droopy. If you’re like me and like to go to a coffee shop for a cuppa joe, bring along a travel mug. Also, if you get frozen drinks, those plastic cups are recyclable, so keep them in your car and then take them home for the recycling bin. If you’re throwing out lots of coffee from the morning pot, try cutting down your brew and save some water and some bucks.