Let me start by saying that I L-O-V-E, love my Keurig! Now, some might consider this hypocritical considering my prior diatribe on the ridiculous price of the Teavana Perfect Teamaker. I assure you that I did not pay the ridiculous price of $100 for my Keurig. I paid the very reasonable price of $15.63, including sales tax. (How? Well, that’s whole other story involving good timing, the use of Office Depot rewards, and very nice coupon.)  Today’s story is about my favorite subject, making things better, or more useful. As previously stated, I love my Keurig (even thought I have trouble spelling it). I love throwing a Caribou Blend into the little guy and having a Starbucks (or arguably better than Starbucks) quality coffee three minutes later with no mess, no cleanup, and no preparation. I am after all, an American, and isn’t that what all American’s strive for, instant gratification. I also feel incredibly guilty about using all of those k-cups and sending them to a landfill. I live in an area that considers the environment to be a low priority, but I consider it to be a high one. I try to do my part. I recycle, I reuse, I dry my clothes on a line. I drive a long way to work, but my car is fuel efficient.

I garden. I garden big time.

I plant at least a couple trees a year. I like to use public seed and harvest my own seeds from last year’s plantings. I use egg shells, fallen leaves, and coffee grounds to fertilize. I don’t use poop, because it grosses me out. Sorry, to those with stronger stomachs, but it has a gag factor for me. I use old coffee containers from my office and cat litter containers filled with waer to insulate the greenhouse I built out of scrap, re-purposed lumber. I respect my environment. That said, I still feel bad about the k-cup thing. I could use the my k-cup permanent filter, but then I’ve lost the whole, no cleanup, no mess advantage.

What if Keurig used biodegradable cups?

I know it has to withstand high temperatures, but what about something like the Ecoforms pots or even that plastic they make from cornstarch. The kups are the perfect size for seed starting, and even if you didn’t use them for yourself, you could donate them to a nursery or community gardening program in your area, or even turn them into compost. Plus, the company gets the added bonus of good PR. I think it’s a win-win situation. The company plays nice with the environmentalists, and I feel better about my coffee experience. How great would that be?