Greening Your Coffee Habit

So for a lot of people coffee is a way of life. It’s not just an early morning pick me up, it’s a trusted friend throughout the day.

It can also be a plastic nightmare. The lids, stirrers and straws. One cup a day, 5 days a week for a year equals 260 cups, lids, stirrers and straws. Per person.

The paper cups can’t be recycled due to the polyethylene they are coated with to make them liquid resistant. We already know the straws and stirrers can’t be due to their size. That just leaves the lid, and only a small percentage of those are ever recycled.

Bringing your own reusable mug will not only save the waste, it could save you money, as some places will offer a discount on refills.

What about your coffee packaging?

The invention of single cup coffee makers drove me crazy! All that plastic waste! 365 little cups per year! Providing you’re only having one cup a day…

One solution is the reusable pod you can fill with your own coffee and really reduce your waste.

Another solution is compostable cups by companies such as Oakland Coffee. Made from plant based materials they can be composted in industrial composting facilities

While in Oakland I grabbed a couple of boxes, but you don’t have to be local. They are available in a variety of locations and online.

With 140 billion cups of coffee consumed every year in the US these small changes could have a big impact.

What are some ways you’ve greened your coffee habit?