Reader’s question: Are k-cups bad for you?

Increasing popularity of k-cups and coffee pods

Benefits of k-cups: a super useful convenience 🏆

Coffee drinkers love the mirage that engulfs k-cups and other coffee pods. And, at a first glance, I understand where they are coming from. What do we like about k-cups so much?

→ #1. Brewing coffee has become EASIER than ever!

Let’s face it. K-cups have made brewing coffee extremely easy.

Other coffee machines, such as many espresso makers or drip coffee makers, require a lot of manual involvement, which spans from measuring coffee grounds, filling the filter and being in charge of the whole brewing process.

Single serve machines take a lot of work off our shoulders. All we have to do is choose our favorite flavor of k-cup or a coffee pod, put it in the brewing chamber, and voila! Cleaning is much easier, as well. There are no more coffee grounds spilled everywhere. All it takes is to dispose of an empty coffee pod.

→ #2. K-cups and coffee pods save a lot of time

Let’s face another fact. Not only have k-cups and coffee pods made brewing coffee extremely easy. They have also made brewing coffee very fast.

They save time by cutting on a lot of the preparation process. Instead, we can now focus on enjoying the drink.

In addition, single serve machines are typically designed to brew coffee quickly. Very often, single serve machines brew coffee in a minute or two.

→ #3. They come in a variety of awesome flavors ☕

K-cups, Nespresso capsules and other coffee pods come in variety of different flavors. A cup of coffee can be more delicious than ever before.

We no longer have to worry about adding our own syrups, or mixing different ingredients.

All we have to do is just choose a k-cup with some fanciful flavor, whether it’s vanilla latte, hot chocolate or mochaccino.

The real problems with k-cups and coffee pods 🙀

However, k-cups and coffee pods come with some possible drawbacks.

K-cups and coffee pods are not good for the environment. A prolonged use of k-cups and coffee pods allegedly poses risks for human health. Last, but not least, k-cups and coffee pods can be very expensive to use.

Let’s dive deeper into those issues.

→ #1. K-cups and coffee pods can be pretty bad for the environment

There are a lot of concerns around negative impact of k-cups on the environment.

K-cups and coffee pods are made with plastic and aluminium, most of which are not biodegradable or recyclable. Some companies started to produce biodegradable options, such as San Francisco Bay, but they cost a lot of money.

There are some frightening numbers showing how bad k-cups and coffee pods can be for the environment. The estimates show that in one year, there would be enough used k-cups to reach from the Earth to the moon, according to the statistics provided in 2015.

As a matter of fact, Keurig Green Mountain, the company that produces k-cups, is currently facing legal lawsuits for misleading customers and giving them false information on the recycle-ability of k-cups. As CBS News reported, Keurig has been telling people for years now that their k-cups are recyclable, but that appears not to be true.

• Only 61% of the recycling centers in the US accept the material that k-cups are made of (polypropylene). However, the company wrote “recyclable” on all their packages, without giving any additional information.
• K-cups are too small and too light to be captured by most material-recovery facilities in the US. Therefore, they cannot actually be recycled at all.

What to use in lieu of k-cups to minimize negative impact on environment?

There seems to be no golden solution here. K-cups and coffee pods cannot be easily replaced.

Unlike Keurig’s k-cups, some Nescafe coffee pods are made of aluminium, a more recyclable material. However, given how small they are, recycling is more expensive and difficult.

Nescafe has been trying to reduce the wastage created by its coffee pods by offering its customers pre-recycling bags that can fit up to 200 empty coffee pods. The bags can be dropped to any UPS location free of charge, and they will be then shipped back to Nescafe for recycling.

Still, the issue of the wastage created by k-cups and coffee pods is a real one, and organizations like Kill The K-Cup are working hard to bring awareness to the growing problem.

→ #2. A prolonged use of k-cups and coffee pods can be unhealthy, leading to health-related problems

K-cups and coffee pods allegedly carry potential health risks associated with their prolonged use. Those have to do with what k-cups and coffee pods are made with, specifically plastic and aluminium.

Plastics

Keurig confirmed that the plastic used in producing the k-cups is BPA free. But, it is unclear what plastics are used specifically in lieu of BPA.

Regardless, scientific studies by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services show that in some cases BPA-free products release chemicals with more estrogenic activity than BPA-containing products.

What does this mean in practice? In mammals, chemicals that contain estrogenic activity can cause health-related problems, such as the following:

• early puberty in females
• reduced sperm counts
• altered functions of reproductive organs
• obesity
• altered sex-specific behaviors
• increased rates of cancer (breast, ovarian, testicular and prostate)

Aluminium

Some coffee pods and top lids of k-cups are typically aluminium. When in brewing, they are fully immersed in hot water.

Though aluminium coffee pods are slightly better for the environment (as they are recyclable), they may be not as good for our health.

Prolonged exposure to aluminium has been linked to the following issues:

• brain related issues
• bone diseases
• respiratory problems
• depression
• anxiety
• Alzheimer
• autoimmune disease

Artificial flavorings…

And let us talk about those additives in the flavored pods. Looking at the list of ingredients of a flavored Green Mountain Keurig K-pod, I see that it contains “natural and artificial flavors.”

While I would like them to be more specific, I have to be honest that the word “artificial” has already caused me to lose interest in the taste of this product.

→ #3. Though easy and fast, using k-cups and coffee pods can be financially damaging

With that, it appears that 1 pound of coffee from k-cups would be about $20. (Each k-cup is assumed to contain 0.4oz of coffee grounds.)

This is at the very least 2 times more expensive than regular ground coffee.

• At the time of writing, I’d pay about $9 for 1 lbs of Light Roast Starbucks coffee grounds (please note that the pack size may vary, and may contain more or less than 1 lbs).
• At the time of writing, I’d pay about $14/1 lbs of The Bean Organic Coffee Company (please note that the pack size may vary, and may contain more or less than 1 lbs).

→ #4. Coffee inside a pod is NOT fresh 🤢

All of the reasons above are alarming.

If they are not enough, Dr. Anthony Gustin also considers the lacking freshness of coffee grounds inside the k-cups.

As coffee lovers know, coffee grounds taste best when they are fresh. This should be not later than 72 hours after grinding.

With k-cups, coffee grounds are trapped in plastic cups for days, weeks or months on end. They will not be the best or freshest coffee available.

Owly’s conclusion

I want to be kind to the environment, save money and be gentle with my own health. Therefore, I switched back to my drip coffee maker and espresso machine.

There are a couple of solutions to this seemingly unsolvable k-cup dilemma:

• We encourage you to consider using Keurig My K-cup reusable coffee filter. The filter can be filled with coffee grounds and can be used in the place of the expensive k-cups.
• We encourage you to consider using coffee pads, which are basically coffee grounds placed inside a small round bag made of filter paper. The pads appear to be healthier and more eco-friendly option than the plastic cups. They are, however, more expensive than buying loose coffee grounds in a bag. (Coffee pads may also require a new single serve machine.)

I realize how important it is for coffee brewing to be fast and convenient. I love having my coffee in 2 minutes, as well.

In the long run, I do approach environment, personal health and finances with care, too. I feel like they are a very important consideration when deciding between k-cups or other coffee makers.

I am a French Press/percolator kind of person, and I find my moments of solace and silence in preparing coffee for myself. I definitely think that spending 5 minutes on my drink are minutes well spent.

I have drunk coffee from a single serve machine before, and I confess that I liked it. But would I ever invest in a single serve machine that uses coffee pods only?

What do you think?

What do you think about k-cups? Do you think they are harmful for the environment?How do you recycle k-cups and other coffee pods?

Let us know in the comments!

Sources

Plastic health effects

Della Seta D, Minder I, Belloni V, Aloisi AM, Dessi-Fulgheri F, Farabollini F. Pubertal exposure to estrogenic chemicals affects behavior in juvenile and adult male rats. Horm Behav. 2006;50:301–307.
Gray J, ed. State of the Evidence: The Connection between Breast Cancer and the Environment. Breast Cancer Fund. 5th ed. 2008.
Kabuto H, Amakawa M, Shishibori T. Exposure to bisphenol A during embryonic/fetal life and infancy increases oxidative injury and causes underdevelopment of the brain and testis in mice. Life Sci. 2004;74:2931–2940.
National Research Council. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1999. Hormonally Active Agents in the Environment.
Newbold RR, Jefferson WN, Padilla-Banks E, Haseman J. Developmental exposure to diethylstilbestrol (DES) alters uterine response to estrogens in prepubescent mice: low versus high dose effects. Reprod Toxicol. 2004;18:399–406.
Patisaul HB, Fortino AE, Polston EK. Neonatal genistein or bisphenol-A exposure alters sexual differentiation of the AVPV. Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2006;28:111–118.

Aluminium health effects

Mount Sinai Hospital. “Aluminum Toxicity (Aluminum Poisoning).”
Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry. “Toxic Substances Portal: Aluminum”. 12 March 2015.
Krewski, D., Yorkel, R. A., Nieboer, E., Borchelt, D., Cohen, J., Harry, J., .. Rondeau, V. “Human Health Risk Assessment for Aluminum, Aluminum Oxide, and Aluminum Hydroxide.” 2007. Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health. Part B, Critical Reviews, 10 (Suppl 1), 1-269.
National Institute on Aging. “Alzheimer’s Disease: Unraveling the Mystery.”
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Division of Toxicology and Environmental Medicine. “Public Health Statement for Aluminum.”