K-Cups
If any of us had invented a product that was helping to devastate the environment, we might well feel regret about it, and so it is for the inventor of the Keurig pod, more commonly referred to as the K-Cup. The man in question is John Sylvan, who developed the idea for the single-use plastic coffee pods during the early 1990s. The concept ended up being worth billions. The big problem with these pods is that the plastic that is used to manufacture them is not biodegradable and generally can’t be recycled, and thus, it ends up as waste.
As with so many of the other visionaries on this list, Sylvan now argues that he did not realize his invention would become so big in the US that around one in three homes has a machine for the pods—he saw them as something that would only be used in offices. Then again, he also admits that he knew that their easy disposability and the addictive nature of coffee would almost certainly make them a success, so it does seem like he could probably have guessed at the actual outcome.
Don't get me wrong. I like the coffee pods and use them myself from time to time, but I'm not buying his argument that he feels guilty they got so popular and became a problem for the environment. Surly he was smart enough to see the possibility.
Coffee out on the patio this morning. No guilt trips allowed, though.
9 comments:
I don't buy his guilty feelings one bit. I think he is just sitting there in his billion dollar mansion, sipping coffee from his K-cup and smiling. Don't use those things myself - a simple coffee pot does fine by me. See y'all on the patio. Have a great weekend.
[I need to better proof read before I hit the publish button]
How many people would wake up one morning & think...
"What an idea? A single use coffee container, that makes a good cup and is super simple to use and clean up! Every office will want one! I'm going to be rich!!! But the containers have to go in the trash so that won't work."
I suspect most people would look at the trash like most people have looked at it for the last 200,000 years....
My friend had one & one of my daughters has one & I like it, I only drink a single cup these days so that works great, if I had one I would use it... My day to day coffee needs are met with a drip funnel, coffee in the paper filter and I toss the filter/coffee grounds into the trash when I'm done...just like people have done for the last 200,000 years.
Hey Linda...
I have to agree.
Thanks for stopping by this morning!
Hey Rob...
My single cup maker has a basket that allows for a single cup's worth of grounds to be made, thus avoiding the pods. Most of the pods are way too expensive for my taste.
Thanks for coming over today!
I would never buy the coffee maker to begin with not in my budget why should that thing be so expensive and so big to just make one cup of coffee. And the expense of those silly cups is out of this world. I just cheap I guess. I like my Mr. Coffee and my McCafe french roast ))
And right now it is snowing like crazy and starting to stick. Didn't think it would stick since it rained all night. Patio it is
Hey Jo...
I have Mr. Coffee 4 cup maker and a single, but can use regular ground coffee in each one, which makes it handy. As long as I get my coffee, I can deal with it!
Thanks for dropping by today!
I agree. I don't see the rich feeling guilty. My daughter got me a single cup maker for Christmas. Like yours, I can use the pods or regular ground coffee..decade of course:))
Since I like my coffee triple extra strong, I use one of those funnel shaped things that you put a coffee filter in, ad the grounds, and then pour boiling water in the funnel over the grounds. I put four or five large scoops of coffee in it. Guess what, one cup is all I need each day, but sometimes I will have another cup in the afternoon.
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