I had mixed feelings when my wife bought us the Keurig as a gift for the family.  

We had used a Keurig over Thanksgiving at her sister’s home and there were some terrific benefits to having all the selection.  With 5 adults, 1 teen and 2 children, there were many different tastes for strength and flavor of coffee or tea or hot chocolate.   It was a great looking appliance and easy to use.  My daughter actually made her OWN cup of tea.  Wow.

However, I pride myself on being conscious of the environment and the extra trash created by the non-recyclable K-cups bothered me. I also thought about the fact that I could make weeks and weeks worth of coffee with my under $10 pound of coffee bought at the supermarket while K-cups at best cost about 50 cents a pop.

My wife, sensing my despair, then bought me a reusable K-cup coffee filter exclusive to the Keurig Home Brewing System.  This reusable filter allows me to use my own gourmet ground coffee in a Keurig brewer.  I have been using my reusable filter for days now and I love it.

Some people have complained about the reusable filter because they don’t like to remove it for cleaning after every use.  I find it no different than cleaning any filter and worth it.  I would much rather spend the couple of seconds extra and get two big benefits.  

I feel guilty every time I throw out a used K-cup.  Although Green Mountain claims they are close to developing a recyclable and biodegradable package, they aren’t there yet.  From Green Mountain’s Website: “Reducing the environmental impact of our coffee packaging materials and brewing systems, including the K-Cup® portion packs used in our Keurig® Single-Cup Brewing Systems, is a top priority for us and we are dedicated to finding a solution.”  (Personally, I believe them.)

As a side note: Some people also worry about the type of plastics used in the manufacturing process and packaging.  Green Mountain assures us that all K-Cup portion packs and all water path components of Keurig home brewers are free of Bisphenol-A (BPA).
Then of course, there is the money-saving advantage of the reusable K-cup.  I calculate that I can save 30 cents a cup.  I am a three cup a day guy (I am not proud of that fact but there it is.) resulting in an annual savings of $328.50.

I found a reusable K-cup coffee filter on Amazon for only $21.67.  I also found some on eBay that were opening bids at $10 to $14.  (No matter where you find the item, be sure to check that the one being offered fits your specific brewer.)  This is well worth the purchase.  Now I save money on every cup of coffee and feel good about doing something for the environment, too.