Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Medelco, Incorporated. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.
There are a few everyday inventions that have changed the way the world operates. Television, smartphones, and Keurig® brewers top the list. For those of you who love your specialty coffees, you might have an assortment of K-cups sitting on your counter on a lazy susan, just waiting to be selected for today’s brew. We just got a new Keurig at work so that we can enjoy anything from coffee to hot chocolate; it’s such a small pleasure in the middle of a busy work day. If you’re also living a green lifestyle, you may have also considered the impact of all those used K-Cups on the environment. Welcome to Recycle A Cup™, a handy little accessory for Keurig users. This gadget makes it simple to recycle, re-use, and compost parts of your used K-Cup cartridges so they don’t have to end up in a landfill. With a squeeze and a twist, the Recycle A Cup separates the K-Cup components. You might even find ways to repurpose the K-Cup when you see how easy it is!
Because the K-Cup is made of so many different materials, the cup as a whole cannot be recycled. Imagine how much landfill space this consumes! According to National Coffee Data Trends statistics, used K-Cups may contribute to 2.8 billion cubic feet of waste in our landfills every year. That doesn’t have to be the fate of your used K-Cup though. Recycle A Cup separates these parts so that waste can be minimized. In fact, you can even compost the coffee grounds found inside the cup!
I think it’s really great that even the components of Recycle A Cup can be recycled. They’re really practicing what they preach! Using the Recycle A Cup could make a significant dent in the garbage generated by these used pods. Also, by reusing the cup shell, you could create lots of fun crafts with your kids! Ask your local church if they could find a use for them in a VBS program, or perhaps offer them to a school in your area.
Here are some ideas to put those clean used shells to use:
- mini flower pot (as shown above)
- organize small jewelry items or office supplies
- separate pre-measured spices used in cooking
- individual paint containers for art projects
- condiment bar for baked potato bar or other meals
- jello shots
- mini-popsicles for the kids
- store seeds harvested from this year’s garden
- hold loose change in the car
How would you reuse the shell?
Discount: Use code fms6cq to save $5 off your purchase of the Recycle-A-Cup plus get Free Shipping when you order through recycleacup.com, bringing the cost down to $9.99. This offer expires Sept. 1, 2014.
Watch this video to find out how simple it is to use Recycle A Cup.
How would you reuse the shell?
Sounds like a good thing to have. I do not own a Keurig but would love to someday.
I have a 12-cup brewer but I’m glad someone is finding a way to reuse all that plastic!
Those little cups are great for so many things. Even salt containers for little pinches, putting ketchup in them … etc.
I don’t have a Keurig either but I’m chuckling at the Jello shots. The flower pot usage is a fantastic idea!
Such clever tips. We don’t own one of these but I’ll check out if my friends do and grab some of their discarded cups for seed storage.
This is awesome. One of the reasons I’ve held off getting a Keurig is because the cups seem so wasteful but knowing I can recycle them is making me reconsider getting one because they are so convenient!
This is neat but Keurig actually has a recycling program now where ALL of the byproducts are reused- Grounds to Grow. I will have to look at both systems more closely because I hate the waste my K-Cups create!
That’s a neat idea. I bet it would work well for holding little things on my desk too.
What a great idea! I never thought to recycle my k-cups!
I don’t use K-Cups–I have a Melitta Plastic Cone which I’ve had for years–makes a single cup of coffee so easily. It is only the #2 filters you need to buy. They also have k-cups which are refillable on the market. I don’t know how well they work but better to re use then re buy!
Oh this is great! I have never thought really about recycling my k-cups! My mom drinks so much coffee I should tell her about this!
I love that this helps people to recycle. I always try to either reuse my cups for a project or I recycle them. This is great.
Very creative and great ideas for the little K cups. Thanks for sharing.
What an awesome product – I love the idea of using them for seedlings. The other thing to note is that the Brew over ice cups are ready to use once washed out because they are just the white cup part, same as the cappuccino cups or other powder ones that don’t leave grounds left over.
I admit I never thought about reusing them. I don’t use K-Cups but know so many people that do and would really like this information. Thanks. I will be passing it on. I love that flower pot idea.
What a great idea to help reuse k-cups
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Are these really necessary? Seems like you can just peel the foil and dump the grounds in your garden?
Great idea! We go through so many of these!
I have to admit that I am addicted to K*Cups. I will have to start thinking twice before I just throw them away, I’m sure there are many ways I could find use for them around my house!!
Awesome ideas! I would never think to reuse these (thought I only use them at work on occasion) but I may have to start asking my co.workers to recycle them!
Wow!! Never would have thought of some of theses ideas!!
Since my family and I are starting our “granola” lifestyle brand new I think having the kids use these as starters for plants is a great way to get them involved and teaching them (and ourselves) the joy of growing our own plants and food.
Great ideas! I am going to try some of these!
Thank you! I love my Keurig, but I have always felt guilty about the waste! So many great ideas here!
This is a neat product, I have tried peeling off the foil and cleaning it out to recycle the plastic and it’s not a very tidy process. I love my keurig, but not the waste it can create, so I will be looking into these.
What a neat idea! I feel so wasteful, but the convenience is too good to pass up.
Something for my coffee drinking SO perhaps!
good tips; my parents use a lot of k cups
Great invention and finding containers for Sunday school projects does seem hard sometimes. I could invent something for the kids to do with the container. Thanks for sharing.
Great tips! Thanks for sharing!
it’s amazing how many of these get discarded every day! Nice toe see they can be put to use!
Great suggestions for realistic, helpful ways to repurpose them. From holding loose change to mini popsicles, very useful.
I love the ideas about re purposing them we got a coffee expresso machine recently and I likes to recycle as much as possible and it saddened me to find that they cant be recycled here in new zealand but hopefully this wil change soo
Great Insights!! Such an idea of recycling K-cups has never crossed my mind and I think it’s something to give a trial.
Thanks.