Coffee : How To Make Your Coffee Habits More Environmentally Friendly
If you want to continue drinking coffee (relatively) guilt free, here are some ways to make your coffee habit more environmentally friendly:
Drink Less Coffee - It takes 200 liters of water to produce the coffee, milk, sugar, and cup for one regular cup of coffee. Therefore, Just cutting one cup of coffee a day would do wonders for the environment.
Drink Local - Buy coffee that has traveled the shortest distance to reach you to help lower the impact of shipping on the environment.
Buy A Cool Mug - Purchase a cool mug that you will want to again and again; eliminating the need for styrofoam cups, plastic sippy tops, java jackets, cup holders, etc.
Skip The Coffee Stirrer - Instead of mixing sugar and cream into your coffee, try adding the sugar and cream in the empty cup. Then slowly pour your hot coffee on top, letting the heat naturally dissolve the sugar.
Compost The Coffee Grounds - Instead of throwing out your old coffee grounds, create a compost heap and toss your used coffee grounds in. The nitrogen rich coffee will make a potent fertilizer. You can also spread it on top of your plant's soil.
Buy Organic Coffee - Organic coffee is grown without toxic chemicals, and is grown in such a way that protects delicate ecosystems and the animals that live within them.
Buy Fair Trade Coffee - Rainforest Alliance and Transfair coffees not only guarantee fair living wages for coffee farmers, they take into account environmental standards in their certification process.
Select A Good Filter - To reduce unnecessary paper consumption, consider buying a reusable gold coffee filter; not only will it help the environment, it improves the taste of your coffee. If you do use filters, look for unbleached, biodegradable ones.
Keep Unwanted Away - Rather than spraying chemicals in your garden to drive away unwanted pests like ants and neighborhood cats, sprinkle coffee grounds and orange peels in your garden. The nitrogen in the coffee burns ants' legs and is better for the environment than using harmful chemicals.
TheCoffeeMakerStore.com is a daily blog and e-commerce store about coffee, coffee makers, and coffee culture. Download our free eco-friendly coffee tips widget that displays ways to make your coffee habit more gentle on the environment.
