You know an invention has its drawbacks when even the guy who invented it says he’s sorry he did so.
That would be John Sylvan, inventor of the easy-to-use Keurig coffee maker — an invention deemed “the most wasteful form of coffee” on the planet.
Sylan says he regrets the creation largely due to its severe ecological impact. The Keurig uses disposable plastic coffee pods, called “K-Cups,” which are not easily recyclable or biodegradable.
“I don’t have one,” Sylvan said of the Keurig. “They’re kind of expensive to use. Plus it’s not like drip coffee is tough to make.”
Convenience-obsessed America is the world’s largest coffee consumer. Nearly 85 percent of adults in America drink coffee. According to the National Coffee Association, nearly 1 in 5 adults drink single-cup-brewed coffee in a single day.
Last year, Keurig Green Mountain sold a whopping 9.8 billion K-Cups — enough to circle the Earth more than a dozen times. Keurig says it wants all K-Cups to be recyclable by 2020, but by then it could be too late.