My little waste-reduction scheme: homemade coffee, filtered water

[K8-EEE]

Like many people I fall into habits without really thinking - one of which is to pick up a cup of to-go coffee on my way to take my kids to school, and bring along a bottle of water for my hike afterwards.

I was looking at my recycling bin, all those water bottles and all those cups! I don't know if the L.A. water would kill me but it tastes like swimming pool water. But it occured to me to get one of those filtering water pitchers so I wouldn't have ALL THOSE BOTTLES! Between the four of us we go through 10 a day, easy.....

We sure do make a lot of trash in this country -- I'm as guilty as anybody else but trying to do better.

[firefox_fan]

1. Even better for your health and recycling: no coffee...

[TahitiNut]

3. Heresy!

(Fair-trade) caffeine is one of the essential food groups. :silly: Would you give up chocolate? :wow:

[notadmblnd]

4. I agree.. Life would not be worth living without coffee

[TahitiNut]

10. A day without my quad mocha grande is like a day without ...

... being able to open my eyes. :silly:

[firefox_fan]

29. Hey, are you addicted to coffee? LOL :-)

[TahitiNut]

33. Yep. And I enjoy every sip and swallow. Coffee and chocolate - nature's way of saying ...

... "Good morning!" :party:

Today, I drink one 14 oz quad mocha each day. 20 years ago, I drank a minimum of ten cups of coffee every day at the office. I stopped that, even though my BP was low normal and I slept fine.. No caffeine whatsoever after 4 pm. No cola.

[notadmblnd]

the only thing missing is the mint.

[radfringe]

21. don't touch my coffee

you wouldn't like it if you touch my coffee....

[Beelzebud]

7. Even not drinking coffee you'll still die.

[K8-EEE]

8. Sorry but I love coffee :) And so does my garden!

The grounds make a great amendment to my clay soil, and I rinse the pot out into the garden, so it's a win-win situation there as far as I'm concerned!

[cally]

42. Do you just dump the grounds right into the garden

or do you have to compost them first? Also, our local coffee roaster will give my coffee husks?. I'm thinking about adding those as a nutrient.

[K8-EEE]

46. I use them both ways (the Starbucks by my house gives them to me)

When I'm planting a bed in by my house, I have a concrete foundation so it I was told that to put in acidic things in the soil is good....it really seems to work good.

I just put used (although not composted although they are excellent for that purpose as well) grounds in and dig them down.

Then for a mulch for my camellia and foxgloves and fuschias (acid loving plants too), I just use the coffee grounds around the plants to discourage weeds.

What I'm never sure of not being a professional, is if what works in one climate/soil type/plant group is OK for another situation? But for me, my plants LOVE COFFEE! I also use the water from rinsing out the pot in my herb containers, and they really thrive on it.

[dysfunctional press]

15. i have lived 46 1/2 wonderful years without ingesting the swill.

and i'm hoping to double that.

[Lex]

24. My grandma's 86 and she drinks coffee . . .

Loves it actually.

[kestrel91316]

39. My grandparents were lifelong coffee drinkers and died in their late eighties.

Gramie was chugging it merrily until about two days before she laid down and died.

[dysfunctional press]

44. good for them, and to each their own...

i never implied that coffee would affect longevity one way or the other.

i just intend to live mine as long as i can, and to do so completely coffee-free.

the stuff is just plain nasty.

i'd rather have a nice scotch on the rocks...but i can't do that either, because i take meds that mean i'll be alcohol-free as well as coffee-free(not due to meds) for life.

[AlCzervik]

19. Eeeekkkkkkk!

[SmokingJacket]

31. Coffee is good for you -- read the research.

http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food

"At least six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones..."

Plus, I think a lot of people who don't drink coffee don't subsist on plain old water, but drink other less healthy beverages -- including juice and soda -- instead.

[shance]

2. I'm in LA too K8 - I think about it all the time and wonder what to do.

I have a Brita filter and I have thought about installing a water filter in my kitchen.

I've never figured out (I'm sure its called government contracts - allowing plastic companies to essentially bankrupt the glass companies, along with our planet)how and why so much plastic is being made. A friend of mine went to Antartica where so much of the plastic is winding up.

It's killing many species of birds because they are injesting it from the landfills.

[5X]

5. Good for you. We have started two compost piles, and recycle all

of our plastic. Doesn't really take that long once you get into
a routine.

[RedEarth]

6. I use a Brita pitcher and it seems to do a good job

One option instead of bottled water is a reusable water bottle. Over the years my local Sierra Club has sold several brands. Also, there are several online stores that sell safe(non-leaching) water bottles.

[K8-EEE]

11. Great suggestion!

I've been just taking a regular glass in my car but a bottle would be better...

[Stephanie]

14. thanks, can you explain a little more?

I was shopping for a water bottle but I started to wonder about the plastics they're made with, don't know anything about it tho...

[RedEarth]

23. Here's a site that sells reusable bottles

I use a bottle similar to this one......Klean Kanteen 27oz Stainless Steel Reusable Bottle. However this site(as well as others) sells a variety of different types of reusable bottles. I was trying to get away from the possibility of plastic leaching into the water, so I have one similar to the one linked.

At one time I owned a Nalgene bottle, however, I did a some research and in turn became a little concerned about the possibility of leaching. Below is a google link on Nalgene.

http://www.reusablebags.com/store/klean-kanteen-27oz-stainless-steel-reusable-bottle-p-324.html



http://www.reusablebags.com/store/reusable-bottles-c-19.html



http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=+Nalgene+leach

[Gormy Cuss]

38. The Nalgene issue only applies to the Lexan bottles. The older HDPE versions aren't

associated with any serious health risks as far as I know. The HDPE ones were not transparent and had a recycle mark of 2. The Lexan ones have a recycle mark of 7. The HDPE ones absorb odors and will stain but these were the standard water bottles for hikers and backpackers for many years. I wish that Nalgene would switch back to the HDPE versions but the Lexan ones are probably bigger money makers with all those bright colors.

Still, I'd rather have lightweight stainless steel over plastic any day.

[Stephanie]

47. thanks!

:hi:

[PVnRT]

27. Or use a Nalgene bottle

Those things are indestructable - they last forever.

[Blue Belle]

9. I do that too...

Plus it's cheaper buying your coffee everyday! I use a french press (no paper filter) and buy organic, 'Fair Trade' beans...

[K8-EEE]

12. Good point!

With the money you save buying it out, you can buy fair trade organic coffee....another way to help the environment.

[Blue Belle]

41. Actually, the fair trade coffee is cheaper...

than buying a 1 pound bag of Peet's, or Starbucks brand in the grocery store.

[DS1]

13. Britta for the win!

I bought one strictly for bong water many years ago, but now I use it for water for me and the cat.

No more dope :evilfrown:

[xxqqqzme]

16. Our DFA Orange County group

is hosting a Training Academy July 21 & 22. Originally we were going to get water bottles for the day for the participants. I started re-thinking all that last week. I sat down w/ the caterer on Saturday and we discussed getting around the plastic water bottle thing. I went on line and was able to purchase plates, 14oz cups, lids & straws made from corn starch, forks from potato starch & hot cups & napkins from recycled paper. We are encouraging all attendees to use one drink container for the day and refill it from the water containers we have available.

When you sit own & re-think everyday habits - 'take for granteds', it is amazing what you can do.

I also found a couple of weeks ago almost light as air cloth produce bags from ecobags.com. No more plastic produce bags for me.

[OregonBlue]

17. It costs more to buy the filter that attaches to the faucet but it's great if you have

several people. With 4 you can go through those Britta pitchers really quickly. I like the ones that swing up for regular non-filtered water for dishes, etc. and back down for filtered water for drinking and cooking. And yes, buy reusable water bottles and keep them in the fridge. Kids can grab them and go and every few days I scout out the ones they left lying around the place. Clean with a drop of bleach in each bottle every few days to discourage bacteria and they are great.

Hooray for you. It's great that we are starting to question even the smallest things we do!!

[Turbineguy]

25. The under-sink filters

take out more bad stuff than the Britta filters or faucet filters. We have one for the sink as well as the ice-maker. The filters go for about a year. You can tell they need replacement when the water taste changes. We are on our second under-sink canister after 19 years. The old one was starting to crack.

Installation is pretty easy.

here's an example: http://www.filtersfast.com/Pentek-150071-clear-filter-housing.asp

[frazzled]

26. Check cost of filters before you purchase and install

The condo we bought had a water filtration system with a little second faucet that delivers filtered cold and hot water. Pretty fancy ... we'd always used Britta pitchers, etc. before so it was new to us. We weren't sure when the previous owner had last changed the filter, so we were feign to use it before replacing the filter. The ceramic filter costs $79 ... and they recommend you change it every 3 months. Ouch! We bought one finally, but it's really painful.

I'm sure there are much cheaper systems than this one, but do check out if it makes sense economically for you before you buy something.

[cally]

43. I have an under the sink filter that I replace once a year

It does cost $99 but I figure I save that by not buying bottled water. I'm very surprised that yours needs to be replaced every three months.

[TransitJohn]

18. An essential product:

the Nalgene bottle!

[K8-EEE]

28. OMG -- MADE IN THE USA TOO....I NEED ONE!

Wow I'm getting one of those. You know I almost approached a lady giving her kid water frozen in a bottle because I heard that freezing those bottles produces the same toxin as microwaving stuff in them....but I felt too pushy so I didn't, plus, I'm not 100% sure that is right??

So these bottles don't leach the same stuff as the regular Sparklett's type bottles I guess?

[kestrel91316]

40. I read that Nalgene (my backpacking mainstay, sob!) is the BAD #7

type plastic and it leaches phthalates or other nasty stuff........

If i take up backpacking again I will have to find an alternative - the aluminum ones look interesting.

[TransitJohn]

45. check your bottle

some are 7, others are 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nalgene#Possible_health_risks

[kestrel91316]

48. Cool!

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

20. We have a machine

that hooks to our sink and filters the water. Then we put it in another machine that oxygenates the water and magnitizes it. Tastes a lot better than regular filtered water. I carry a liter of it to work every day in the same reusable container.

My husband grinds his coffee and then puts it in a hopper with water overnight. Then he puts it through a filter-gets coffee concentrate that is really low in acid. He adds concentrate to hot water-really nice. And it makes getting coffee ready really quick. Our neighbor uses his concentrate to make cold coffee drinks as well. And yes, my husband recycles his coffee cups!

[kineneb]

22. more tips

1. save gallon plastic milk cartons to use for drip watering in the garden: poke hole near the bottom and set next to a plant, add water- water only goes on plant, and one can monitor the amount of water given to it (great for not overwatering tomatoes), also good for adding granulated fertilizers for existing plants needing supplaments...
may look funky, but it works...

2. use one plastic water bottle and refill from your own filtered water (ours smells like a swimming pool too, so I have a large reservoir Brita dispenser on the countertop)

3. use your own cup to buy coffee- saves on waste and the coffee stays warm (or cold- iced coffee) longer, and it won't spill as easily in a car

4. compost, compost, compost... coffee grounds make great compost, add egg shells, kitchen vegetables= good stuff for the garden

5. for folks in the "arid West": water in the evening or even at night to limit evaporation

6. for gardeners- save small yogurt containers for starting plants... poke holes in bottom, fill with potting mix, plant seeds...

just stuff I do...

[Lars39]

30. You can use even less water if you get a water bottle with a wide mouth.

It takes longer and uses more water to rinse something like a Disani water bottle.

[Matsubara]

32. Good for you!

I originally was gonna say something like "Well of course!", but you're doing a good thing. To me it has just always just seemed the normal thing to do. Plastic bottles and cups are very wasteful, and besides, it can be SO much cheaper if you make it yourself.

I just bought a new filter on amazon.com for my Mr. Coffee that eliminates the need for paper filters. Every little bit helps, right?

[Gold Metal Flake]

34. I have an inline filter to my fridge water dispensor.

Tap water tastes OK after that filter. We keep water bottles and reuse them for water-to-go. Our coffee grounds go into the compost pile along with other fruit & veggie waste. Ms. OR and the boy pick up bottles, cans & plastic bottles on their walks to recycle, and it's surprising how much of that stuff shows up in the neighboring wash week by week.

Making your own coffee is a great way to save money. Ms. OR was buying coffee from Gevalia, but I have convinced her to give Sacred Grounds a try for our next order. The are a Thom Hartmann advertiser.

http://www.sacredgroundscoffee.com/

[firefox_fan]

35. Have you seen Apple's new ICOFFEEMAKER? It's awesome!

You can control it remotely via the internet! Ahahahah!

[kestrel91316]

36. The LA water, though safe enough, is pretty much undrinkable as it

comes out of the tap, lol. I have been using a Brita filter pitcher for over a decade and wouldn't want to have to live without it. I've NEVER been a bottled water sipper - I think it all tastes as bad as tap.

I make my own morning coffee (grind my own beans, gold metal filter rather than disposable) and tea (metal infuser/bulk tea rather than bags). The little things add up.

Don't toss those beverage bottes, BTW. They can be redeemed for A NICKEL EACH now. Big ones are worth 10c. I take mine to the recycling kiosk behind the Ralph's market in my neighborhood.

[zalinda]

37. Andy Rooney just did a spot on bottled water

He sent all brands of water to a testing lab. It turns out that the water in those bottles is "dead" water, which means it has nothing in it but water. The guy at the lab, who does water testing for a living, drinks tap water. He said regular tap water has things in it that our bodies need like minerals. So, it turns out that tap water is better for you than bottled. Who knew?

zalinda