Smart Lifestyle Changes for the Environment

I bought a reusable, hemp coffee filter. I don't remember the brand, but it is kinda like these. I bought it at the local co-op. It is sold as an eco-friendly way to make coffee. Nice.

However, I feel like I am always nursing this thing. I reverse it inside-out and scrape off the grounds with a butter knife, although it often splatters. The grounds always stick in the seams and are a pain to get out. I try to hang it out to dry before scraping, but if it gets too dry, the grounds will shoot all over the place with the slightest touch. I used to rinse off the filter. Then I started to wonder if all the extra water was offsetting the environmental benefits of a reusable product. I only rinse it occasionally, now. The manufacturer recommends boiling the filter in water every once in a while to kill off germs and thoroughly clean it.

This is a daily hastle, and I'm not sure if it is worth it. I probably save a few boxes of coffee filters a year. I used to buy unbleached filters, and would throw all the used grounds (filter and all) right into the compost bin. The box would be sent to the recycling bin. Unbleached filters are kinder to the environment at the point of manufacture and being able to directly compost the product makes for less waste. Reusing is always better than recycling, but disposable filters seem to have minimal environmental impact in the first place.

I'm not sure if the coffee filter industry is bad enough that it deserves this much time and attention. There is certainly nothing wrong with having a reusable filter. It would be great to have reusable everything. But I also know that you can easily spend every waking hour of your day making your life greener. Most of us are going to make certain changes and leave the rest--but not all green changes are equal.

Here's my concern: We may pacify ourselves by making these drop-in-the-bucket changes in our carbon footprint but ignore the big stuff. No amount of reusable coffee filters can offset the miles driven in our cars or our home heating and A/C energy use. Our time and energy would be better spent insulating our water heaters or homes. We would be better served researching for the most fuel efficient car or experimenting with the bus lines. Other folks go out and buy new clothes regularly, which accounts for a significant strain on our environment through agriculture, pesticides and oil-based fuels.

I totally recommend the reusable coffee filter. It's a little more hastle, but it is nice--and you never run out of filters or have to use paper towels as a substitute. But don't let it lull you into thinking you are somehow "green." If you want to go green, try to target the changes that will have the biggest impact. Don't drive yourself neurotic trying to save a single coffee filter every morning and leave no energy for the big things!