Coffee: A New Energy Source?
Hands up who can’t even begin to function without a coffee in the mornings?? If that’s you (well even if it’s not you) then read on… Whether brewed at your favourite coffee shop or made home, it’s one of the world’s biggest industries, the UK alone spent £9.6bn in 2017 and coffee is the second biggest export commodity in the world.
It doesn’t take a genius to know the industry is only going to get bigger. More brews. More flavours. More coffee shops. But with all that coffee, comes a lot of coffee waste.
So, it’s time we got tough on coffee and its waste, just think of it as a lump of coal that has the potential to be a whacking great diamond given half the chance!
Time To Recycle Your Coffee
The UK gets through an average of 95 million coffees a day. That means over 2500 tonnes of coffee grounds head for the bin. That’s a lot of wasted potential.
But, did you know that you can now turn your waste coffee grounds into biofuel? To speak in layman’s terms Coffee Logs… think of them as amazing replacements to using wood or coal on your open fire.
Coffee Logs are carbon neutral and made from the grounds of 25 cups of coffee. They burn 20% hotter and longer than kiln-dried wood and are easy to buy from Amazon, Morrisons, Abel & Cole, B&Q and Ocado. Why not close the loop and send the waste coffee grounds from your workplace to be turned into biofuel?
Here at Cawley’s, we work with bio-bean, the specialists in creating biofuels from coffee grounds, helping you to dispose of your coffee responsibly.
Not the decision maker> Don’t worry you can still help, ask your workplace if their waste disposal is as efficient and cost-effective as it could be. Removing heavy waste coffee grounds from waste streams can help businesses save money, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and displace conventional fossil fuels.
The Truth About Coffee
When you throw your coffee grounds in the general waste bin, they could be being dumped in landfills along with all our other waste — and landfills contribute to 22% of our methane output.
Methane is a whopping 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide… who knew!… so we need to take action to reduce our use of landfills and increase our rates of recycling.
Run a business? Due to the UK landfill tax levied on landfill site operators, costs are passed onto business owners and customers through higher collection fees. Coffee grounds can also contaminate dry recycling causing more problems and more fees.
Making Changes At Home
Even if you’re not yet in a position to start contributing vast amounts of coffee grounds, you can still make small changes at home.
Save your used coffee grounds to use as fertiliser; they give the soil a boost of nitrogen.
Dry the grounds on a baking tray and then place them in bowls around the house to eliminate odours.
Use to repel slugs, snails and ants by sprinkling where needed.
Add to marinades to give meats a richer flavour, or use in chilli or chocolate dishes as a spice. (Check the recipe first!)
Make an invigorating exfoliating scrub to stimulate the turnover of skin cells. Combine with coconut oil, or olive oil as a base.
So, with all these ideas, isn’t it time we did something about those coffee grounds?
PLEDGE NOW