The 5 best ways to use old coffee grounds
Alex | June 28, 2022
Many of us are becoming increasingly aware of the environment and making a conscious effort in reducing waste. One small change you can make is to reuse your old coffee grounds. Most people throw them away so they get sent to landfill where they actually emit harmful gas, methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It’s one of the primary causes of global warming so it’s important we don’t just throw our coffee grounds in the bin. There are actually lots of useful ways to reuse them in the house, the garden and at the office. These are some of our favourites.
Fertiliser
Coffee grounds make a fantastic nutrient-rich fertiliser plus their texture also helps to improve drainage, water retention and aeration in the soil. You must remember to compost them before putting them on your plants though. The coffee grounds need to have decomposed already so plants are able to absorb the nutrients. Also during the process of decomposition, it can produce a small amount of heat that can cause damage to plant roots. So always remember to compost them first to keep your plants healthy.
Absorbs odours
Coffee grounds absorb odours so they can come in handy to keep small spaces smelling fresh. A common use is in fridges or freezers. Simply fill a container with coffee grounds and pop it in and it’ll absorb any bad odours for a couple of weeks. Once you’re done with it, you can still use it as fertiliser afterwards.
Skincare
If you want smoother skin, coffee grounds could be the answer. Coffee is packed full of antioxidants and has an excellent exfoliating action when applied directly to the skin. This DIY sustainable scrub can be made simply by mixing your grounds with some coconut oil. To use, just rub it into your skin in circular motions in the shower and rinse. There are lots of other scrub recipes you can try out – find out which one works best for you.
Grow mushrooms
Mushrooms are not only delicious but they’re a great source of healthy B vitamins: riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid. The combination may help protect heart health so they’re really good for you. You can actually grow mushrooms yourself really easily in, yes, you’ve guessed it, coffee grounds! You can find out exactly how to grow your own here.
At the office
If your office, like ours, gets through a lot of coffee during the working day, you’re going to be creating a lot of coffee grounds. Rather than throw them away, we encourage our customers to partner up with BioBean. BioBean is the world’s largest recycler of coffee grounds who recycle spent coffee grounds into a broad spectrum of efficient, sustainable products for a range of markets. To understand how coffee recycling with BioBean works, head to their website.
Contact us
If you’ve got any coffee queries or you’re thinking of upgrading your current coffee facilities in the office, get in touch with us. We have a wide range of office coffee machines along with a fantastic selection of premium coffees to keep your team happy and hydrated at work.