Reducing waste: alternative uses for your spent coffee grounds

Illustration by Jessica Howard

Fantastic fertiliser!

Coffee grounds make a great fertiliser, as they contain plenty of key nutrients for plant growth, such as nitrogen, calcium, and potassium. They are especially good for growing mushrooms, which wouldn’t usually grow in regular garden soil.

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Throw it on your compost!

Show some love to your worms! Compost made with coffee grounds combined with kitchen waste are more nutrient rich than kitchen waste alone.

Coffee candles!

Make candles using coffee grounds, and they’ll double as an insect repellent, as the caffeine and diterpenes found in coffee are toxic to some insects.

Eco-friendly (and free!) cleaner

Coffee grounds are abrasive and can help clean surfaces, sanitise and neutralise odours. Just mix with a splash of water, or vinegar for really stubborn messes.

Using waste products further up the supply chain

The silverskin of coffee beans are very high in antioxidants and fibre, and are now classified as novel ingredients, which can be used as a nutritional supplement in gluten free bread to reduce oxidative stress, fight inflammation and control glucose levels. Look out for silverskin bread as more coffee roasteries attempt to make profit on a wasted resource.

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