Coffee waste turned into furniture?

Coffee Waste Recycling

In Britain, coffee has seen a significant growth as we Brits fall in love with coffee. It has got to a point where Starbucks stores are opening in every corner, followed by a burgeoning industry of artisan coffee roasters. Meanwhile, a company called Fairweather has been exploring ideas for new products and materials to help with sustainability.

Fairweater who has been exploring ideas for new products and materials is a designer and expert in recycling technologies and materials development, has now developed materials from the very coffee we drink from our local coffee shops. He develops materials from coffee grounds and uses them to design products that include furniture, jewellery and coffee machines.

Douwe Eggberts did a survey with roughly around 2000 people in 2012, from the survey he found out that roughly 69% from the survey spend around £1 to £5 in coffee shops throughout the week.

Fairwether says “We use coffee as a moment to take a break, it’s a luxury product,” and “The idea that it already had this high value but we only use a little of it, that was interesting because I felt that there was a way of tapping into this perceived high value the product has intrinsically.”

Food Waste Recycling

Fairweather helped develop a scheme called Greencup scheme which tackled coffee wasting and provided offices around the UK with Fairtrade coffee, then collects their waste coffee to turn it into fertiliser.

Studies show that on average Britains use about 18% to 22% of the coffee beans when they make a cup of coffee, however Fairweather says wasting coffee is not the biggest problem. He says that there are already recycling programmes within the UK that manage organic food waste. His interest is that he can use the materials that have a perceived value to them, to communicate and get people excited about the idea of sustainability and social change and environmental management.