From Bag to Bean – How to Recycle Coffee Products in Your Garden Centre
In a world where there is so much emphasis on reusing, recycling, upcycling, composting, biodegrading, it is great to learn new ways of getting the most out of the products that we are using regularly.
With coffee creating an important aspect of visiting a garden centre, most centres will have the wastage of coffee grounds and empty coffee bags to deal with. What if there was something else we could do with them rather than letting them be shipped off to landfill?
Read on and find out how you can reuse these waste products in your garden centre.
Coffee Grounds in Mulch
So, you have served up many delicious coffee-based drinks, either using a bean-to-cup machine, traditional barista style machine or filter machine. It is time to empty the grounds bin, where does it go? Straight into the waste bin? Think again!
There are a few ways in which you can utilise these used coffee grounds, one of which I am sure you will be able to use, if not all!
Mixing the grounds with other organic material to form mulch for spreading over the garden bed will help retain the soil’s moisture, reduce weeds and once broken down (providing it is an organic mulch) improve the fertility of the soil. Be careful not to use coffee grounds alone as they tend to be too fine and clump together, preventing water from penetrating the soil. Avoiding seeds and seedlings could also be advisable as the potential caffeine content could prove detrimental to their growth.
Coffee Grounds in Compost
Instead of sending your coffee grounds straight off to landfill, add it to your compost heap. The coffee contains nitrogen and small amounts of potassium and phosphorus, providing beneficial nutrients for your compost. Be sure to add carbon-rich material such as dry leaves and newspaper to balance with the nitrogen-rich coffee. You can also add any filter papers you may have used in the process of making coffee.
The coffee grounds also attract worms which will help with the breakdown of the composting materials.
Coffee Grounds as a Repellent
It is said that coffee grounds repel slugs and snails, protecting your precious plants, flowers and veggies.
Just be aware that coffee grounds are toxic to dogs and cats, depending on how much they consume, so ensure you keep the grounds in areas that they won’t access. However, cats do tend to be repelled by coffee so will more than likely stay away, also resolving any ‘litter box’ issues!
Coffee Bags as Planters
In order to use all of the product as a result of serving up beautiful coffees, we think it is a great idea to use the empty coffee bags as planters! Ourcoffee bags do not contain aluminium, so are kinder on the environment with a much smaller carbon footprint than they’re aluminium lined counterparts.
Keep Cups as Plant Pot Containers
More of a quirky addition to your garden centre, rather than a recycling effort, though there could be something in running a scheme wherein customers bring in their old keep cups if they are looking to purchase new ones, so instead of them heading to landfill, they feature in your garden centre, however, using keep cups to put plastic plant pots in is a nice way to add interest and something different to your plants and flowers.
Turn Your Coffee Beans Grounds into Eco Heat Logs
Your Coffee grounds can be sent to a company called bio-bean to be processed and recycled into coffee logs, an eco-friendly, sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. They contain 20% more energy than wood so burn hotter and for longer. Not only are they a great way to heat up during the winter months, opting to participate in the scheme decreases the amount of coffee grounds being shipped to landfill and emitting harmful methane gases.
If you want to hear more about our product and services, contact Refreshment Systems on 0800 169 3686.
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