# I'm developing a zero-waste solution to coffee grounds disposal and need your help!



## daviesben33 (Oct 18, 2018)

It would be awesome to get some feedback regarding your most popular brewing methods, and your attitudes towards zero waste. I made a quick questionnaire, and would love to hear your opinions!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-Ch_E07p0SqUluQ3zAU4BA2L495QUzV8Tpa_swuVSbSUyng/viewform?usp=sf_link


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Who are you and what is the questionnaire for?


----------



## daviesben33 (Oct 18, 2018)

MildredM said:


> Who are you and what is the questionnaire for?


I am a Product Design student at the University of Brighton. The questionnaire should hopefully provide a greater understanding of attitudes towards grounds disposal.


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

I already do zero waste solution, the coffee grounds go in my food waste bin and that is composted by the council. Others either stick em in the garden or on a compost heap. I think this whole area is already well covered?


----------



## Oblivion (Mar 5, 2018)

I chuck mine all over the garden borders.

You can fill out the survey to that effect for me if you like. A bit too anonymous for my liking. Especially in this day and age of data mining etc.


----------



## daviesben33 (Oct 18, 2018)

So far most people seem to dispose of their grounds in the waste bin from this survey, which I find fascinating. I have found that the majority enjoy spending time in making a good cup of coffee, but many neglect disposing of their grounds in a sustainable way. Ground coffee is toxic in landfill and extremely damaging. I am aiming to make a product which is as easy as chucking grounds in the general waste bin. I hope this help


----------



## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Interesting stuff. Is ground coffee only toxic in landfill? or should we be concerned about the growing popularity of facial scrubs/body-washes etc which contain coffee grounds? What about when coffee grounds are burned? there is at least one start-up producing "coffee logs" for wood-burning stoves. Perhaps you could direct us to the key research studies in this field.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

There are processes to create activated carbon from Coffee grounds.

In S-Korea they used the resulting high surface area material to store Methane and Hydrogen, suggesting it could have a serious use as a fuel storage device.

Alternatively the product can be used as a Bio-Sorbent to filter heavy metals.

On the burning suggestion, there is a company creating bio-diesel from the extracted oil's and burning the rest as bio-mass pellets.

But back to Korea and possibly the most interesting of all, there is a project which is showing that coffee grounds can be turned into porous carbon nano material to make supercapacitors.

Interesting stuff is Coffee.


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

daviesben33 said:


> Ground coffee is toxic in landfill and extremely damaging.


Can you share the source of this information


----------



## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

daviesben33 said:


> So far most people seem to dispose of their grounds in the waste bin from this survey, which I find fascinating. I have found that the majority enjoy spending time in making a good cup of coffee, but many neglect disposing of their grounds in a sustainable way. Ground coffee is toxic in landfill and extremely damaging. I am aiming to make a product which is as easy as chucking grounds in the general waste bin. I hope this help


I worked in landfill regulation and organic or biodegradables are not toxic. They do however result in more methane and trace gas production.

Landfill being low on the waste hierarchy more and more waste is being incinerated for energy these days anyway.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

ATZ said:


> I worked in landfill regulation and organic or biodegradables are not toxic.


Perhaps assumed but not known to be completely true. Solubilized and leached extracts from organic biodegradables have been known to be mutogenic and have cyto, eco and genotoxic effects.

Don't believe me? Simple test, mix a load of coffee grounds into aquatic substrate for fish in an aquarium.. See how much they like it.


----------



## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

ValeTudoGuy said:


> Perhaps assumed but not known to be completely true. Solubilized and leached extracts from organic biodegradables have been known to be mutogenic and have cyto, eco and genotoxic effects.
> 
> Don't believe me? Simple test, mix a load of coffee grounds into aquatic substrate for fish in an aquarium.. See how much they like it.


Landfill leachates are extracted and treated, the lining systems engineered to attenuate pollutants finding their way into groundwaters.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

ATZ said:


> Landfill leachates are extracted and treated, the lining systems engineered to attenuate pollutants finding their way into groundwaters.


In first world countries. But even then, the leachates are offsited to wastewater treatment (my industry) where they mess with the UV disinfection, then there is issues with heavy metals and ammonia.

Active sludge process, seaquencing batch reactor, membrain bioreactor are under strain processes. Though things will likely get better with the improvement's coming in activated carbon stripping and reverse osmosis.

Stopping these things from going to fill in the first place would surely be the ideal?


----------



## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

ValeTudoGuy said:


> In first world countries. But even then, the leachates are offsited to wastewater treatment (my industry) where they mess with the UV disinfection, then there is issues with heavy metals and ammonia.
> 
> Active sludge process, seaquencing batch reactor, membrain bioreactor are under strain processes. Though things will likely get better with the improvement's coming in activated carbon stripping and reverse osmosis.
> 
> Stopping these things from going to fill in the first place would surely be the ideal?


The leachates are typically treated on site via treatment plants. The cost of offsiting these usually makes it prohibitive when you factor in transport and treatment costs.

Landfill is the lowest step on the waste hierarchy, so recycling the grounds or burning them is becoming more and more the norm. As Dave said, most people just put them in the food waste bin or spread them to their garden, it's a non issue.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

ATZ said:


> The leachates are typically treated on site via treatment plants. The cost of offsiting these usually makes it prohibitive when you factor in transport and treatment costs.
> 
> Landfill is the lowest step on the waste hierarchy, so recycling the grounds or burning them is becoming more and more the norm. As Dave said, most people just put them in the food waste bin or spread them to their garden, it's a non issue.


Like I said... In first world countries.


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

As before, can you share a link to this information

And can you explain why coffee grounds have an exemption for composting if they are toxic ?

Your fish tank analogy is along the lines of an alcohol analogy that a vicar once shared with me. He was shown a worm in a bottle of alcohol and it was dead showing that alcohol was bad


----------



## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

working dog said:


> Your fish tank analogy is along the lines of an alcohol analogy that a vicar once shared with me. He was shown a worm in a bottle of alcohol and it was dead showing that alcohol was bad


Haha love it! That was probably mezcal... and the worm probably had the last laugh! Reminds me of a greeting card I received once. "Eh Pedro, why you push your wife off the cliff?" -- "Tequila"

My knock box gets emptied onto the flower bed. Plants seem to love it. Can't speak for the worms but I've not come across any dead fish (or vicars) in my flower bed.

___

Eat, drink and be merry


----------



## Topshot (Oct 10, 2018)

I put used coffee grounds in my compost most of the time.

I also put coffee grounds in my worm farm, they must love it, it disappears quickly.

It must give them a boost as they seem to go through the scraps quicker after a feed of coffee grounds!


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

hotmetal said:


> and the worm probably had the last laugh!


We always told him that the worm died with a smile on his face

Lovely bloke - looked like a crazy version of magnus pike. Always seemed to pop round when we were brewing beer or decanting wine


----------



## hotmetal (Oct 31, 2013)

Magnus Pyke! There's a blast from the past! Just realised today is his years' mind. Spooky coincidence. RIP Magnus.

Our vicar can regularly be found in the village local... and when I served him my LSOL this month he said "there are worse things to be addicted to..."

___

Eat, drink and be merry


----------



## Oblivion (Mar 5, 2018)

daviesben33 sounds to me like you are creating a non existent problem in order to solve and gain a degree. Sign of the times unfortunately.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

working dog said:


> As before, can you share a link to this information
> 
> And can you explain why coffee grounds have an exemption for composting if they are toxic ?
> 
> Your fish tank analogy is along the lines of an alcohol analogy that a vicar once shared with me. He was shown a worm in a bottle of alcohol and it was dead showing that alcohol was bad


Im not the thread starter, so I don't know his source. I'm the fish tank analogy guy.

Here is a recent bit of study from Rio Uni, the same study is available on the ncbi.gov (National Center for Biotechnology Information) portal.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315188538_Impacts_of_discarded_coffee_waste_on_human_and_environmental_health

Oh and the alcohol analogy isn't a bad one, though I assume you were being sarcastic. It shows that alcohol is indeed bad when it's out of balance in an organisms environment, it's like dumping industrial quantaties of waste alcohol into all of our ponds and lakes and assuming the aquatic life will be ok because alcohol is an organic compound that evaporates.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

This thread reminds me of the ongoing argument in outdoor communities about taking home all of your rubbish.

Some folks think it's ok to throw apple cores and banana skins away because they are biodegradable. But in the wrong environment they could be toxic, fertilizing low nutrient soil and potentially killing any plants that need the low nutrient environment to exist.


----------



## ATZ (Aug 4, 2017)

The analogy is nowhere near the same.

Coffee grounds are not toxic in a landfill environment (In the UK) neither is there no zero waste solution not available already.

So it's a moot point.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

ATZ said:


> The analogy is nowhere near the same.
> 
> Coffee grounds are not toxic in a landfill environment (In the UK) neither is there no zero waste solution not available already.
> 
> So it's a moot point.


It's not a moot point at all.

1: There are large parts of the world that have less than desireable practices. Otherwise your point about existing zero waste solutions would be moot.

2: Are you suggesting that progress should stop because alternative solutions are available?

You don't even know what this person is suggesting, perhaps they are creating a low cost water filter that can be handed out in third world countries. Perhaps they are developing low cost enrgy storage cells.

Just because you don't see a need for a proposal before even understanding what it is, does not mean we should all walk so blindly.


----------



## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

ValeTudoGuy said:


> It's not a moot point at all.
> 
> 1: There are large parts of the world that have less than desirable practices. Otherwise your point about existing zero waste solutions would be moot.
> 
> ...


Very valid points and I agree entirely, but.....

The OP is directing his survey at UK based coffee users, so the information gained will not be relevant in the third world context.

I have worked on landfill sites in the bird control capacity.

I can assure you that how much used coffee grounds that were being dumped, and their potential danger was fairly low on the list of very real hazardous materials!

And that is without the unlawful use and corruption that is/was rife in the industry.

The used grounds did contribute in their own small way to the production of electricity via the methane burners and generator systems that are installed on most landfill sites.

So that has to be allowed for when considering other methods of disposal?

And on a funny note related to the alcohol analogy above...

If you take 2 whisky tumblers and fill one half full with water and the other with whisky and place a worm in each, what is the result?

The worm in the whisky dies, the one in the water survives and may even escape.

Thus, if you drink whisky, you wont have worms. Hic...

I am going.....


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

ValeTudoGuy said:


> Oh and the alcohol analogy isn't a bad one, though I assume you were being sarcastic. It shows that alcohol is indeed bad when it's out of balance in an organisms environment, it's like dumping industrial quantaties of waste alcohol into all of our ponds and lakes and assuming the aquatic life will be ok because alcohol is an organic compound that evaporates.


Absolutely - its all about levels. Anything in excess will kill you


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

Batian said:


> I can assure you that how much used coffee grounds that were being dumped, and their potential danger was fairly low on the list of very real hazardous materials!


Agree

We are not even talking about a drop in the ocean when looking at the amount of coffee grounds that are landfilled compared to other wastes

It looks like trying to find and argument to develop a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. There are far bigger issues to fix before this gets onto the list (if it belongs on the list)


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

I'm pretty sure I get all the opinions on here, even if I dont agree with them all... And yes, in reality it is a drop in the ocean.

But from what I can gather Coffee is the most consumed product on earth at somewhere in the region of 2billion cups daily and there is clearly a desire to reduce landfill and find zero waste options. Nestle, Shell and Bio-Bean seem to think so anyway.

Human nature is also human nature, a study of consumer practices and habits in the UK by a UK based student is a pretty valid endeavour and might actually provide an interesting view of data thats likely not readily available already.

Recycling of coffee grounds in the right way could ultimately make someone incredibly rich with the right product and just perhaps do some good and solve some other problems along the way.


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

This has made interesting reading. I too can see both sides - and all the ones in between. When I hear 'drop in the ocean' I think about Ice Cream spoons, drinking straws, cotton buds, toothpaste tubes etc etc. All very minute drops in oceans but all of these and 100s more are drops that are being addressed.


----------



## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

MildredM said:


> This has made interesting reading. I too can see both sides - and all the ones in between. When I hear 'drop in the ocean' I think about Ice Cream spoons, drinking straws, cotton buds, toothpaste tubes etc etc. All very minute drops in oceans but all of these and 100s more are drops that are being addressed.


Thanks. That's got my deranged mind into wondering if it woild be possible to make ice cream spoons out of used coffee grounds.


----------



## ValeTudoGuy (Aug 20, 2018)

A guy in Australia is turning the grounds into plastic cups, so yeah... Good idea


----------



## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

Sad to say, but I think you've probably all scared the guy off....none of you asked how his idea might differ from existing propositions...he just got shot down as if he was re-inventing the wheel...who knows, he might have had something of value to contribute...however small


----------



## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Scared off? Yes maybe.

The most valuable thing he should have learned, is that when you want free information (that costs others a great deal of money) it is best to be honest and open as to your true intentions.

The OP and his subsequent reply, along with the form of the questionnaire did nothing to give me the confidence to help him/her.

I looked at the issue as I would with any other 1st poster wanting to sell something. It had a whiff similar to my compost heap that is full of rapidly decomposing coffee grounds !


----------



## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

Batian said:


> Scared off? Yes maybe.
> 
> The most valuable thing he should have learned, is that when you want free information (that costs others a great deal of money) it is best to be honest and open as to your true intentions.
> 
> ...


Was he asking for commercial secrets? Did you look at the survey? - it was asking about your own domestic coffee situation and what you personally do with spent coffee and how you make coffee. Not sure where ' costs others a great deal of money' comes from. It was also optional to answer the questions.

He was not proposing to sell anything, he wanted information to presumably construct arguments, as maybe a future engineer, both for and against the model he was proposing to answer what might well be a negligible problem - who's to say? His solution if he has one might span more than coffee and give us more benefits than we might imagined.

But without the thought, consideration and conjecture put into little to large issues by the creative minority looking for solutions, we frankly would live in a poorer world - how else would you have got a Niche? (or a Dyson) (or a smartphone) (or a Wemo switch) etc...etc..


----------



## mmmatron (Jun 28, 2014)

Syenitic said:


> Was he asking for commercial secrets? Did you look at the survey? - it was asking about your own domestic coffee situation and what you personally do with spent coffee and how you make coffee. Not sure where ' costs others a great deal of money' comes from. It was also optional to answer the questions.
> 
> He was not proposing to sell anything, he wanted information to presumably construct arguments, as maybe a future engineer, both for and against the model he was proposing to answer what might well be a negligible problem - who's to say? His solution if he has one might span more than coffee and give us more benefits than we might imagined.
> 
> But without the thought, consideration and conjecture put into little to large issues by the creative minority looking for solutions, we frankly would live in a poorer world - how else would you have got a Niche? (or a Dyson) (or a smartphone) (or a Wemo switch) etc...etc..


I think an introduction would have helped, and for good practice, a brief summary of the project/study at the start of the questionnaire.


----------



## Oblivion (Mar 5, 2018)

mmmatron said:


> I think an introduction would have helped, and for good practice, a brief summary of the project/study at the start of the questionnaire.


Yup, just joined the forum and first post is information mining. No idea who he or even she is and if they even like coffee.


----------



## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

mmmatron said:


> I think an introduction would have helped, and for good practice, a brief summary of the project/study at the start of the questionnaire.


Think I agree, which possibly shows this really is a young student with yet to be learned commercial acumen. but this could have been mentioned/handled in a mentoring capacity by any of the detractors (if that is what niggled them).

Still for me is no excuse for the response handed out.


----------



## Syenitic (Dec 1, 2013)

Oblivion said:


> Yup, just joined the forum and first post is information mining. No idea who he or even she is and if they even like coffee.


Whether they like coffee is a real interesting one in this place...most of the chat here is about (in approximate order) 1. Machines (Shiny ones), 2. Grinders, 3. Other mechanical stuff - Tampers/Dist tools/Water filters, 4. Other Business / Sales. Within those discussions it is quite rare to hear about how the coffee actually tastes, more often fear that the machine is not operating at optimum (and yes I have been there myself). I often see the 'consistent' word after an upgrade but rarely the 'improved taste' phrase.

I think it matters not whether the OP likes coffee, he was looking for opinion, not secrets, to presumably aid an academic discussion. He should not have been shut down, I think it was an honest approach and was met by unnecessary responses and sidetracked discussion - that might have been shut down on a sale thread.


----------



## Oblivion (Mar 5, 2018)

This is a Coffee forum is it not? The predominant motivation for most I would imagine is an interest in Coffee.

As for the OP looking for an opinion not secrets? The survey was not asking for opinion and look at the last 2 questions on the first page......What have they got to do with waste management?

How secure is the survey site, where is the information going? Who is responsible for it? Look at the Google disclaimer at the bottom....It's insecure.


----------



## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Syenitic said:


> Was he asking for commercial secrets? Did you look at the survey? - it was asking about your own domestic coffee situation and what you personally do with spent coffee and how you make coffee. Not sure where ' costs others a great deal of money' comes from. It was also optional to answer the questions.
> 
> He was not proposing to sell anything, he wanted information to presumably construct arguments, as maybe a future engineer, both for and against the model he was proposing to answer what might well be a negligible problem - who's to say? His solution if he has one might span more than coffee and give us more benefits than we might imagined.
> 
> But without the thought, consideration and conjecture put into little to large issues by the creative minority looking for solutions, we frankly would live in a poorer world - how else would you have got a Niche? (or a Dyson) (or a smartphone) (or a Wemo switch) etc...etc..


I have just spent about 30 minutes making a comprehsive reply to your post. It was duly lost in the ether after several 'captcha' processes! I am not impressed.

The synopsis is:

I understand and am in some agreement to your thoughts here.

However, the request was poorly presented (particularly for a university student).

The requesting post was in conflict with the second post offered by way of explanation. It was not subsequently elaborated on. As per other contributors, I felt that it was potentially a marketing research rather than a bona fide request with a view re coffee waste disposal.

I did look at the 'on line' questionnaire. The first page became more personal and more like market research.

I decide to see what happened if I did not answer a question. I was 'ordered' to answer the question. Not good for a voluntary effort!

There was no confirmation of data security or declaration as to the ownership of the questionnaire. It was overall poor.

Suspicions more aroused, I returned to the CFUK thread to find others had similar suspicions.

At worst I considered this post to be a data mining operation. Or at best a poorly thought out and executed genuine request for information by someone, who as a university student, should be the best of the country's best, and also better instructed.

PS.

The use of "It would be awesome" immediately rankled and aroused the initial suspicions as whether the poster was indeed a genuine university student seeking information regarding waste management.

We are after all a forum populated in the main by the more mature!


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

> We are after all a forum populated in the main by the more mature!


 @Batian!! There's no way on God's earth can @Snakehips be accused of being mature


----------



## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

MildredM said:


> @Batian!! There's no way on God's earth can @Snakehips be accused of being mature
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That is SO Harsh.................


----------



## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

Drewster said:


> That is SO Harsh.................


True obviously - but harsh!


----------



## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

On the OP.....

If they had introduced themselves and made an attempt to engage - I am sure they would have got a lot "better" response.

I haven't looked at the survey so can't comment on the content/professionalism of that but the post had the feeling of a Cut&Paste, as if into many forums, with a bare and curt "fill in my survey"....... This immediately irked me... and it seems others!

If they were genuine students - I hope they learned a (valuable) lesson........


----------



## 4515 (Jan 30, 2013)

There is already a solution to compost coffee grounds which is why they have an exempion. Its as big an issue as making compost from grass cuttings, tea leaves and spent plants - ie a non-issue. There is no trace of the grounds afterwards, unlike plastic waste which decomposes slowly, if at all. As for toxins, there would be a fair few of us on here pushing up daisies if coffee was so toxic.

There are initiatives in place and ongoing to recycle coffee cups (the plastic liner that most have mean that it cant be used for paper). Hubub have done a fair bit to push this forward.

I'd be more interested in a project to recycle coffee pods which is an issue


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

daviesben33 said:


> It would be awesome to get some feedback regarding your most popular brewing methods, and your attitudes towards zero waste. I made a quick questionnaire, and would love to hear your opinions!


Well! You did ask for opinions @daviesben33


----------



## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

My assumption as always with these surveys and the specific approach taken is to assume it's market research. They spam various online communities e.g. for this one, environmental, coffee, cooking etc.. with an online questionairre. Said replies are either sold on, or they have been commissioned to collect data for a business or other organisation. Is the person really a student...I doubt i, are they simply using this and other communities for financial gain, probably.


----------



## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

DavecUK said:


> My assumption as always with these surveys and the specific approach taken is to assume it's market research. They spam various online communities e.g. for this one, environmental, coffee, cooking etc.. with an online questionairre. Said replies are either sold on, or they have been commissioned to collect data for a business or other organisation. Is the person really a student...I doubt i, are they simply using this and other communities for financial gain, probably.


This questionnaire didn't strike me as professionally designed. As ever with bona fide market research, you are always free to refuse, or to withdraw at any time.


----------



## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

RDC8 said:


> Interesting stuff. Is ground coffee only toxic in landfill? or should we be concerned about the growing popularity of facial scrubs/body-washes etc which contain coffee grounds? What about when coffee grounds are burned? there is at least one start-up producing "coffee logs" for wood-burning stoves. Perhaps you could direct us to the key research studies in this field.


I make my own face scrub from coffee grounds and it hasn't fell off, yet


----------



## ashcroc (Oct 28, 2016)

My coffee grounds go into the food waste bin to be processed safely by the council. Personally I'd have thought the packaging would have a more worrysome effect - especially since China is restricting importation of waste plastics from other countries now.


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

joey24dirt said:


> I make my own face scrub from coffee grounds and it hasn't fell off, yet


Do you use it as a shampoo


----------



## joey24dirt (Jan 28, 2017)

MildredM said:


> Do you use it as a shampoo


? it cleans my scalp brilliantly


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

joey24dirt said:


> ? it cleans my scalp brilliantly


So your hair DID fall ......


----------



## MildredM (Feb 13, 2017)

Interesting programme on R4 now (8pm Tuesday) about waste. File on 4. Criminal gangs dumping waste. Nothing to do with the original post but for want of a better place thought I'd add it here.


----------

