Fuelled by recycled coffee - 6th July 2020

Our morning cappuccinos are being transformed into fuel by a revolutionary biotech start up.

As a result of guzzling a staggering daily 95 million cups of coffee, the UK generates half a million tonnes of waste coffee grounds annually. The discarded grounds end up in landfill, where they begin to emit toxic gases, exacerbating the global warming issue.

Coming up with the solution is Bio-bean, a 7-year-old company that gathers, pulverises and reforms the grounds into a green household and industrial fuel. This innovative enterprise has secured a steady supply of raw material from some big name partners, such as Costa Coffee, London Stansted Airport and Network Rail.

Processing the waste grounds into recyclable material requires an initial decontamination stage to get rid of any unwanted debris. This is followed by drying, screening and pressing phases. The resulting biomass pellets and home fire logs, which boast an especially low moisture content and high ash melting point, are manufactured and shipped out. Those who would normally incinerate timber products are instead able to run their industrial boilers and heat commercial greenhouses on these used granules.

Whilst small quantities of greenhouse gas are still dispersed into the atmosphere, it's nothing compared to the 80% increase of fumes released by grounds decomposing in landfill sites.

Despite the temporary closure of countless coffee shops during the UK's coronavirus lockdown, Bio-bean has managed to maintain its operations by widening its pool of recycling partners. With high hopes for the future, the company intends to expand into Europe, creating a European plant producing state-of-the-art green products for an eco-conscious market.