Coffee for beauty - 25th March 2022

Cafes throw away lots of coffee grounds every day. They usually go in the bin. But in London, one business is changing this. Its name is UpCircle. It's using the unwanted coffee grounds in beauty products.

UpCircle collects 100 kilogrammes of used coffee grounds every day. It collects other unwanted products too. UpCircle mixes these items into beauty products. They're great for the environment.

Anna Brightman manages UpCircle. She wants more businesses to recycle.

Anna Brightman: "I think the younger audience even more so, obvious, for obvious reasons, than the older generation are concerned about the future of our planet. And we cannot continue to take a linear approach. This really has to be the way forwards and if we can prove that it can be done in the beauty industry, then we're really hopeful as a brand that we can inspire more businesses and individuals to take this approach in their lives generally."

Coffee grounds are special. Used coffee is better for your skin.

Barbara Scott-Atkinson makes the beauty products.

Barbara Scott-Atkinson: "Interestingly enough, it's a more interesting and versatile ingredient to use in, as a waste product. And in part, because it's been through that process, it's been heated and it's slightly damp, I mean you'll see from looking at the coffee. And actually that makes it more suitable to use in skincare."

Now, UpCircle's getting other rubbish too. Some products use old flowers. And it's getting water from fruit.

Designers are using unwanted natural products too. They're reusing the things around them. These items go into their designs.

Gemma Curtin works at The Design Museum in London.

Gemma Curtin: "So, there are designers in Poland looking at sugar beet waste, in Japan looking at rice husk waste, in in Mexico looking at waste from corn husks. So, people are looking at the waste that's around them. And designers are thinking, what can we do with that? How can we help the environment by using these materials?"