Top 7 Benefits of Recycling Used Coffee Grounds

As coffee lovers, we use multiple devices and brewing methods to get coffee in the way we desire. These machines and tools such as a moka pot, a bean to cup machine, or even a prosumer barista model coffee machine. All these methods result in large amounts of used coffee grounds that will usually end in the garbage.

However, you can benefit from used coffee grounds in more ways than one. From using it as a compost or a natural cleaner, the options are endless. Here are remarkable and easy ways for recycling used coffee grounds and save the environment.

1. A good fertilizer for your garden

Coffee grounds can be a good source of nitrogen for many acidophilic plants including many vegetables, fruits, and flowers. It can be used directly on azaleas, roses, rhododendrons.

For example, fruits and vegetables that can benefit from coffee grounds include spinach, blueberries, and tomatoes. Carrots can also get better if you add coffee grounds when sowing it. You will not only get better carrots but also keep your carrots clean from any pest attack.

If you do your own composting at home, add the used coffee grounds for a better and cheaper fertilizer.

New research suggests that coffee grounds should be composted for about 100 days first before putting them on the plants. At first coffee grounds contain high levels of caffeine, tannins, and chlorogenic acids. These compounds can be toxic on plants’ soils.

Anyways, after you compost the coffee grounds completely, these toxins subside. After that the nitrogen and potassium content of the beans will be beneficial for the plants.

2. Keep your house smelling good

To remove any unwanted odors in your house, you can recycle your coffee into a deodorant. Use a bowl of dried used coffee grounds and put it in the fridge or on the counter. It will work as an absorbent material for any unpleasant odor that may result from storing food or from cooking.

DIY tip: You can use coffee grounds as a component in abrasive homemade kitchen cleaners to increase its scratchiness component.

3. Refreshen your indoors with used coffee grounds

Coffee grounds can be a fragrant substitutes to essential oils in candles. Use the old coffee grounds to make a refreshing scented coffee candle and enjoy the coffee aroma.

Damp coffee grounds can help you inhibit dust while cleaning your fireplace. Sprinkle some used coffee grounds around the fireplace to decrease the dust while cleaning. After that sweep the grounds with the ashes and garbage.

4. Coffee grounds as a skin care routine

Used coffee grounds can be great for your skin in many ways. They can be used as a mask for exfoliation. Use yesterday’s coffee ground as a scrub for your skin. You can do this in the shower and use water afterwards to remove the debris.

Pro tip: if you have a dog, use the coffee scrub on him too after giving him a bath. Dogs love this kind of skin stimulation and it keeps them cleaner. Its body will be free from fleas. The smell of the coffee can be repellant for many insects as ants and fleas.

Coffee ground mask is also a great mask for your face. Its antioxidant ability makes your skin fresh and bright. To make this mask make a paste of warm and damp coffee grounds mixed with coconut oil (unrefined), and raw almond milk. Spread the paste on your face in a circular motion, then rinse with fresh water after 10 minutes.

Keep your hands fresh with coffee grounds. Scrub the morning leftover grounds in your hands to remove any unwanted smell. This tip is useful after working with onions in the kitchen as they leave your hands smelly even after using soup.

5. Coffee can keep the ants away

Sprinkle some used coffee grounds around in the corners that ants come from in your house. The scent of the coffee bothers the ants and it works as natural pesticides with out their hazards.

6. Make some coffee fun with your kids

Coffee grounds can be used in arts as a stain due to its vivid coffee color. It can be a perfect and safe material for crafts projects for your kids. The options are endless using this coffee grounds color and it also gives you a quality time with your kids.

Coffee grounds can also be used as a salt dough. Mix some used coffee grounds with salt, water and flour to make an easily moldable dough for the kids. It can be shaped easily as they play and then dried. Once it is hard it can be hung on the wall, or sent as a gift for friends and family.

7. Recycle your office coffee

Your office surely consumes a lot more coffee than you think. Coffee waste in offices can be a valuable resource for recycling. Most companies now aim to go all the way to digital interactions to reduce paper wastes, so coffee recycling might be the next.

Disposing the used coffee grounds into the waste is not a good choice nowadays. Some businesses now started to separate their coffee ground waste and send them to be composted.

Composting the coffee grounds may not be the best options, as coffee waste can be used for more than just a fertilizer. Coffee waste can make coffee logs that burn to provide warmth. They provide more burning time and more temperature.

Conclusion

It turns out the products of the roasting process are not just waste. The used coffee ground is way too valuable to be tossed as a waste in the garbage. It can be recycled into multiple useful items as toys, pesticides, scrubs, and compost. Use the coffee waste at home to save the environment and be an eco-friendly coffee drinker.