Where does our used coffee go? Technology transforms it into value

• Discover the ways innovators are recycling used coffee grounds (SCG) – the unavoidable remains of your cup of coffee that are normally thrown away as waste.
• SCGs are full of valuable chemical components, which can be extracted to make new products.
• So, with the strong potential for valorization of SCG, what is holding back larger-scale initiatives?

Have you ever thought about where your leftover coffee grounds go when they are thrown away? The reality is that these spent coffee grounds (SCG) usually go to waste, but they don’t have to.

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world and although it is a beverage myth Even though coffee is the second most traded commodity after oil (it was 98th in 2015), the industry remains huge.

Every day, people all over the planet navigate their way through a mind-blowing experience. 2.25 billion cups of coffee.

With global consumption of approximately 9 million tonnes of ground coffee per year (assuming 11 grams per cup), we produce approximately 18 million tonnes wet SCG as a by-product.