Coffee Composite

Upcycling coffee waste

Every year millions of tons of coffee waste end up in the landfill. The argument that this is okay because it is 'just' organic waste does not really work here, since decomposing coffee waste produces a lot of methane, which is a very potent green-house gas. This offers an opportunity though, not an issue.

Coffee waste has a beautiful deep brown colour and the fine grains make it a very attractive raw material to work with. The waste is collected at café’s, dried, strained and ready to be used in the coffee composite material. The material can be mixed with coloring agents and various binders depending on the outlook and properties needed for the products. Since the coffee grounds act almost like bricks in a wall not a lot of binder is needed to hold them together, meaning the majority of the material is indeed coffee based.

The small amount of binder and pigments used are carefully sourced to be as sustainable as possible.

The first range of products made with the material are a set of coffee cups and a tray. The glass components are re-used Nutella jars while the coffee composite pieces keep your fingers from burning and make the cups pleasant to hold. It also keeps the hot beverages served in the cups warm.

However, the possibilities with this material are much more versatile and we are currently developing new applications.

This project is an ongoing collaboration with designer Victor Ferreiro and various other partners based in Barcelona, Spain.

Nominated for the ELISAVA Professional awards 2022