Coffee - Making a More Sustainable Choice
Ahead of World Earth Day this Thursday, April 22nd, we wanted to share with you our efforts to be a sustainable, eco-friendly office coffee company and how you can help to protect the environment with your coffee choices.
Of course, we also want to share with you how you can be more eco-friendly when it comes to coffee in general. We take a look at not only how you can choose a more environmentally friendly choice of coffee but also what you can do with those coffee grounds.
Puro – an Ethical, Fairtrade Brand
The Office Coffee Company take enormous pride in the beans that we curate for our customers. That is why we created the ethical coffee brand, Puro.
Puro works by sourcing coffee from Fairtrade co-operatives whilst supporting the World Land Trust. To-date the WLT have funded 11 rainforest reserves in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam.
Our most recent farm is located within the Puro Rainforest Reserve in Honduras which we have reforested with native trees to provide shade. We also use composted coffee cherry pulp as organic fertiliser.
Did you know, you can actually use coffee grounds in your own home fertilisation?
These organic efforts have encouraged the return of not only wildflowers but also native birds and species of bee to the area.
With Puro, we’re changing the coffee industry for the better, one bean at a time. Having achieved carbon neutral status until 2024, we plan to keep this going.
And that’s not all. We also support community projects including these three charitable initiatives:
- Trees 4 Schools - Planting trees on South African school grounds to provide vital green space.
- Coffee Growers of Congo - Empowering people in the DR Congo with tools to boost harvest and revenues.
- Orangutans of Borneo - We buy and protect Malaysian rainforest, creating safe landscapes for endangered orangutans.
What Can You Do With Left Over Coffee Grounds?
One way to a more eco-friendly coffee approach is to choose a sustainably produced coffee however, there are a number of uses for those used coffee grounds. As well as being used in successful re-forestation, they can be used for any of the following, and more besides:
Fertilising the Garden
As most soil doesn’t contain the appropriate nutrients for plant growth, give those office coffee plants a bit of a boost by adding your coffee grounds to the soil around the base of the plant. You may also want to add them to your garden to encourage healthy growth.
Add them to Your Compost
If you have no immediate requirement for the coffee grounds, you can add them to your compost for later use. It can also help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of your compost. A win, win.
Use it to Repel Insects
While you may not want to go out for an evening outdoors covered smelling of coffee (and we certainly wouldn’t advise this), it is an effective deterrent for mosquitoes and other insects. Instead of dousing yourself with the stuff, you can actually put it in bowls around outdoor seating areas to deter them.
Flea Removal
If you have a cat or dog, you can simply rub the coffee grounds in after shampooing. As you don’t want your pet transferring the staining to your furniture, or to walk around smelling of coffee, we recommend rinsing it off afterwards.
A Natural Cleaning Scrub
Using coffee grounds as a scourer is a great chemical-free way to get rid of stains on your sink or your grill. Coffee grounds do actually have anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. They can also be used to scour pots and pans.
Body Scrub
Exfoliate with coffee grounds and save all those lotions and potions. You may be raising an eyebrow at this one but Lush Cosmetics actually use coffee grounds in one of their body scrubs. Mix the grounds with water or coconut oil and use them to exfoliate.
Fix Furniture Scratches
Simply make a thick paste with the coffee grounds and a little water, rub it into the scratch with a cotton swap, wait 5-10 minutes and then rub with a dry cloth.
We could go on, there are so many effective uses for that left over coffee waste. You can also use coffee grounds for any of the following:
- Dye clothes and fabric
- Grow mushrooms
- Treat under-eye circles
- Stimulate hair growth
- Tenderize Meat
- Clean your fireplace
- Reduce the appearance of cellulite
In fact, if you are reading this and you don’t use ground coffee or coffee beans, you may want to start! After all, they are so useful.
Office Coffee Recycling – How we Can Help
The more of our daily waste we can recycle, the better. Keep your used coffee grounds out of the bin and let us help. We will arrange for First Mile or Bi-Bean to collect them from your premises. These uses grounds will then made into carbon-neutral fields. You can then be confident that you are going one step further to protect the environment as a company. We are always coming up with new ideas of what to do with used tea and coffee.
If you would like more information about our office eco-friendly coffee recycling service, get in touch.
