The past 12 months or so have seen all sorts of commitments from producers and retailers to help with packaging reduction, along with carbon neutral or reduced carbon supply chains and production methods all aimed satisfying at an increasingly environmentally aware customer base.
One new product that caught my eye recently was the decision from Waitrose to offer customers a coffee-based heating source! Produced from used coffee grounds “Coffee Logs” are packaged in bags of neat clean briquettes each using the grounds of approximately 25 cups of coffee. It is claimed they burn hotter and brighter than conventional wood logs whilst emitting 80% less carbon to atmosphere. Apparently, there is a hint of coffee aroma from the briquettes prior to burning but once lit smell very similar to a traditional wood fire.
It is estimated the UK produces towards 500,000 tonnes of wet coffee grounds every year much of which currently goes to landfill or is lost in the general waste stream. Bio Bean, the firm producing Coffee Logs certainly have a substantial UK raw material base to work with!
Written by Colin from KSV.