The coffee making process creates waste. Some of this waste we can work to minimise, and some is unavoidable - there is nothing we can do about it. With this in mind, I have looked at the idea of taking this waste and transforming it into a positive and useful byproduct.

When coffee beans have been ground and the coffee extracted, we are left with coffee grinds. Hot, messy, powdery, heavy, smelly and wet; these grinds present a problem in themselves, as there are limited ways to deal with and dispose of them. However, my proposal is to use these coffee grinds as the next generation of coffee cup.

The grinds - having been washed and graded to a regular consistency, could be mixed with some natural binder and compressed into a coffee cup in the style of a natural particleboard. If necessary, they could be lined to make them water tight, even though the grinds are naturally so. They would also have better heat resisting properties than current paper cups. Manufactured correctly, these cups would be strong and practical, while not damaging to the environment through the extensive use of paper. In some cases they could even be re-used by customers in beneficial ways, such as home compost etc. The constant supply and availability of these coffee grinds make them an ideal product to use, and at the same time eliminates a waste product. Potentially, supply of fresh cups and collection of grinds could be syncronised so that a drop off of cups was matched with collection of grinds, with discount incentives for the participating cafe through a regular supply of ground waste coffee.

Products such as potato skins have been used successfully in applications like this in the past, to make disposable plates etc; so why not coffee grinds for coffee cups – especially when there is such a plentiful supply available. Particleboard style materials have been proven to be strong and durable, however for this product to work it is imperative that non-toxic materials are used to cement the grinds

With the right manufacturing an efficient, safe and attractive product - environmentally friendly and useful on a number of levels could be created. In its most efficient form you could see a self-sustainable cycle; with the waste grinds from one coffee served, being enough to create the next cup in the pile…

To me this seems to be an effective way of addressing the problem without trying to modify current consumer behaviour.