I recently read an article where scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno, were able to extract the leftover oils from spent coffee grounds from local coffee shops and convert that oil into biodiesel to fuel cars. I thought that was a really great idea, using something that would otherwise have been trashed, and (literally) squeezing one more use out of it.
As I pondered if spent coffee grounds could realistically become another option for fueling our vehicles and help our environment, I started wondering how many people knew that they could reuse spent coffee grounds and recycle them *today* in a number of ways.
So, before you throw out those spent coffee grounds, check out the following things that you can do with the grounds left over from your morning cup of joe.
Fertilizer
Spent coffee grounds make a great organic fertilizer for your lawn or garden. Don’t apply too much on any particular spot, though – the nitrogen will release rather quickly so make sure to just use about 5-6 table spoons per plant. After applying the coffee grounds, make sure to apply a little water to speed up the absorption. Coffee grounds do not have phosphorus (commonly used in fertilizers) so I don’t recommend using on plants that flower, but the grounds work very well on shrubs, plants and grass.
Insect Repellent
For whatever reason, insects really don’t like coffee – it’s a natural repellent. You probably don’t want to line the inside of your house with coffee grounds, but you may want to try sprinkling some spent grounds on ant hills and around the house to create somewhat of a barrier to keep the bugs away.
Fridge Deodorizer
Remember my post on how to store coffee, where I suggested that you don’t try keeping your coffee fresh by storing it in the refrigerator unless you wanted your coffee tasting like frozen pizza and asparagus (because coffee is porous and tends to absorb the tastes and smells of the substances around it)? Well, that’s exactly the same reason why you should place spent coffee grounds in the fridge, to absorb the different odors inside. Try refilling the Arm and Hammer box with the spent grounds the next time it needs changing.
There you have it, a few things you can do now to recycle your spent grounds!
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Another idea – http://crafts.kaboose.com/fossil.html
Never tried it, but sounds like a fun kid activity.
Wow, didn’t ever think of using them to deodorize the fridge! Do you do this personally? I’d love to hear how well it works!
After oil, coffee is the biggest commodity traded. So if making biofuel is viable we’d make sure that the people producing this crop are getting a fair deal for when coffee is Number 1. Go organic and fair trade. It’ s important.
[...] New Eco-Friendly Printer Needs No Ink, No Electricity, Just Used Coffee Grinds A pretty neat concept, this printer uses used coffee grinds for printing. The printer also does not use electricity (the printing is done manually) so this is about as ‘green’ as you can get it. See my prior blog post on other uses for spent coffee grinds. [...]