Celebrate Earth Day! 9 Best Ways to Reuse Coffee Grounds

Happy Earth Day! Daily Rise Coffee Roasters wants to celebrate this special day dedicated to our planet. Let's remember our responsibility to protect it. As we celebrate, it's crucial to reflect on the small changes we can make in our daily lives to contribute to a more sustainable future. We believe in taking eco-friendly steps that benefit both our customers and the environment. 

Here are our top 9 ways to use coffee grounds in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

 

Exfoliate Your Skin

The coarse particles in coffee grounds work as an exfoliating agent to help remove dirt and dead cells from the skin. Coffee grounds can also be mixed with a small amount of honey and used as an exfoliating lip scrub. What's more, the caffeine in coffee grounds has potent antioxidant properties that can help protect the skin from sun damage.

Compost It for Later

If you don't have an immediate need for fertilizer, you can compost your coffee grounds for later use. Composting is a natural process that turns organic items such as food scraps and yard debris into a dark, rich material called compost. Adding compost to your yard or garden can help the soil hold onto more nutrients and water, thereby improving the health of your plants.

Fertilize Your Garden

Did you know that coffee grounds contain essential nutrients for optimal plant growth? Most gardens need to be fertilized to ensure that plants have the nourishment they need to survive. Coffee grounds contain several key minerals, including nitrogen, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, and chromium. They may also help absorb heavy metals that can contaminate soil. To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, simply sprinkle them onto the soil surrounding your plants.

Repel Insects and Pests

Certain compounds found in coffee, such as caffeine and diterpenes, can be highly toxic to insects. Because of this, you can use coffee grounds to repel bugs. They are effective at deterring mosquitos, fruit flies and beetles, and they may help keep other pests away too. To use coffee grounds as an insect and pest repellent, simply set out bowls of grounds or sprinkle them around outdoor seating areas.

Neutralize Odors

Coffee grounds contain nitrogen, which helps eliminate a foul-smelling sulfur gas from the air when it's combined with carbon. In other words, coffee grounds can help absorb and eliminate odors. You can place a bowl of coffee grounds in your fridge or freezer to neutralize odors from spoiled or fragrant foods.

Use Them as a Natural Cleaning Scrub

Coffee grounds are abrasive and can help remove buildup on hard-to-clean surfaces. They may even help sanitize due to their antibacterial and antiviral properties. Use them to scour your sink, polish your cookware, or clean your grill. Just be careful not to use them on any kind of porous material, as they can cause brown stains.

 

Use It as a Natural Dye

Coffee grounds can be used as a natural and inexpensive dye for fabrics and paper. By rewetting used coffee grounds, you can create a dye that can be used to color cotton, rayon, cellophane, linen and paper. This is an easy way to give fabrics and paper a vintage look or disguise existing stains on your clothing and towels. Used coffee grounds make a great non-toxic alternative to traditional dyes.

Repair Scratched Furniture:

Used coffee grounds can be used to repair scratched wooden furniture. First, make a thick paste with used coffee grounds and water. Then rub the paste into the scratch using a cotton swab, allow it to sit for 5–10 minutes and then wipe with a cotton rag. This should help buff out the scratch and conceal it by dying the exposed wood a dark-brown color. Continue to dab coffee into the scratch using a cotton swab until the desired color is achieved, waiting a few hours between applications.

Reuse Jute Coffee Bags

Reach out to your local coffee roaster and see if they have any jute/burlap coffee bags. There is a good chance most roasters will be happy to give them away. Some of them have great artwork that can be turned into window drapes or purses. They also work well in your garden. Put them around your plants to reduce the growth of weeds. Or you could lay them down in your walk way to keep it clean and weed free. It is a natural product and allows the water to go through, and reduce weeds from popping up. 

At Daily Rise Coffee, we try to make a difference each day. By recycling glass, cardboard, and used coffee grounds, we're taking small but impactful steps towards a greener future. We believe every business is responsible to the environment and their community, and we're dedicated to doing our part. Join us in promoting sustainability and reducing our carbon footprint this Earth Day and every day! 

  

Use code EARTHDAY to get 20% OFF any order of 4 bags or more. 4 bags = 20% off. This code will expire on Sunday, April 23rd.