stuartrank1n
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https://spacedaily.com/m-a-british-firm-collects-used-coffee-grounds-from-caf-s-and-other-businesses-dries-them-and-presses-them-into-fire-logs-each-log-contains-the-grounds-from-about-25-cups-of-coffee-an/
cbale2000
So, they took an idea that the boy scouts have used for fire starters for literally decades and made a product with it basically?
Newdonster
I send my used K-CUPS in for recycling (free). I hope they do something like this with the grounds.
astrangehop
No amount of recycling will make up for the incredible amount of waste there. Yes, even the biodegradable ones.
slinkiisu
INHALE THE CAFFEINE SMOKE
ElectricSlideOrchestra
I bet it smells amazing too
TheMayorOfTittyCity
Burnt coffee? It smells horrendous. I'm a coffee addict, I have two espressos a day everyday no matter what from my kitchen. If I don't have an espresso by 2:00 p.m. I get a headache. I absolutely am obsessed with coffee. But actively roasting coffee and burnt coffee stinks. I can't imagine lighting coffee grounds on fire. It has to smell absolutely terrible.
VitaminJay
IIRC those logs burn hotter because they're burning faster.
GoSibi
Sounds like those starter logs.
fudgycurmudgeon
Yeah this isn’t nee, I burned them in my apartment fireplace years ago when wood wasn’t allowed.
dghughes
So not quite as good as wood once you read the article. Not bad though if the price is cheap. I wouldn't think only this log would be used not any wood. Its point is to reduce waste not replace wood. Are there that may wood burning stove in the UK? And how do they dry the coffee grounds that needs energy.
redditmcredditface
im trying to find an earlier example, but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOiJRMDMEXo you can also use coconut
Thorketil
A scam botnet hijacked your original comment containing a YouTube link, swapped the link into an onlinevideo link, and used other bots to upvote it. At the same time, these bots downvote your original comment. This bot network isoperating with a large amount of bot accounts. This has already been done to many YouTube links.
dashers
Seems their website is defunct: https://www.bio-bean.com/
ThingsThatDontJustifyGenocide
Garbage AI written article.
aChungusAmongUs
Makes good compost too
PutItInNeutral
Burnt coffee is a smell that will make you think you're having a stroke.
LimaZulu
nah, that's burnt toast
PutItInNeutral
Also burnt feathers.
UrbanCowboyGuns
That's pretty cool that someone invented something that will put even more CO2 into our atmosphere. Whatever happened to using coffee grounds as compost?
soniclettuce
When organic matter breaks down via composting, it also turns into (mostly) CO2.
nichfra
Having them rot releases more methane which is even worse than CO2, so burning it actually reduces GHG emissions in CO2eq.
Thorketil
It is CO2-neutral. Plants absorb CO2 and release O2 as long as they are alive. Dead plant material releases stored CO2 back into the atmosphere. The crucial point is simply that new plants are grown to replace the burned plant material.
somnif
https://pinemountainfire.com/products/java-log/ They've been a thing for a while.
KingGingerbear
Oìk
somnif
There are some DIY versions too, but they mostly use binders (wax, molasses, etc).
ttra
If you want Java logs, I recommend log4j
DaisyfromDownunder
Or better still, use it as compost to improve your soil structure and chemistry while sequestering the carbon rather than putting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Thorketil
The decomposition of plant material consumes O2 and releases CO2. Improper composting also leads to the proliferation of putrefactive bacteria that emit methane. Finished compost retains a residual amount of CO2 that remains sequestered in the soil. While composting is more climate-friendly than incineration, replanting is necessary to re-sequester the released CO2.
FiftyShadesOfMascarpone
Yep. The exact same thing happens when coffee grounds decompose on a landfill instead of a compost heap. And like you said, while it's not ideal it's better than incineration, which means the "coffee logs" business idea is pretty inane. Ideally, you want to collect compostable waste separately (which is already done in many countries) and compost it industrially or, better yet, use it in a biogas plant.
katolu
So it would smell like Starbucks
BeckyLookAtHerButt
Yes, a Starbucks burning to the ground... I'll see myself out.
WhoToldYouLifeWasFair
Bitter, burned coffee? Yeah, probably.
SixSixxtySix
*Charbucks
SisyphusRollin
Its been how many decades? Just burning the f'n coffee and everyone adding 10 sodas worth of sugar onto it to make it drinkable.
RansomElwin
Milk. Xbux sells far more milk than any other product.
Fanner50
In my 4 decades of drinking Diet Coke, I’ve only had one bad one (a couple years over date).
mwwoggy
Have you ever smelled burned coffee? It doesn't smell like starbucks
Thorketil
Starbucks roasts its beans too heavily. This creates that unpleasant coffee taste when consumed black. Their core business consists of milk-and-coffee blends sold in a hundred different variations. These mixed drinks mask the burnt flavor. And they cost too much.
SubtleOrc
I'm so so sorry that you naturally associate that shit with coffee...
katolu
Well, it's kinda everywhere, ya know?
witheredspoon
Well shitty BURNED coffee, yeah.
ps238principal
Used coffee grounds also make excellent fertilizer.
revasseur
Apparently good for growing some kinds of mushrooms.
DaveSamsonite
Used animal food also does, and it's a byproduct of every animal's life on earth. It can be sundried and used for fuel if it is used animal food from most hooved animals. It is commonly used in India.
LongtimeLurkerFirsTimePoster
I toss mine into the bushes in my front yard every day. After 5 years, you'd think there-d be a big pile, but nope. Not a single trace.
DaveSamsonite
You're welcome. I stop by and steal them every Monday.
1LostPuppy
Believe it or not, so do Republicans.
nikinnorway12
yep. i am tempted to start taking them from work.
VitaminJay
and tea leaves. I put both into my compost bin.
aShogunNamedMarcus
Discarded pizza boxes are an excellent source of cheese
SubtleOrc
which is good for fascinating women
MrStealYourGiF
Fatbergs can be mined from the sewers.
crashmat
Like they do in Schmaltzberg in Überwald
MySushi
https://media0.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPWE1NzM3M2U1N3lyZDg3bHdydjdzMzB0dWt3bGdtZGRkZzhrbWc2Yjd2azAyaGdwMyZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjdD1n/glmRyiSI3v5E4/200w.webp
JustSomePersonThere
It’s a Simpsons reference
ElbowDeepInUserSub
Yes but in massive bulk they end up in a landfill. The central thrust of their argument for this was that burning releases CO2 in quantities that produce far less greenhouse activity than the methane that is released when it breaks down.
sundaymondayhippyday
I like this attention to not being a negative Nancy/ Nathan!
Thank goodness for that …..
Margrave9000
I suppose methane is a byproduct of the fertilizer use. Think of the methane footprint of the milk in a cappuccino and coffee 'culture' suddenly turns out to be a very dangerous contributor to climate change. (Don't even touch the costs of global shipping and roasting.)
RacecarIsRacecarBackwards
It will release methane only in anaerobic conditions i.e. when you pile it up without aeration. When composted properly, it will only release CO2.
ElbowDeepInUserSub
Right, I'm not talking about small-scale home composting. I'm saying the coffee grounds in question were known to primarily head to landfills, and the absolutely vast majority of those grounds probably resumed going to landfills the moment the company ceased operations.
revasseur
Not only that, but whatever energy you get from burning the coffee grounds you don't need to burn fossil fuel for.
FartsSmellBad
They really snuck that "until the model couldn't sustain itself" into the tag line, and the article paints a far lower performance
aducksayswhat
The article notes that they're based in London, the expensive capital city London. Also interest rates on loans which they likely have to get the business going are no longer trivial rates and look like they'll continue to rise, so there's some survival of the fittest compared to being able to sustain "zombie companies" because the loan was easy to maintain.
somnif
The 'never turned a profit' thing isnt surprising, most startups take several years to get into the black, but still a thin margin business
ripstripsart
I didn’t have to finish reading the screenshot to tell you that it was going to be less efficient than just growing and cutting down tree trees.
Raventhief
Well, it started off needing a material that seemed to be worthless, so they probably got it free or cheap. Then they demonstrated that it had value.
astrangehop
It *doesn't* have value. Real firewood is sevan dollars a bundle. Go pay someone to collect a single dollar bill from 14 different city blocks, but then they have to have space to dry and press those bills and then sell them. Pay that person 22 dollars an hour. See how much money you make.
Yeah something like waste treatment could give you value via free materials, but the margins on something like coffee grounds is laughable.
sapphirelabsx
Doesn't have value to you*
Not everything is about chasing margins and making everything worse for everyone around you.
THISISYELLING
I think that is what they’re saying. It doesn’t have any value. It is a castoff. The moment people see it has a use, then they want to put a value on it in order to continue the drive for profit where none should really exist.
Snooj
Basically it looks like they turned free waste into something that already cost very little. I used to by a cord of seasoned wood for about $300. That's a lot of fucking wood. So they had to find a way to collect, process, and distribute a bunch of coffee waste for enough of a margin less than $300 that it meant people would buy it and with startup money they had about a year to set up a big enough supply chain. Seem unlikely.
yamsonyamsonyams
100% this. I have piles of wood in my yard that I get for free from fallen trees in my yard
BananaForScaIe
I would imagine collection at scale was the issue. Going around and picking up business's garbage once or twice as a test is one thing. Doing it every cuople of days across hundreds or thousands of businesses is INFRASTRUCTURE.
BananaForScaIe
Honestly they likely would have been better off partnering with office coffee supply companies, allowing them to give customers REBATES (even minimal + feelgoods + CSR would convince many companies) - minimal cost, no infrastructure.
SirRealOfTheShire
Twenty-five cups might use around 200–225 g of dry coffee grounds. After brewing, once they’re dried and compressed into a fire log, you may only end up with something around half a pound of actual coffee material. That's a very small log.
Snooj
Wood is already not very expensive. It's a great idea but it's not providing much of en economical benefit. Some things are simply not meant to be.
SimSimSimsalabim
Main benefit is reduction of waste to prevent creation of methane. It is better to burn those used grounds and get carbon dioxide than it is to let it rot and get methane that is 28x more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.
forelle
Also: wood literally grows on trees.
Snooj
But takes a lot to process. The idea that you can do the same thing with trash people are throwing away seems appealing because trash is free, but the collection and processing makes it less free.
Thorketil
I've read: "you can do the same thing with trash people"