Kent firm recycles coffee grounds into plant food

Canterbury's cafe's, bars and restaurants can now have their used coffee grounds recycled

A Kent firm is recycling used coffee grounds from cafes and restaurants in Canterbury into plant food pellets.

The pellets produced by Countrystyle Recycling will be available in garden centres and sold to horticulturalists.

A large proportion of coffee grounds produced by the leisure and hospitality industry are currently collected in general waste and go to landfill.

Martin Heathcote, Countrystyle Recycling's chief executive, said: "We’re a local company and we want people to join us on the journey to making waste circular

"Recycling one tonne of coffee grounds through our scheme saves 580kg of CO2 if it were to go into landfill - that's the equivalent of driving 1,400 miles!"

He said the coffee pellets are like "rocket fuel" for the plants as they provide essential nutrients. They will be available for sale to gardeners next year.

Martin Heathcote, owner of Countrystyle Recycling says the pellets provide essential nutrients for plant growth

Anna Carpenter, owner of Café No 35 in Canterbury, has signed up to the recycling scheme.

She said: “It’s a great sustainability story and it matches with our ethos perfectly.

"We’re passionate about great coffee and we’re also very passionate about plants. Café No 35 is also known as the garden café, so it’s a perfect fit.”

Cafe 35 in Canterbury is one of the first businesses to sign up to the scheme

The initiative was also welcomed by Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID).

Chief executive Lisa Carlson said: “Canterbury has over 180 restaurants, cafes and hotels - all of whom produce a lot of coffee, so it’s fantastic for them to have the opportunity to not only recycle but reuse coffee grounds for a new eco-friendly purpose.”

The UK produces 250,000 tonnes of used coffee grounds a year.