What Happens to the Waste?

A quick look at the waste left behind in an office where coffee is everyone’s constant go-to fuel.  Luckily, this topic is very well publicized, prompting action from both suppliers and clients. Ideally, everyone should be making great efforts to minimize waste, and follow a well proven protocol to keep it from ending up in landfills. When it comes to coffee, TerraCycle remains the most trusted specialized recycling plant, undertaking proven processes to ensure that the packaging, otherwise not conventionally recyclable, is repurposed and reused.  Best practice calls for all suppliers to ensure that all coffee packaging is shipped directly to them, or a similar specialized recycling plant. 

Most suppliers will advise on how they follow the packaging lifecycle, while some will place this responsibility on the client.  If this is the case, you have to consider the length of time it will take your staff to collect, sort and ship the waste, as well as the shipping fees involved.  The sorting of the coffee waste is mandatory as the specialized recycling plants only accept packaging that has been cleaned of grounds.  Lastly, if someone takes the time to take on the considerable sorting responsibility, what happens to the grounds?  Are they composted, repurposed or simply end up in the landfill?

GreenRepublic collects our clients’ empty packaging [95% lighter, less-bulky and better looking than anyone else’s packaging by the way] every week.  We, ourselves, then deliver these directly to TerraCycle supporting local charities through their donations.   We also collect the filterless [yes, our coffee is that good] grounds from the machines at the same time.  And drop them off at local city farms for use as compost supplement, natural pesticide or insect repellant.  Because the beans are really that smart.