Coffee grounds: recycle and reuse!
February 28, 2016
Coffee; a drink, a culture, a religion? No matter how strongly you feel about coffee (or how strongly you like yours) here at the Christchurch Farmers Market we are certainly big enthusiasts! We are such fans in fact, that we are opening a brand new coffee stall called “The Coffee Lawn”, located just around the back of the house by the planter boxes. In anticipation of the overload of used coffee grounds we are going to have on our hands (we hope!), we thought it was timely that we examine the many ways coffee grounds can be reused. We will have free used coffee grounds available at the stall for anyone that wants to take some home to try out these easy ideas.
Five ideas for reusing coffee grounds
1. Facial and body scrub
Feeling in need of a little pampering? Coffee grounds are great for exfoliation and this mixture will have you feeling enlivened and invigorated! Simply mix around 3 tablespoons of coffee grounds with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Massage the mixture onto your face in gentle, circular motions and rinse with warm water. Increase the quantity of the ingredients to make a body scrub.
2. Nourish your compost
Coffee grounds are a great addition to your compost bin as they add all important nitrogen into the soil. Just sprinkle grounds in and give the compost a bit of a stir. Added bonus; if you have worms in your compost they will love the grounds!
3. Keep pests away
Sticking to the garden theme, pest such as slugs and snails don’t like the acid in the coffee grounds. Just sprinkle the grounds around your garden to keep bugs at bay!
4. Scour pots and pans
Just as coffee grounds are great for exfoliating your skin, they are great for scrubbing your pots and pans. Place a few teaspoons of coffee grounds on your scourer or cleaning cloth and scrub away grease and grime, just make sure you rinse thoroughly afterward!
5. Getting rid of odours
Rubbing coffee grounds on your skin after you chop fragrant vegetables like garlic and onions is an easy way of getting rid of persistent smells.
You can tell that we really like recycling as we have even turned the coffee sacks into comfy pillow seating at the stall, all ready for your coffee drinking pleasure. Make sure you pop down on Saturday; enjoy the coffee, the cosy seating and grab some of our grounds on your way out, we love knowing they are going to be recycled and reused!
CFM
