13 Ways to Use Old Coffee Grounds
Coffee Ground Waste and 13 ways to recycle it.
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages consumed all over the world.
People usually discard the grounds left behind after it’s brewed, but after reading this article, you may reconsider throwing them out.
Coffee grounds have many practical uses around the home and garden and can even help spruce up your beauty routine!
If you don’t make a lot of coffee at home, then Alowishus can hook you up with your coffee grounds FOR FREE! Just bring in a bucket with a lid and your name on it, and we’ll fill it up for you to use.
Here are 13 creative uses for used coffee grounds.
1. Fertilise Your Garden
A great way to reuse coffee grounds waste and help you garden at the same time.
Most soil does not contain the essential nutrients needed for optimal plant growth.
Also, as plants grow, they absorb nutrients from the soil, ultimately leaving it depleted.
Thus, most gardens need to be fertilized to ensure that plants have the nourishment they need to survive.
Coffee grounds contain several key minerals for plant growth — nitrogen, calcium, potassium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and chromium.
They may also help absorb heavy metals that can contaminate soil. What’s more, coffee grounds help attract worms, which are great for your garden.
To use coffee grounds as fertiliser, simply sprinkle them onto the soil surrounding your plants.
2. Compost It for Later
If you do not 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 or humus. Our Alowishus takeaway coffee cups are PLA lined instead of plastic lined which makes them 100% fully compostable in a commercial composting facility. Unfortunately the cost of these facilities doesn’t make it economical for local councils to have them.
Adding compost to your yard or garden can help the soil hold onto more nutrients and water, thereby improving the health of your plants.
Other items to compost include grass clippings, leaves, bark, shredded newspaper, brush, herbs, egg shells, stale bread and fruit and vegetable trimmings.
You should avoid composting meat and fish scraps, dairy products, diseased plants, grease and oils.
3. Repel Insects and Pests
Certain compounds found in coffee, such 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.
You can also keep pests out of your garden by scattering coffee grounds around your plants. They help create a barrier that slugs and snails do not like to crawl over.
4. Remove Fleas from Your Pet
Fleas are a common problem in household pets, and treating them can be costly and time-consuming.
There are several flea-removal products on the market, but many contain harsh chemicals and can produce unwanted side effects.
Luckily, fleas don’t seem to like coffee, and you may want to consider coffee grounds as a natural treatment.
Simply rub the grounds throughout your pet’s fur after shampooing. Then rinse them off and allow your pet to dry as usual.
Some say doing this may also add smoothness and shine to your pet’s coat, but there is little to no research to support either of these claims.
However, coffee grounds may be less effective than a prescription product, so if your pet has fleas and this treatment does not work, you may want to contact a vet to discuss alternative options.
Also, coffee grounds should only be used externally. They can be toxic to dogs if consumed.
5. Neutralise Odours
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 odours. You can place a bowl of coffee grounds in your fridge or freezer to neutralise odours from spoiled or fragrant foods.
You can also fill old socks or pantyhose with coffee grounds and tie them off to make portable air fresheners.
Place these in your shoes, gym bag, bedroom drawers, under your car seat or anywhere else that may need some deodorizing.
You can even keep coffee grounds by the sink and use them to scrub your hands after chopping garlic or onions. The grounds will help remove the smell from your hands.
6. Use It as a Natural Cleaning Scrub
Coffee grounds are abrasive and can help remove buildup on hard-to-clean surfaces. They may even help sanitise due to their antibacterial and antiviral properties.
If you like to avoid cleaning with chemicals, used coffee grounds might be worth a try. 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.
7. Scour Your Pots and Pans
The coarse texture of coffee grounds makes them ideal for scrubbing hard-to-clean kitchen utensils.
You can use them to scrape your dishes clean and remove caked-on food from pots and pans. Simply sprinkle the grounds directly onto your pots and pans and scrub as usual. Make sure to rinse thoroughly afterward.
8. Exfoliate Your Skin
The coarse particles in coffee grounds work as an exfoliating agent to help remove dirt and dead cells from the skin.
Simply mix coffee grounds with a little bit of water or coconut oil and scrub them with your hands directly onto your face and body.
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.
It can also increase blood flow, which aids in overall skin health.
9. MAY Reduce the Appearance of Cellulite (I’m sceptical)
Cellulite is a condition that gives the skin a dimpled, lumpy appearance. It affects 80–90% of adult women.
It occurs when fat deposits push through the connective tissue under your skin and is commonly seen in the buttocks and thighs.
When caffeine such as that in coffee grounds is applied topically, it may help break down this fat and increase blood flow to the area, thus decreasing the appearance of cellulite.
10. Stimulate Hair Growth and Strip Buildup
Shampoos and styling products often leave residue behind that can dull and weigh down your hair.
Exfoliating your scalp with coffee grounds can help remove buildup and dead skin cells.
Before you shampoo, simply grab a handful of coffee grounds and massage them into your scalp and hair for a few minutes. Then wash and rinse as you normally would.
Do this one to two times per week, or as needed.
11. Repair Scratched Furniture
If you own wooden furniture, you’ve probably noticed it can be easily scuffed and scratched.
Various products can help minimize the appearance of scratches, but before you run to the store, you might want to give coffee grounds a try.
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 colour is achieved, waiting a few hours between applications.
12. Grow Mushrooms
M2shrooms only thrive in specific conditions and are notoriously difficult to grow.
For starters, they do not grow in ordinary garden soil, as they require a substrate, or underlying substance or layer.
Used coffee grounds make a great substrate because they are packed full of nutrients that mushrooms like to grow on.
What’s more, they have already been sterilized during the brewing process, which would otherwise be an extra step in the growing process.
How to Grow Mushrooms in Used Coffee Grounds
- Collect about 2.5 kg of grounds and moisten them using a spray bottle.
- Add a little over 500 grams of mushroom spore and sawdust mixture and mix well. You can look for this product at your local gardening store.
- Place resulting mixture into a filter patch grow bag, large freezer bag or bucket and fill until approximately one-half to two-thirds full.
- Cut four air holes, about 5 mm in size, into the sides of your container above the grounds. If you are using an open container, cover it with cellophane and poke with a few more small air holes.
- Lightly spray the grounds with water once daily or as needed to keep them moist.
- In about two to four weeks when you start to see dense white areas with little budding mushrooms, move the container to an area with lighter and fresher air.
- When the mushrooms become plump and their caps turn upward, you can harvest them.
You can use this method to grow just about any kind of mushroom, but shiitake and oyster varieties seem to be the easiest.
13. Treat Under-Eye Circles
The skin surrounding the eyes is extremely delicate and contains very little fat tissue. Because of this, it’s one of the first places you might see signs of ageing.
Many things can contribute to the development of dark circles and puffiness under the eyes, including fragile blood vessels, poor circulation and inadequate skin quality.
Coffee grounds seem to be a promising solution due to their high antioxidant and caffeine contents.
Studies show that skin care products containing antioxidants and caffeine can help prevent the appearance of ageing and reduce under-eye circles.
In particular, caffeine has anti-inflammatory properties and stimulates blood circulation around the eyes, which can help reduce the appearance of dark circles and swelling.
The antioxidants in coffee can also help fight free radicals, which contribute to skin ageing.
Simply add water or coconut oil to your coffee grounds to form a paste. Apply the mixture under your eyes and let it sit for about 10 minutes before rinsing. Repeat this process daily or as needed.
Alowishus is passionate about using quality teas and coffees. This is why we choose to stock SereniTEA. SereniTEA are both Fairtrade and Organic
Like us at Alowishus Delcious, SereniTEA Infusions believe in developing strong relationships in the supply chain. They source all of their products directly at the plantation and producer level, avoiding brokering arrangements (the predominant source of supply in the global tea market). Following their passion to find Organic and Fairtrade products, they insist on knowing exactly where their product comes from and how it is produced. Their entire supply chain meets the highest standards of food safety standards. Being a crop that is susceptible to seasonal change, SereniTEA Infusions place a large emphasis on their tasting and sampling process to ensure their tea remains consistent across seasons. Find out more 
