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When you buy a coffee, do you think about the environmental impact of that purchase?

While steps have been taken to reduce the wastage of this industry, with many coffee shops making disposable cups recyclable and switching to paper straws, what about the coffee grounds themselves?

Grounds For Good, a Penarth-based business, has been transforming coffee grounds from local businesses into a range of beauty, homeware and even alcohol products, stopping the bulk grounds going to landfill and emitting methane gas.

The entrepreneur behind Grounds for Good, Rosie Oretti, wants to take the scheme even further and set up a dedicated recycling point to drop off their coffee grounds ready to be reused.

"A lot of shops actually pay to get rid of that waste," explained Rosie.

"During the pandemic, with so many takeaway coffees, I went and collected coffee grounds from the local shops.

"My idea now is to bring Penarth together to do this collectively."

Rosie wants to set up a secure and hygienic recycling point in Penarth town centre, where local businesses could drop off their coffee grounds.

A small portion of the grounds could be used for Grounds For Good products, while Rosie has suggested the majority go towards making logs.

"A company called Bio-Bean can turn the coffee grounds into fire logs," explained Rosie.

"They burn for longer and at a hotter temperature than wood logs so they're more efficient."

Bio-Bean estimates the logs generate 80% less emissions than if the grounds were sent to landfill.

"We'd need to get some funding to see how it works and get people on board," said Rosie.

"But many coffee shops currently pay to have their waste removed, so this could work out cheaper for them in the long run.

"They'd be paying less, knowing that their product is doing less harm."

Grounds For Good has been transforming coffee grounds since October 2020. In doing so, the business has become the first in Wales to join a recycling revolution of what must be among the world's most popular single-use products.

"We're the first in Wales to do something like this, but we're not alone," said Rosie.

"It's amazing just what you can make with the coffee grounds."

Rosie currently stores the grounds at her house, allowing them to dry out before cleaning them.

The grounds are then ready to be transformed into new products.

For all the local businesses that have donated, Grounds for Good has created a special product in return, such as a Danish pastry scented reed difuser at Brød.

Rosie has also been working closely with The Wallich, a leading homelessness charity that works to help people off the street by providing education and employment opportunities.

"We're a social enterprise, so all our profits go to The Wallich," said Rosie.

"So we're looking at providing roles for people in areas they're interested in, whether that's marketing, photography or accountacy."

In the meantime, to browse the products available through Grounds For Good and learn more click here