A Berlin Company Changing Coffee Grounds Into Reusable Cups

Coffee It might be the very first thing you think about in the morning. But what you don't think about: all the waste that comes along with that kick of caffeine. In the US alone, 120 billion disposable coffee cups are used every year. But it's more than just the cups and the lids that are creating waste.
What about all those used-up coffee grounds? These reusable mugs are madefrom recycled coffee grounds. They're produced by Kaffee form,a Berlin-based start-up. The idea for these eco friendly mugs first came about in 2009 when Julian wasstudying product design. - We had a lot of coffee all the time. At some point, I was wondering whathappens with all these spent coffee grounds. Narrator: Germany is one ofthe largest coffee-consuming countries in Europe, with theaverage person going through about 14 pounds of beans each year. 

About 99% of paper, plastic,and foam coffee cups end up in the trash, and once they're in the trash, even paper cups can takeover 20 years to decompose. So by recycling one waste stream, Kaffee form helps tackle a bigger one. Every day, a team of cyclists travel to coffee shops throughout Berlin to collect used coffee grounds. - Our exposition team wrote to Kaffee form in March 2018 that we would be interested to work with them, and the same day, Julian had a meeting where they decided to work only with bike logistics,and when he got home, he found the email of us andwas super excited about it, and it was such a good coincidence that it had to be.

Crow Cycle Courier Collective typically gathers about 110 pounds ofgrounds in just one day. - When we pick up the coffee ground, we go to three different locations, mostly, and that takes about 90 minutes until it'sdropped off at the workshop. For a courier company,this is not a usual task. It is something that is pretty unique. Narrator: The collectedgrounds are then sorted and then cleaned at Kaffeeform's workshop. Then, they're transportedto another facility where they're dried andblended with plant fibers, beechwood grains, and natural resins.

Once the new coffee-groundgranulate has been mixed together, it gets shapedunder heat and pressure. It takes about 6 cups ofgrounds to produce one espresso cup and saucer, resulting in a final productthat's 40% coffee grounds and 100% biodegradable. - The ultimate goal is justto highlight the value of recycling and wastestreams back to society. Narrator: Kaffeeform's cupsand mugs are used in 20 coffee shops in Berlin and150 vendors across Europe. But the company isn'tstopping at coffee mugs. Julian hopes to one day shapecoffee grounds into lifestyle products and even furniture pieces.