5 September, 2025

If your household churns through kilograms of coffee each week like we do in our office, you might also be looking for ways to repurpose all those used. That’s why we were especially excited when a Friday 5 reader shared Coffeeco’s recent collaboration with Attica Group, Greece’s ferry line. Together, they’ve created a shower gel made from espresso residues collected on board. The pilot project not only diverts waste but also transforms it into premium, eco-friendly products that are fully biodegradable and kind to the skin. 

If you’re unlikely to find yourself on a Greek ferry anytime soon, worry not. London-based brand UpCircle is doing something similar closer to home, collecting spent coffee grounds from cafés and turning them into natural scrubs, oils and exfoliators. 

And if skincare doesn’t perk your interest, perhaps we can draw you back in with compost? Old coffee grounds can be a great way to enrich compost heaps with nitrogen, helping biological matter break down more efficiently. Or you can scatter them in the garden to keep slugs and snails away. And you can even pop dried grounds into the fridge, cupboards or even the car to neutralise odours. Coffee, it seems, has a latte more to give than one might think. 

By Rosie Serlin