• Coffeefrom recovers spent coffee grounds from the food industry, preventing them from ending up in landfill and transforming them into products for the plastics supply chain.
• The Italian startup promotes a zero-waste model, reducing the use of raw materials in the industrial sector.
• It operates with a multidisciplinary team and a network of Italian partners, integrating vulnerable workers into its logistics and packaging stages.

Every day, in Italy, millions of cups of coffee are consumed. It is a collective ritual, a deeply rooted habit that generates an environmental impact that is often underestimated: coffee grounds. It is estimated that the amount of spent grounds produced each year in Italy ranges between 200,000 and 300,000 tonnes, the equivalent of around 45,000 kilograms per day. Their disposal represents both an environmental and an economic problem, with management costs that can reach up to 21 million euros and the emission of 131,400 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

The data were gathered by the Italian company Coffeefrom, an innovative startup with a social mission that is part of the LifeGate Way ecosystem, and that has turned a waste product into a valuable resource. Launched in 2021 as a project of Il Giardinone Cooperativa Sociale in the province of Milan, Coffeefrom has evolved into an entrepreneurial reality with a clear mission: to recover spent coffee grounds from the food industry and use them to create new materials. Thanks to an industrial process carried out entirely in Italy, these by-products are transformed into recycled and bio-based thermoplastic granules, ready to be used in the plastics sector.

A made-in-Italy innovation: from patent to industrial supply chain

Coffeefrom has filed a patent application for the extraction of components from coffee grounds, aiming for a zero-waste model. The startup fits within the framework of extended producer responsibility, contributing to reducing the use of virgin raw materials and promoting a sustainable approach to industrial production. To achieve this goal, Coffeefrom has built a 100 per cent Italian industrial supply chain, involving companies and institutions with complementary expertise. Partners include firms responsible for the compounding and distribution of thermoplastic granules and specialists in injection moulding. The Department of Chemistry, Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" at the Politecnico di Milano is also involved in the research through the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano.

Among the most representative creations are the espresso cup with its matching saucer, an ergonomically designed mug made from recycled materials, and the DS3 pen in a special edition developed with Pagani Pens. In the food packaging sector, Coffeefrom collaborated with the fair-trade association Ad Gentes, partner Bear Plast and confectionery company Dolcem to create the Easter egg holder Arcobaluovo, a sustainable support that combines aesthetics and functionality. The startup's focus does not stop at the environment. The logistics and packaging stages are also entrusted to vulnerable workers, offering opportunities to disadvantaged individuals and collaborating with other social enterprises in the area. A virtuous model in which circular economy and social inclusion intertwine.

Coffeefrom's bio-based granules to reduce dependence on virgin polymers

The production of plastic is one of the most pressing environmental problems of our time: according to data available up to 2021 from the European Union, each resident generates an average of 36.1 kilograms of plastic packaging waste. The volume of plastic packaging waste generated per capita increased by around 29 per cent (+8.1 kilograms per person) between 2010 and 2021. The total plastic waste produced in the European Union stood at 16.13 million tonnes in 2021. Around 6.56 million tonnes of plastic waste were recycled.

The introduction of alternative materials such as Coffeefrom's bio-based granules could reduce dependence on virgin polymers, cutting the carbon footprint of the entire supply chain. Laura Gallo, founder of Coffeefrom and president of Il Giardinone, explains the company's vision as follows: "With the birth of the startup, our goal is to continue the process of experimenting with new application scenarios in a logic of industrial symbiosis. We want to position ourselves as a reference point in the transformation of spent coffee at an industrial level, creating a network of relationships in which experiences, skills, values and new development opportunities are shared."