Would you throw something precious into the organic waste bin? No? And yet that's probably what you do every day, with coffee grounds. Rich in beneficial properties and suitable for reuse in many ways — from tending the aromatic plants on your balcony to home DIY — they end up mostly in the bin. If we were to treat them as a resource instead, we Italians would be truly wealthy, and, above all, among the first people on the planet to benefit: according to recent research, we consume 5.6 kg of coffee per person per year, placing us second in Europe (after the Germans) and ninth in the world.

We drink it at breakfast to wake ourselves up, or during a work break to exchange a few words with colleagues, or at the bar with friends: we are absolutely mad about it. Consider that the proportion of fellow Italians who cannot do without their classic espresso cup is extremely high: we're talking about 97 per cent of Italians, with an average consumption of four coffees a day, two of which are drunk at home, one at the bar and one at work. Coffee grounds all too often end up in the organic waste bin, despite their many properties.

What bars and restaurants can do

To avoid wasting this precious resource, bars, restaurants and businesses can join initiatives and start-ups that aim to recover coffee grounds and reuse them. There are already several examples to draw inspiration from: in Friuli, for instance, thanks to a collaboration between a manufacturer of coffee machines and pods and the Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the University of Udine, it was possible to launch a coffee-grounds recovery project from which it is possible to obtain pellets (for energy production) and fertilisers.

The start-up Funghi Espresso, meanwhile, founded in 2013 thanks to the Zero Waste Research Centre of the Municipality of Capannori, collects coffee grounds from bars and restaurants and turns them into substrate for mushroom cultivation. The project had already received recognition in 2014 within the Florentine University Incubator (Impresa Campus Unifi), was awarded as an innovative start-up at the Tour delle buone pratiche a Rifiuti Zero, and as the best good practice in Tuscany in the ideas competition Call for ideas Toscana. The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies also included it among the 25 most innovative agricultural start-ups in Italy.

What individuals can do

While we have no say over the grounds produced by the bar downstairs, the office or the restaurant, we can do a lot to make the most of what we tip out of our moka pot every day. How? Here are a few simple suggestions.

In the garden or on the balcony

To fertilise plants
Coffee grounds, which release nitrogen, are extremely useful for enriching and acidifying the soil, encouraging the growth of certain ornamental plants — such as roses, azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons — that require exactly this kind of treatment. They also help to enrich compost with elements such as potassium, phosphorus, copper and magnesium.

To keep ants and slugs away
If you have a small vegetable patch and your main concern is slugs and ants, but you don't want to resort to chemicals, use coffee grounds. Simply leave them to dry in the open air, let them fully dry out, and use the powder to cover the holes from which ants emerge, or spread it along the edges of the vegetable patch to deter slugs.

To keep cats away
Cats are adorable, but they often mistake the entire garden or large flower pots for their litter tray. Scattering dried coffee grounds mixed with citrus peel helps to keep them away, since they hate the smell.

In the kitchen

To clean grease-encrusted pots
Why use abrasive chemical products when coffee grounds can do the job? Rubbed with a sponge over the base of greasy pots or griddles, they help to remove dirt and eliminate bad odours.

Against bad odours
Dry out the coffee grounds, reduce them to a powder again and place them in a small cup inside the fridge: they will absorb all unpleasant odours. They can also be used as natural deodorisers in other parts of the home, such as the shoe rack, or in the car, contained appropriately in a fabric pouch.

To clean household drains
Want to avoid chemicals when cleaning the sink drain too? You can: simply dilute coffee grounds with water and pour them down the pipes every now and then — they will help to capture bad odours (from the toilet too) and keep the drains clean.

As a beauty treatment

To make a natural scrub
All you need is dried coffee grounds reduced to a powder, mixed with a little olive oil, to create a completely natural exfoliating body scrub with no contraindications. It also works as an anti-cellulite treatment!

To remove bad odours from your hands
After cooking fish or other foods that leave a lingering smell on your hands, you can use coffee grounds instead of soap: rubbing them between your fingers and over your palms will absorb unpleasant odours in an entirely natural way.

For DIY

To dye old fabrics
Don't throw out old bedspreads or sheets if they become worn: coffee grounds are also the ideal solution for dyeing old fabrics and giving them a new lease of life. Mix them with water and bring to the boil: you will obtain a completely natural dye that you can use on fabrics or for painting on canvas or paper.