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Recycle Your Used Coffee Grinds 

 February 21, 2016

By  Enda McLarnon

5 Useful Things to do with Your Recycled Coffee Grounds

There are several ways of recycling your used coffee grounds, from farm use to beauty to pest control and others. The reality is that in most homes throughout the UK, coffee grinds are usually tipped into the recycling bin, and forgotten about.

There are however some really simple and practical things, that they can be used for. I would recommend having a look below, as you may just be surprised at the many things that coffee grounds can actually be used for.

Did you know that coffee is an excellent flavour enhancer to various food types? Instead of using plain water in some food like chocolate cakes, add some ground coffee and you’ll enjoy the rich and bold new flavour.

Tip 1 - Use Coffee Grinds for Cleaning

Used coffee grounds can also be used for cleaning. Actually, their strong scrubbing power makes them a perfect abrasive cleaner. They are used for cleaning surfaces and even fireplaces.

For best cleaning results, mix the coffee grounds with baking soda and scrub the surface thoroughly after which you need to rinse it.

This will ensure that grease and scour are removed from your pans and pots though you should be quite careful when using used coffee grounds on surfaces prone to stains.

For fireplace cleaning, use water to spread your used coffee grounds over the ashes to reduce the amount of airborne dust.

Tip 2 - Use Coffee Grinds for Health & Beauty

Do you want to reduce your health and beauty costs? Then you need to give ground coffee a trial. It can be used in fighting cellulite, actually, coffee is the primary ingredient in most of the expensive cellulite creams.

You only require 1 tablespoon of olive oil, which you mix with a quarter cup of warm ground coffee. Then apply the resulting solution to the problems areas, after which you need to wrap using a plastic wrap.

Wait for approximately 10 minutes and then unwrap after which you should go for your normal shower. You won’t experience any pain, trust me.

Helping with Acne

You can also use coffee grounds for Cleaning up acne. The antioxidant and the natural astringent properties of coffee makes it a perfect toner and cleanser to your face. To make a paste, mix the ground coffee with milk, then rub it on your face for about 1 minute, after which you can relax for 20 minutes before washing it off.

Coffee Grinds as a Facial Scrub

Facial scrubbing is another beauty task you can perform using dumped coffee grounds. Actually, coffee is a perfect exfoliate and as it is very absorbent through the skin makes an ideal facial scrubbing.

You don’t necessarily have to spend much on the expensive facial scrubbers. The caffeine substance found in ground coffee helps in the stimulating of the skin cells, hence promoting a healthier and tighter skin.

However, you need to ensure that the coffee grounds you are using are very fine and friendly to your skin. If they are not fine enough, you may have to run through a coffee grinder.

Then mix the fine coffee ground with olive oil in the ratio of 2:3. You can also use Vitamin E oil, Jojoba oil or coconut oil. Typically, if you mix properly, the resulting solution should be more like a rough mud. Because the solution is actually natural, it is capable of going for some few weeks in its fresh state.

To apply on your skin, take a small amount of the mixture to your finger and then scrub it gently on your skin and then wait for a few minutes before washing it away completely with water. The coffee will exfoliate your skin while the olive oil will keep well hydrated and soft.

Tip 3 - Used Coffee Grounds for Farming & Gardening

It is used both as a soil additive and pest repellent. Instead of dumping your used coffee grounds, just apply them directly on top of your plants. They don’t necessarily have to decompose to make a good soil additive.

You can also them on your compost because they are rich in potassium, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus which are some of the great minerals every farmer would require in his or her farm.

Many perennial plants including roses and lettuce respond well to the nutrients that they add to the soil. The caffeine found in coffee is a natural insecticide because of its bitter taste. This qualifies it as an ideal pest repellent.

You can create insect barriers and slug in your garden using coffee grounds.

Tip 4 - Use Coffee Grinds for Cleaning of Cats and Other Pets

After washing your dog, rub about 1-2 cups of coffee grounds into its fur then rinse thoroughly. Apart from killing fleas, it will give the dog a silky smooth fur. You may also want to keep your cat away from your garden, and stop it from using the garden and your flower beds as his restroom. Simply mixed used coffee ground with orange peels and the cat will never come go back to the garden.

Tip 5 - Use Coffee Grinds for Cleaning of Cats and Other Pets

If you hate the smell of garlic onions on your hands, then you can wash your hands with coffee grounds to remove the smell. In fact you can use coffee grinds to help remove any smells that are pungent just like onions and other strong smelling foods.

We would agree that using grounds can get messy as well, and you will need to finish off washing them with soap and water. The grounds however are particularly good at absorbing any type of pungent odour.

Enda McLarnon


Enda McLarnon has a Business Management Honour's Degree and applies his professional insight, to analyse and write helpful product reviews with tips and useful advice. I am also a coffee lover and enjoy tasting all of the coffee types the world has to offer.

Enda McLarnon

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