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Coffee grounds roads - a new ecological solution
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Coffee is one of Melbourne's favourite drinks, but this aromatic beverage may soon be transformed into a road. At the Australian National University, a team of specialists used coffee waste to create ecological roads that are highly durable.
The head of the scientific project, Arul Arulrajah, is confident that various materials such as glass, bricks, etc. can be reused. Professor Arulrajah noted that after he saw that coffee grounds were being thrown away, he came up with the idea of using the grounds as a technical material. After that, Arulrajah and his colleagues collected coffee waste from all the cafes adjacent to the university and dried it for several days in an oven at a temperature of 50 0 C, after which the grounds were passed through filters to get rid of lumps and mixed with slag.
To combine all the components, scientists added an alkaline solution and placed it under a press, where cylindrical blocks were formed. Tests of the blocks obtained in this way showed that they were quite durable and could be used as a soil material.
According to experts from the Australian National University, if they are allowed to do whatever they want with urban coffee waste, then an environmentally friendly road surface could appear soon. According to the researchers' calculations, one cafe leaves an average of 150 kg of coffee grounds per week, which would be enough waste for 5 km of road in 1 year. The researchers also noted that a road made of coffee grounds would help reduce the amount of waste.
The need to solve a number of environmental problems that arise during coffee production has led to a number of creative ideas for using coffee grounds, such as biofuel production, carbon capture, 3D printing, etc. Coffee grounds are also actively used in clothing production, in particular, about 7 years ago a collection of sportswear using coffee beans and grounds was released. Last year, a coffee collection of men's and women's jeans was released, the cost of which ranged from 50 to 55 dollars. Helen Kahn, head of the American Eagle brand, noted that coffee grounds absorb unpleasant odors well and dry quickly, jeans created on its basis can be washed much less often. Manufacturers do not indicate a specific period after which jeans should be sent to the washing machine, and recommend focusing on your own feelings.
According to Helen Kahn, "coffee" jeans can be worn until a person feels the need to wash them. In addition to reducing the cost and time of washing, such jeans protect their owner from ultraviolet rays - due to the microscopic structure of the grounds, it effectively reflects UV rays and reliably protects the skin. The only drawback of "coffee" jeans is that they are devoid of the characteristic smell of coffee, which will undoubtedly upset coffee lovers.
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