Starbucks "Coffee Grounds Recycling Compost to Exceed 10 Million Bags Cumulatively Within the Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] Starbucks Korea's eco-friendly coffee compost, produced by recycling coffee grounds generated at stores nationwide, is expected to exceed a cumulative total of 10 million bags by the end of this year. This amount corresponds to about 200,000 tons, which is equivalent to the coffee grounds left after brewing approximately 1.5 billion tall-sized Americanos.

According to Starbucks on the 14th, the cumulative production of Starbucks coffee compost over eight years since 2015 has reached 9.75 million bags as of this month. By the end of this year, an additional 250,000 bags of coffee compost are expected to be produced, surpassing a total of 10 million bags within the year.

Since 2015, Starbucks has collaborated with Gyeonggi Province to promote agricultural product consumption and resource recycling, continuously supporting the production of compost made from coffee grounds. In 2016, Starbucks signed a business agreement with the Ministry of Environment and the Resource Circulation Social Solidarity to pilot a project for activating coffee grounds recycling, establishing a process for recycling coffee grounds.

According to Starbucks, coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which are essential for plant growth, and contain no heavy metals, making them effective in preventing pests and diseases and serving as a natural fertilizer with high organic content. Positive perceptions and experiences from farms using the eco-friendly coffee compost, recognized as organic fertilizer, suggest that production volume is expected to continue increasing.

Starbucks has invested about 4 billion KRW so far in recycling operations such as transportation and storage for collecting coffee grounds. In addition to supporting coffee compost production, Starbucks repurchases the compost and provides it free of charge to farms in Gyeonggi Province, Boseong, Hadong, and Jeju Island, worth about 900 million KRW, continuously promoting the resource circulation use of coffee grounds.

The coffee compost donated to domestic farms by the end of this year is expected to exceed 230,000 bags cumulatively, which corresponds to approximately 4,600 tons in weight.

Song Hoseop, CEO of Starbucks Korea, stated, "We hope that coffee grounds will be utilized more as a valuable resource rather than discarded waste," adding, "We will continue to create opportunities to help customers and local communities through various upcycling initiatives."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.