Second Brew
Stool top from coffee waste
- 250,000 t
- of coffee waste in the UK each year, by estimate
- 18
- test samples
- Agar, wax, resin
- binders chosen to break down in nature
Spent coffee grounds pressed into the top of a stool.
01What gets thrown away
The UK throws away an estimated 250,000 tonnes of coffee grounds a year, and much of it goes to landfill.
02Led by process
I mixed spent grounds with agar-agar, natural waxes and resins, looking for a foam-like material that holds a shape and still breaks down in nature. There was no fixed outcome to aim at. I combined ingredients that are not usually put together and watched how each mix behaved.
03The stool top
The mix that worked was moulded in three layers into a cushion top for a stool. The photograph at the top of this page shows them.
- Made
- A moulded stool top and the sample set behind it
- Ingredients
- Spent coffee grounds, agar-agar, natural waxes, resins
- Category
- Furniture, Supergreens module