Used coffee grounds can now be recycled into decor products, here’s how

Ramjas College students are upcycling used coffee grounds into sustainable decor, reducing waste and supporting local artisans through Project Avinya.

Used coffee grounds from campus cafes are finding new life as sustainable decor, thanks to a student initiative at Ramjas College. Project Avinya, led by the Enactus team, upcycles the waste into clay, which local artisans craft into sellable products, tackling landfill waste while creating income.

Used coffee grounds can now be recycled into decor products, here’s how

“For students of Delhi University, coffee is a daily need. There are so many cafes around the North Campus area which students go to everyday, but do not think of the waste it produces,” said second-year student Kanishka Yadav (20), president of Enactus.

Under project Avinya, used coffee grounds will be collected from cafes – and soon landfills as well – and made into a sustainable clay which can be made into many products such as pendants, keychains, fridge magnets, and other home decor products, reducing the waste produced from cafes.

The process through which the students plan to transform discarded coffee grounds into a variety of products is a 4-step method. First, coffee grounds are collected from around 6 to 7 cafes on a weekly basis. “We collect around 10kg of grounds every week, and divide it among ourselves. We filter the waste, and then let it dry in the sun, which takes around two days,” Yadav said.

Next, the dried coffee grounds are mixed with natural binders such as cassava paste and corn starch, along with water, to make the clay. “However, these binders have a change of fungal growth, so we are searching for other alternatives, in order to ensure that the project is completely sustainable.”

The last step involves delivering the clay to local artisans. “We have already been working with the potters of Kumhar colony for other Enactus projects, and are currently conducting testing with them, by giving them the clay to make products,” says Enactus public relations head Ananya Bhatia (19), second-year student at Ramjas.

“The first point of selling would be stalls at college fests. After this, we plan to ask the cafes we collected coffee grounds from to sell it, and the final stage would be local vendors in markets such as Majnu Ka Tila,” Bhatia said.

The students plan to share the revenue with the craftspeople, so the project not only reduces and recycles waste, but also provides an additional source of income to them.

“We are also looking to expand our beneficiary base for this project, and include other communities, such as acid attack survivors or refugees under the signature bridge. Other communities we have worked with in the past are female craftspeople, physically disabled people, and rag pickers,” says Ananya.