The UK’s biggest railway stations have signed up to a new project turning coffee waste into fuel.
Euston, King’s Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo, all in London, generate nearly 700 tonnes of coffee waste each year between them.
Rather than sending it to landfill, where it would release more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, this waste will now go to a factory run by the bio-bean firm to become carbon-neutral biofuels for heating homes, offices and factories.
Each tonne of waste coffee grounds creates over 5,700 kilowatt hours of energy, with the 700 tonnes enough to power 1,000 homes for a year.
David Biggs, managing director of property at Network Rail, said: “Millions of cups of coffee are bought in our stations every year and that number is growing as passenger numbers continue to rise.
“This partnership will see the waste from those purchases put to good use, creating biofuels that can be used in vehicles and to heat homes and saving more than 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere.
“It’s good news that our stations are cutting their carbon footprint while also saving passengers and taxpayers money.
“The new solution is cheaper than sending the waste to landfill, which means we can invest more in making the railway better for the four million people who travel by rail each day.”
Arthur Kay, chief executive of bio-bean, said: “The UK generates over 500,000 tonnes of waste coffee grounds each year, costing the coffee industry almost £80 million in waste disposal fees.
“Bio-bean recycles waste coffee grounds into advanced biofuels at an industrial scale, creating local, sustainable green energy as an alternative to fossil fuels. We are delighted to provide a cost-effective disposal solution for waste coffee grounds from these major transport hubs.”