As part of our Earth Day celebrations, we’re very happy to share that since February this year, all the spent coffee generated in our coffee shops has been given to local farms to be added to their composting systems.

This means that coffee grounds produced in Edinburgh only travel a few miles to nearby farms, where they’re turned into compost used to grow vegetables — which are then sold to local consumers. A perfect example of circular economy in action!

For years, we’ve been exploring ways to upcycle waste from our operations using circular economy principles, always aiming to minimise our environmental impact.

We’re currently working with two farms:

• The Free Company, based in Balerno, Edinburgh.

• A small farm run by the wonderful Fred, owner of L’Escargot Bleu restaurant on Broughton Street, Edinburgh. 

The transport of spent coffee to Balerno is handled in collaboration with Campervan Brewery, who also provide their waste to The Free Company. A great example of local businesses working together with the environment in mind.

But this is just the beginning. Our next challenge is to develop similar collaborations with both our trade and retail customers. Once we have a system in place for all the coffee roasted by us, we plan to include other businesses too — making our Circular Coffee Scotland mission a reality: ensuring that coffee waste across Edinburgh (and eventually Scotland) is properly upcycled in an environmentally responsible way.

If you have any ideas, suggestions, or would like to get involved - we’d love to hear from you.

In the meantime, rest assured that every gram of coffee you drink in our shops doesn’t go to waste!