Network Rail and Bio-Bean Ramp Up Coffee Grounds Collection to Power Trains

In the UK, Network Rail and Bio-Bean are expanding their coffee grounds to biofuel initiative to include two new stations in Bristol and Reading. By the end of this year, they plan to have coffee ground collections in place nationwide at all their rail stations.

Since launch in 2015, they have prevented an estimated 5,500 tons (5,000 tonnes) of CO2 from being released into the air and they have used about 870 tons (790 tonnes) of used coffee grounds that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. The coffee grounds are collected at the rail station’s cafes and coffee kiosks where passengers often purchase their cup of joe, and it’s converted to biofuel “logs” by Bio-Bean. The initiative won the BusinessGreen Leaders Award this month in the circular economy project of the year category.