Coffee grounds are used as fertilizer for plants, as insect repellants, to neutralize odors, to repair scratches in wooden furniture … Scientists from the University of Navarra have just shown that, in addition to these homemade applications, the remains that are left in the coffee maker after making the popular drink could be used to extract healthy antioxidants. Their findings are published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry .
According to Maria-Paz de Peña and her colleagues, each year twenty million tons of coffee grounds are generated worldwide. Although some of these remains have found commercial use as agricultural fertilizers, most end up being dumped in a landfill. However, that could change. Filter and espresso machines, found in homes and in coffee shops and restaurants, encourage the accumulation of antioxidants in the sediment that could be extracted to make dietary supplements . In addition, that would not prevent the rest of the ground coffee from being used to fertilize the crops.
