LIFE Project: New strategies for the valorization of coffee by-products as a new raw material for animal feed

In 2018, consumers in European countries drank the equivalent of 2.7 million tons of coffee and used 21 billion coffee pods. One kilogram of coffee generates around 2 kilograms of wet coffee grounds (WCG), while each pod contains 9 grams of coffee, generating 18 grams of WCG and 3 grams of plastic and aluminum waste. Wet WCG is generated in the HORECA (hotels, restaurants, and cafes) sector (36%), the instant coffee industry (14%), and household consumption (50%). Currently, wet WCG is partially recovered in low-value-added applications such as fertilizers and energy, but around 46% of this byproduct is still managed as waste and is disposed of in landfills or incinerated.

Meanwhile, livestock diets in Europe are primarily composed of imported materials. Projections show that livestock farming will increase by 70% by 2050. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the environmental pressures of animal feed production. Replacing soy with SCG can be an alternative for this purpose, with the additional beneficial effect of reducing methane emissions from animals. Using SCG as a feed ingredient for dairy cattle therefore contributes to resource efficiency and a reduction in the environmental impact of the coffee value chain, animal feed production, agricultural land overexploitation, and the livestock sector.