U of G students turn used coffee grounds into eco-friendly skincare

The beans that made your morning cup of joe could also be giving you silky smooth skin, and helping the environment.

That, according to a group of University of Guelph students, who have developed a sustainable body and face scrub.

The secret ingredient? Used coffee grounds.

“Coffee reaps a lot of natural benefits,” said Luca Ghizzardi, the project lead for Brewed Beauty.

“Caffeine helps in tightening the pores of the skin, creating a firming effect that many people like, and it’s a natural way of doing that. It’s a natural exfoliant, so it gets rid of dead skin.”

The grounds are collected from various coffee shops at the University Centre building.

The group has an agreement with the hospitality services office at U of G in order to facilitate.

It is then combined with coconut oil, sugar and essential oil, and put into mason jars.

A group of five students have been hard at work since September on this, as part of Enactus Guelph, a sustainable entrepreneurship organization.

Since developing the sustainable scrub in September, Brewed Beauty estimates 1.2 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions have been diverted from landfills.

“When they’re sent to landfills and improperly disposed of, they release methane, which is 27 times more powerful than CO2, with the effects on our greenhouse gas (emissions) … and climate effects,” said Ghizzardi.

“As well as when they’re put into landfill, they leak acids into the soil, damaging soiled acidity levels and the surrounding environment.”

The group focuses on a circular economic model, which is all about how they can retain and reuse as much as possible.

“We’re using the mason jars, so once it’s used up, either a customer or whoever is using the coffee grounds can come back with the empty jar, we can refill it at a discounted price,” said Padmaraj Rana, another member of the group and a third-year marketing management student at U of G.

From a sustainable standpoint, he said the mason jars can be reused instead of a compostable pack that would’ve been thrown in the garbage.

For mould prevention and to keep a longer shelf life, apple cider vinegar has also been used.

People have taken notice of the product.

Brewed Beauty claimed top spot at Enactus Canada’s regional Canadian Tire Environmental Sustainability Challenge in Mississauga.

That earned them $1,500 and a trip to the national exposition in Calgary in early May.

Winning that, and an additional $10,000, advances them to the Enactus World Cup in Thailand.

Each jar is being sold for $15.

“This has a really good profit margin because the coffee grounds is one of our main ingredients, the raw materials is free of cost,” Rana said.

“It’s waste that goes in the garbage, so our idea is more based on the best start of phase strategy. The only cost that we incur is mainly on the coconut oil, and some other exfoliants like sugar we added.”

Rana added they are more concerned about creating awareness than making money.

To that effect, the group is also conducting a survey, asking about coffee consumption and what people know about coffee grounds.

“We hope, with that survey, to show what you are supporting by buying this product, but also what you could do,” Ghizzardi said.

“Maybe instead of throwing out your coffee grounds, you can start properly composting them in a green bin, in your own compost, even putting them in gardens is a great way to not only benefit your garden, but to stop them from going into landfills.”

Beyond the competition, the hope is to get started with sales at the University Centre and expand outward,

“We’re hoping to solidify another partnership there … to show that the coffee that you’re drinking is being made into this, which is like a cool cycle that you can see,” Ghizzardi said.