Coca-Cola HBC Hungary launched Coffee Grounds Saver student competition in cooperation with the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Around 80 percent of the adult population in Hungary drink coffee every day, consuming around 18,000 tons of coffee every year, of which more than 14,000 tons of coffee grounds are produced. The vast majority of this valuable material is now becoming waste, as it is not integrated into the circular economy. This is among the issues Coca-Cola HBC Hungary and the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences (MATE) are addressing in the Coffee Grounds Saver student competition, launched in early September, which will initially attempt to develop a safe collection and recycling system for coffee grounds from the HoReCa industry.

There are currently very few good practices for recycling coffee grounds, so the vast majority of the material ends up in waste. But coffee grounds are not waste, they are much more than that: they are made up of valuable materials that allow them to be recycled in other industries (e.g. food, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, packaging, fuels).

The aim of Coca-Cola HBC Hungary and MATE's Coffee Grounds Saver competition, which ends in November, is to consider and develop feasible and creative solutions that are applicable in real market conditions and enable the collection of coffee grounds and their transport to the processing site in a way that does not compromise the value of the raw material and its benefits are being preserved.

As a responsible company, Coca-Cola HBC Hungary continuously improves its sales-related services and pays special attention to the entire life cycle of the products it produces. The company aims to build a future where unnecessary or wasteful use of raw materials can be avoided, and where materials retain their value in the cycle for a long time.

The Coffee Grounds Saver student competition fits into this strategy. The entries are going to be judged by Katalin Badakné Dr. Kerti, MATE associate professor, Responsible for Chocolate-Coffee-Tea Processing Engineering and Consulting training program,  László Friedrich, Director of MATE Institute of Food Science and Technology,  Dóra Karsai, our External Communications Manager, Péter Ákontz, our HoReCa Sales Manager, Gergely Éder, our QSE manager, Gergely Hankó, Managing Director of the Association of Environmental Service Providers and Manufacturers, Miklós Szakszon, Commercial Director at Mobil Petrol and Mercédesz Gyükeri, Head of the Economic Section at HVG.