Coffee for more than just a morning kick — bio bean’s ingenious inticaf in plastics and bio-plastics

More sustainable plastics are on the rise. Industries worldwide – in large part driven by their end customers – are requesting recycled materials. And more and more masterbatch and polymer product manufacturers and compounders are looking for ways to displace petroleum-based compounds and fillers and reduce the environmental footprint of plastics. At the same time, it’s crucial to maintain the quality and durability of this ubiquitous material we all depend on.

bio-bean, the world’s largest coffee recycling company, based in Cambridgeshire, UK, upcycles spent coffee grounds into a bulk, renewable, raw material they call Inficaf, which is sustainable, cost-competitive and helps to reduce CO2e emissions.

In plastics Inficaf is used as a filler, combining displacement of petrochemical materials with sustainable sourcing, biodegradability and light weight. It has consistent granulometry and moisture content and can be supplied to specification. Inficaf distributes well with polymers and can provide grip and texture. It has a stable shelf life and leaves a low carbon footprint in production, notably when compared with standard fillers such as calcium carbonate.

In fact, by diverting spent coffee grounds from other disposal methods and transforming them into Inficaf, bio-bean saves up to 1030kg CO2e per tonne of recycled spent grounds.

bio-bean’s upcycled material has already been used in a range of plastic applications, including the manufacture of reusable coffee cups, coffee vending towers, signage and restaurant fixtures, and the team there are exploring uses in automotive applications, building materials, surface materials, packaging, and more.

What will you create with Inficaf?