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Reflection on Environmental Protection of a bag of "Coffee grounds"

Published: 2026-06-05 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/06/05, In my spare time on weekends, I went to Nanjing IKEA store, and there was a long exhaust line in front of the coffee machine in the hall on the third floor as usual. Freshly brewed coffee, which can be refilled for free, has gathered a lot of popularity for this foreign store from northern Europe and Sweden. Near the end of the line, a tip on the coffee machine attracted the attention of reporters. It says: dear customer, if you need coffee grounds, you can waive it to the restaurant staff.

In my spare time on weekends, I went to Nanjing IKEA store, and there was a long exhaust line in front of the coffee machine in the hall on the third floor as usual. Freshly brewed coffee, which can be refilled for free, has gathered a lot of popularity for this foreign store from northern Europe and Sweden.

Near the end of the line, a tip on the coffee machine attracted the attention of reporters. It says: "Dear customers, if you need coffee grounds, you can get it for free from the restaurant staff. Let's practice sustainable development together." This tip also introduces many small uses of coffee grounds, such as removing odors, removing greasy, wiping stubborn stains, and being a nutritious soil for acidic plants.

In the mood of trying, the reporter immediately found a staff member and asked to take a bag of coffee grounds with him. Unexpectedly, the staff immediately opened the box under the coffee machine and scooped a large bag full of it to the reporter. She was told that the reporter was the first customer to ask her for coffee grounds in recent years. At Ikea's more than 300 other retail stores around the world, it is "normal" for customers to take away coffee grounds.

A small bag of coffee grounds caused a lot of reflection by reporters. Someone in the environmental protection circle once said, "there is no garbage, only misplaced resources." The same is true of coffee grounds, and so are other waste goods. Circular economy is not only a "high and high technology", but also a conscious behavior hidden in daily life. Thinking of the garbage sorting work promoted by Nanjing in recent years, if everyone can take the initiative to sort the garbage like taking away a bag of coffee grounds, how can it lead to the high environmental protection cost of centralized treatment?

Another revelation is that Ikea tells customers not only that coffee grounds can be taken away for free, but also what they can do with them. However, our environmental protection actions often emphasize "what can not be done", but ignore "how can we use it".

Rosen, an international corporate social responsibility evaluation agency, commented on Ikea's environmental development logic in an analytical article: "every time Ikea enters a new market, Ikea takes the initiative to meet local environmental policies and standards. Improving environmental standards also force Ikea to become a "perfect" environmentally friendly company. Cooperation with Greenpeace (Green Peace) and the World wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has proved to be a good way. Through this cooperation, Ikea can get the support of the local government through investment to improve the quality of the local environment. In return, Ikea gets more potential and sustainable resources in related areas. " From this point of view, environmental protection is not only a way of life, but also a new way of development.

I would like to see that one day, there will be as many people asking for coffee grounds in front of the Ikea coffee machine as there are people waiting in line to get coffee.

Wang Shiting

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。