Convenience retailer OTR has joined the world-first trial for an innovative project which will redirect its coffee waste away from landfill towards supporting South Australians in need and reducing its environmental impact.
Image by Mark Brake.
The Human Beans – Grounds For Good trial project is a collaboration between OTR, Foodbank SA, Neutrog Australia, Detpak and BioBag Australia, and will see used coffee grounds collected from 11 OTR stores and converting it into fertiliser.
If successful, collections will be expanded to most OTR stores and the fertiliser will then be sold across the network of OTR stores for use in home gardens and community use.
OTR is South Australia’s “largest coffee retailer with the potential for more than 200 tonne of coffee grounds to be diverted from landfill and collected from OTR stores every year.” These coffee grounds then become an organic fertiliser that will be sold via OTR stores, creating a donation to Foodbank SA. Part proceeds from sales will be donated to Foodbank SA to help expand its services to families in need across the state.
OTR Community Partnerships Manager Joann Skene says OTR was pleased to extend its current OTRGive partnership with Foodbank SA to assist more South Australian families in need through its involvement in the Human Beans project.
“A kilogram of Human Beans fertiliser will contain coffee grounds from 25 cups of C Coffee with the proceeds from the sale of every bag of fertiliser subsidising five meals for Foodbank recipients, meaning every five C Coffees sold at an OTR store will now provide a meal to someone in need,” says Ms Skene.
“This project not only has social benefits but also environmental benefits and allows us to trial a full sustainability cycle for our C Coffee brand from the bean plantation through production and waste management by returning the coffee grounds to the soil as fertiliser.
“Also, when customers scan their OTR App they can choose to give back to Foodbank SA through OTRGive and double the positive impact their C Coffee brings to ensure their daily coffee hit does even-more-good for the community.”
Foodbank SA CEO Greg Pattinson is thrilled with what this partnership will provide for South Australians.
“The Human Beans – Grounds for Good project is an innovative and ground-breaking collaboration between like-minded but very diverse organisations,” he says.
“OTR, Foodbank, Neutrog, BioBag and Detpak are all contributing to the project, capitalising on their respective strengths, and in turn gaining tangible benefits.
“Furthermore, the people of SA all benefit from a significant reduction of waste going to landfill and helping put more food on the table of struggling families, just by simply buying this fantastic new fertiliser.”
Humans Beans Fertiliser is planned to be sold in a one kilo bag (which contains the grounds from approx. 25 coffees) and is scheduled to be available for purchase in early 2021 via key OTR stores for $9.95 – one bag of Human Beans will subsidise five meals for Foodbank recipients eg, one in five coffees gives back to those in need in SA.
