A South African recycling company has plans to convert tons of coffee-bean waste into biofuel.

Verda Waste is building a plant that will recycle about 17 million kg per year of spent coffee grounds into 1.8 million litres of biodiesel and 4.5 million kg of biomass pellets and fire logs, reports Infrastructure News.

Most of the waste generated by the caffeine industry ends up in landfills, posing an environmental challenge.

Verda Waste CEO Fischer Khambule says the Johannesburg-based plant will, over the next five years, recycle an estimated total of 70 000 tons of coffee granules from landfills, saving about 476 000 tons in carbon emissions. According to Khambule, the project is not only ‘good for the environment’ since more than 100 small-business opportunities as well as jobs for the youth will be created.

The plant is expected to be completed during the first quarter of 2019.

2 October 2018
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