At Meira, a great circular economy story will be realized from the beginning of this year, when the coffee waste generated from the roastery as a by-product of production will be utilized as raw material for biogas. Coffee grounds and pellets are transformed into biogas at the Lahti biogas plant. Meira then buys the biogas as the energy source for the coffee production.

The potential of coffee waste for energy production was discovered at Meira together with Lassila & Tikanoja with the help of the L&T Environmental Manager program. Coffee production, like any other food industry, inevitably always generates some waste. Meira strives to utilize all possible side streams.

– The production of biogas from corporate and household waste is already quite common in Finland, but the fact that the company would use the gas in its own production after that is still rare, says Environmental Manager Olli Erjama from Lassila & Tikanoja.

Meirans working together for the environment

Recycling coffee waste into energy contributes to Meira’s ambitious environmental responsibility goals. The reduction in carbon dioxide emissions caused by recycling, 77 tonnes per year, corresponds to the annual carbon footprint of about seven Finns. The further recycling of coffee waste, previously classified as an energy waste, into biogas will increase the recycling rate of the coffee roastery operating in Vallila by up to 21 percentage points.

– The recycling of coffee waste has required a lot of changes in the everyday procedures at the roastery. However, all Meirans from production to management are really committed to this. Many people want to do good things for the environment in their daily lives, and fortunately this will also extends to the workplace, says Marleena Bask, the Director of Strategy and Sustainability at Meira.

Environmental initiatives at Meira in 2020:

• Meira recently committed to Motiva’s Energy Efficiency Agreement.

• The greenhouse gas emission reduction target of -20% will be achieved by switching to renewable wind power and increasing the use of biogas.

• The goal of the waste project is to increase the recycling rate to 60% and reduce the amount of mixed waste to less than 5%.

Additional information:
Marleena Bask, Strategy and Sustainability Director, tel +358 50 352 3643, [email protected]