The start-up was established to process coffee grounds into briquettes and utilise them as a green energy source. The cooperation with Starbucks is a new chapter for the constantly developing company.

New straws will be exclusively made from used coffee grounds and, thus, fully biodegradable. This solution is a reply to the requirements of the directive prohibiting the use of several polymers in the production of drinking straws.

At the beginning, the grounds will be delivered by 22 Warsaw-based coffee shops as part of the test.

“The used coffee grounds are packed into the so-called EcoBoxes,” says Marcin Koziorowski, head of EcoBean. “Once the boxes are full, they are collected and delivered to our facility, where the grounds are processed and shaped into practical straws.”

“Grounds from a double espresso will roughly produce one straw but, what is more important, any leftovers will be used as well by another technology,” adds Marcin Koziorowski. “These solutions will be cheaper for our partners than the current ones and we will implement them in a closed circuit. And this is a priceless solution for the planet.”

Currently, research and development work is underway at the Faculty of Chemistry at WUT. This is a brand new idea and, therefore, needs careful polishing.

“Eco-straws will have one advantage: they will be functional in a closed circuit, which means the used straws will return to our plant to be re-processed into a green product,” points out Marcin Koziorowski.