YES…YOU CAN BE CAFFEINATED AND SAVE THE WORLD…

Us Brits love a cuppa, or 4, but this this comes with a downside, like the fact we waste 500,000 tonnes of spent coffee grounds each year. The UK drinks around 100 million cups of tea…PER…DAY…which can mean up to 100 million teabags getting wasted without any environmental consideration! We need to always consider giving these humble remnants a second purpose, and I’ve got 4 ideas ready and lined up for you…

1. MASKS N SCRUBS: Teabags contain antioxidants even after use, and coffee maintains a lot of its nitrogen content. Place measures of both into a bowl of water with some coconut oil and brown sugar to create a fresh, hydrating and anti-irritation facial scrubs.

2. IN THE GARDEN: Coffee grounds are packed with nitrogen which makes them an excellent addition to compost or as a natural fertilizer. They can also be sprinkled around plants to deter pests like ants and slugs.

3. CHOPPING BOARDS – Sprinkle rinsed tea leaves onto chopping boards and surfaces that have absorbed strong odours like fish or meat and scrub clean.

4. INFUSE SPIRITS – Infusing spirits such as Vodka and Gin with teabags can help you unlock a whole plethora of new drinking experiences. Try this one on for size:

BREAKFAST MARTINI:

50ml Tea Infused Gin

25ml Orange Marmalade

15ml Lemon Juice

Shake all ingredients together in a Boston tin and strain into your favourite glass. Drink alongside your favourite Brunch dish and enjoy your weekend…

Infuse the gin by leaving the spent teabags and gin together in a tub in the fridge for 3-5 days. Bottle for use.

**CONCLUSION**

When it comes to re-purposing tea and coffee, start off small, with the likes of composting,  and grow into spirit experimentation. It’s also good to think outside of these points and come up with your own creative uses! There’s an endless world of recycling and sustainability out there, you’ve just got to look for it…