{"id":3768,"date":"2016-03-08T10:57:43","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T10:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/?p=3768"},"modified":"2026-07-21T18:04:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T17:04:10","slug":"interview-with-adam-sayner-director-of-grocycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2016\/03\/08\/interview-with-adam-sayner-director-of-grocycle\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Adam Sayner, Director of GroCycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever wondered what happens to all those coffee grounds after the water\u2019s run through it to make your cappuccino? Of course, it goes to landfill. We drink about 80 million cups of coffee every day, and that\u2019s just the UK. But what else can you do with used coffee grounds?<\/p>\n

One social enterprise has discovered a beautiful solution. At GroCycle<\/a>, Adam and Eric have been using waste coffee since 2011 to grow gourmet Oyster mushrooms. Sounds weird, right? Well, according to Adam, the \u2018traditional\u2019 way to grow mushrooms is on straw and sawdust, so it\u2019s not that weird after all.<\/p>\n

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In social enterprise schemes positive outcomes aren\u2019t measured against monetary gains but environmental or social good. GroCycle are a not-for-profit Community Interest Company \u2013 all the money they make goes straight back towards making beneficial changes in the way we live. Their aim is pretty simple: to keep coffee waste out of landfill.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their first year they collected 5 tonnes of the stuff. \u201cWe definitely got some strange looks when walking into some cafes and asking for their coffee waste to grow mushrooms on! But after we explain it, almost every caf\u00e9 is really supportive and they\u2019re happy to see their waste go to good use.\u201d On top of finding a use for the waste, Adam says that \u201cthe brewing process pasteurises the grounds, making it an easier way to grow the mushrooms than the traditional method.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the early days they\u2019d experimented growing other kinds of mushrooms like Shiitake, Lion\u2019s Mane, King Oyster and Pioppino, but it was only the Oyster mushrooms that could grow on pure coffee. \u201cOyster mushrooms are well known to grow on lots of different substrates so if any mushrooms can grow on coffee, it\u2019ll be them!\u201d<\/p>\n

From collecting 5 tonnes of coffee in their first year, last year GroCycle produced 5 tonnes of gourmet Oyster mushrooms, all from recycled coffee! They used more than 20,000 kilos of waste grounds \u2013 with a humble team of four people. \u201cAlthough we are a small team, we are beginning to have a big impact,\u201d Adam says. \u201cMore than 7000 people grew their own mushrooms at home with our kits,<\/a> and we now run a popular online course<\/a> which teaches people in 35 countries around the world how to grow mushrooms on coffee. This is a big part of what we\u2019re about: spreading and teaching the idea to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big part of this is the way GroCycle is run, and Adam tells me he\u2019d always seen business as a potential driver for positive change. \u201cThe motto \u2018trading for people and planet\u2019 is used by the Social Enterprise Mark<\/a>, which we are accredited by, and I think it fits the bill perfectly. GroCycle achieves a meaningful social and environmental benefit in the work that we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That benefit is partly achieved by the locality of the project; they\u2019re now regularly collecting waste coffee from the five biggest caf\u00e9s in Exeter city centre. For Adam, sourcing our food more locally is an integral part of forging a more sustainable future. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly important part of how we can begin to reduce our impact on the planet and create a vibrant food economy. When you eat food that has been produced locally it will usually have consumed less energy, it\u2019ll be fresher, it\u2019ll taste better, and you will be supporting the people in your local community that are growing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur biggest aim for the years ahead is to support others in countries around the world to set up growing mushrooms in a low impact way. We have built so much knowledge over the last few years and are often asked if we can assist people and offer advice. As a small non-profit organisation it can often be difficult to have enough time for this, but we have found teaching via an online course a great way to do it. We are currently planning a flagship course which will launch later this year. It\u2019ll teach people how to set up grow rooms, and cover the practicalities and economics of production.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever wondered what happens to all those coffee grounds after the water\u2019s run through it to make your cappuccino? Of course, it goes to landfill. We drink about 80 million cups of coffee every day, and that\u2019s just the UK. But what else can you do with used coffee grounds?… Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-education-for-sustainable-development","category-foodcatering","category-sustainable-innovation"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":905,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2013\/02\/19\/health-and-social-care-sustainability-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":3768,"position":0},"title":"Health and Social Care Sustainability Day","author":"Simon Goldsmith","date":"19 February 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"On Wednesday the 30th January the sustainability team joined forces with the School of Health and Social Care for a community building and sustainability awareness event. 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Everyone in the room\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sustainability Team"","block_context":{"text":"Sustainability Team","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/category\/sustainability-team\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hub banner","src":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"\/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 1x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 1.5x, \/greengreenwich\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2013\/11\/hub-banner.png 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":234,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.gre.ac.uk\/greengreenwich\/2012\/02\/27\/students-auditing-the-university-of-greenwich-for-iso14001-accreditation\/","url_meta":{"origin":3768,"position":5},"title":"Students Auditing the University of Greenwich for ISO14001 Accreditation","author":"","date":"27 February 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Over the past few weeks the University has been doing a lot of internal auditing as it prepares for four days of ISO14001 auditing of its sustainability management system. 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