Ford Motor Company and McDonald's will use coffee waste in vehicle parts.
Coffee chaff - the dried skin of the bean - can be converted into a durable material to reinforce certain vehicle parts.
The chaff composite meets the quality specifications for parts like headlamp housings and other interior and under hood components.
“McDonald’s commitment to innovation was impressive to us and matched our own forward-thinking vision and action for sustainability,” said Debbie Mielewski, Ford senior technical leader, sustainability and emerging materials research team, in a news release. “This has been a priority for Ford for over 20 years, and this is an example of jump starting the closed-loop economy, where different industries work together and exchange materials that otherwise would be side or waste products.”
“Like McDonald’s, Ford is committed to minimizing waste and we’re always looking for innovative ways to further that goal,” said Ian Olson, senior director, global sustainability, McDonald’s. “By finding a way to use coffee chaff as a resource, we are elevating how companies together can increase participation in the closed-loop economy.”
