The Forks

Winnipeg winters call for creative solutions, and one tenant at The Forks Market came up with a brilliant one - using coffee grounds as grit on icy walkways!

 

Thanks to Fools & Horses Coffee, your morning cup of coffee isn’t just delicious, it’s also helping keep The Forks a little less slippery, a little more sustainable, and overall, just smelling great.

 

 

Sustainability has always been at the heart of Fools & Horses. From sourcing Canadian-roasted beans to serving drinks in compostable cups, their commitment to reducing waste is part of everything they do. For years, their used coffee grounds have been composted in The Forks’ biovator, but this winter, owner Ben Gillies wanted to take things even further.

 

"We’ve always been interested in tracking our waste and finding ways to do better," says Ben. So when he stumbled across an article listing 30 ways to repurpose coffee grounds, he was determined to put them to good use. His first test? His mom’s icy front walkway. "We sprinkled harvested coffee grounds across the sidewalk, and it worked!" After that success, he brought the idea to The Forks, where he had access to plenty of coffee grounds, and plenty of space that could benefit from natural (and biodegradable) grit.

The timing couldn’t have been better. "It isn’t easy," says Helga Jakobson, Sustainability Coordinator at The Forks, "finding environmentally friendly solutions to slippery winter paths. We have eliminated salts and sand from our site, and rely on grit only.” While the granite grit currently used at The Forks is great, it isn’t suitable for all locations and coffee grounds provide an excellent supplement, being completely biodegradable.

 

This winter, The Forks began rolling out Ben's idea, and we're happy to report - it's working! "It even smells good," adds Helga. The baristas at Fools & Horses are fully on board, too! After each shot of espresso pulled, they dump the puck of grounds into a collection bucket. Once full, it’s hauled away and spread as a natural, biodegradable grit on icy walkways.

So next time you're enjoying a cup of coffee from Fools & Horses, know that your cup is contributing to The Forks' Target Zero efforts. And if you happen to catch a whiff of espresso in the air while walking around The Forks, take a look down, you just might be stepping on your own coffee grounds.