Ford recycles McDonald's coffee waste for auto parts

Ford is doing its best to combat climate change by recycling coffee waste used by McDonald's into auto parts. Ford said automakers would take food waste from the fast-food giant, transfer it from landfills to its laboratory, and then carry out bioplastic engineering in the laboratory. In addition to reducing food waste, the work will also make car parts lighter, use less oil and lower carbon dioxide emissions.

The auto industry is under tremendous pressure to reduce emissions and increase the production of electric vehicles. More than 1/4 of carbon emissions come from the transport sector. Ford is one of four global automakers to reach an agreement with the government to improve the fuel economy of its new fleet and reduce emissions by 2026. By contrast, making auto parts is relatively small during the baking process, but Ford wants to improve its environmental reputation.

Compared with reducing exhaust pipe emissions, the workload of converting coffee grounds into auto parts is relatively small.

Here is Ford's description of the process:

In North America, millions of pounds of rice husks (dried bean skins that fall off naturally during baking) are made into garden mulch or charcoal every year. Together, Ford and McDonald's can provide an innovative new home for a large part of the material. The two companies found that the husks can be converted into durable materials to strengthen some vehicle parts. Under low oxygen conditions, the husk is heated to high temperature, mixed with plastics and other additives, and then made into particles, which can be molded into various shapes.

The foil composite meets the quality specifications of the headlamp housing and other internal and engine cover components. The final assembly will reduce the weight by about 20%, and the energy required during the molding process will be reduced by as much as 25%. Ford said that the thermal performance of the chaff assembly is significantly better than that of the materials currently used.

Ford has set itself a goal of using recycled and recycled plastics only in its global fleet.