The café culture is alive and well in Bangkok and those who visited would know! And the result of that, born from thousands of cafés, is a mountain of coffee wastes daily. Here at Greydient Lab, we have a belief that there is a design space to be had, shifting our perspective or practice towards turning these discarded waste into a vital resource.

This year, in collaboration with Greydient & Them café, we bring this vision to Bangkok Design Week 2026. In a festival that positions design as a bold response to urban challenges, we are asking a simple yet transformative question; What if our morning ritual didn't end in a landfill?

Introducing the Coffee Ground Zero initiative. A project that aims to bring awareness to sustainability for everyone, reframing "waste" as "potential" — a nutrient-rich catalyst for urban farming and a blueprint for the city’s circular future.

What is Coffee Ground Zero?

Coffee Ground Zero is our sustainability initiative that reframes discarded coffee grounds as a personal resource. It is a practical study in circularity, addressing the reality that an average café produces 15 to 25 kg of organic waste every day.

While this waste is typically thrown away, it holds the potential to enrich the soil right where we live. Our concept focuses on localising this value. According to research by Chulalongkorn University (2024), there is a significant economic and environmental gap in Bangkok’s waste management; while cafés discard tonnes of grounds, urban growers are simultaneously paying 8 to 25 THB(~ USD 0.8) per kg for compost. That’s USD 300–600 straight into the bin, every month, per café! 

By using design to make the redirection of coffee grounds simple and tangible, we show how awareness can spark a restorative habit. We want to empower individuals to see a daily byproduct as a tool for growth, turning a passive routine into an active, everyday contribution to the city’s environment.

Making the Message Consistent

Our design philosophy was rooted in clarity. Balancing our minimalist aesthetic with a bold call-to-action: “Don’t Toss it, Transform it”.

The design process followed a path of refinement across four touch-points: Website, Packaging, Experience Design, and Social Communication. From poster scales to colour profiles, we ensure the transition from digital concept to print reality was flawless. Before the launch, we staged a full-scale prototype of the exhibition to gather feedback from peers and designers.

Outcomes and Impact 

Our goal for this was to create conversations over coffee waste and hopefully introduce a new perspective to sustainability. Throughout the showcase, we observe how visitors interacted with the artefacts and website where they gained new perspectives on how they could make a difference.

To bridge the gap between observation and action, we provided visitors with a physical Starter Kit. This included a small shovel and a package of processed coffee grounds ready for planting. Each package featured a QR code linking to our digital hub (bkkdw26.greydientlab.com). There, users could explore the science of coffee waste and access a Drop-off Map to find local spots to continue the cycle.

This project proved that design can turn a daily ritual into a restorative act. What began as a question has evolved into a blueprint for urban renewal. We are committed to expanding this movement, ensuring the care we put into our design today continues to nourish the city long after the festival ends.

Conclusion

To us, this project is more than a showcase, through "Coffee Ground Zero" we demonstrate that meaningful sustainability solutions emerge from reimagining what cafes already discard daily. Our three-part framework: Advocacy, Activate, and Access, we hope to bring forth a message on waste reduction practices across Bangkok's urban community. So maybe, the next time you’re having your coffee, pause before you toss your grounds, there might be more life left in them yet!

Explore the project at:
bkkdw26.greydientlab.com

Find out more about Greydient & Them at:
greydientandthem.com