Ford to build headlights from McDonald’s coffee waste

More and more automakers are jumping on the bandwagon of vehicle production through sustainable materials, Ford is the latest one to make headlines. As a part of the brand’s plan to use renewable and recycled plastics in the making of vehicles, Ford has announced a collaboration with McDonald’s to use coffee beans’ waste for producing auto parts like headlights. 

Ford and McDonald’s discovered that coffee chaff, when mixed with certain additives and plastics and heated to high temperatures, can be converted to durable material. This later can be transformed into pellets and given desired shapes. Every year, millions of kilograms of coffee chaff are produced during the roasting process, which naturally separates the dried skin of the bean. 

Moving forward, Ford realized the quality of composite material matched its specifications for auto parts like headlights, under-bonnet and other interior components. It was found to be about 20% lighter than what’s in place on today’s modern-day Ford cars. Additionally, energy consumption during the moulding process was found to be 25% less. The heat properties of the chaff component were better than what’s currently in use. 

A senior tech leader of sustainability and emerging materials research team at Ford, Debbie Mielewski said, “McDonald’s commitment to innovation was impressive to us and matched our own forward-thinking vision and action for sustainability. 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.”

The senior director of global sustainability at McDonald’s, Ian Olson said, “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.”

Moving forward, Ford North America is expected to receive a significant portion of coffee chaff from McDonald’s soon which will be incorporated into vehicle parts.

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