For better or for worse, brewing can only extract so much from coffee beans, leaving you with a portafilter full of spent grounds to throw away. But instead of clogging up landfills, why don’t you try giving those grounds a second life? There are plenty of creative things you can do to make your daily dose a little greener.

1. Use coffee grounds as compost

One human’s trash is an earthworm’s treasure. Coffee grounds are rich in nitrogen, which helps decomposers break down food waste into mulch, which eventually becomes fertilizer for plants. It’s the circle of life. Fill your compost bin with vegetable scraps as well as spent grounds to keep your compost nutritionally balanced and beneficial for both your garden and invertebrate pals.

2. Repel garden pests

Earthworms may love coffee, but slugs, wasps, ants, snails, and mosquitoes all have bad taste and are grossed out by it. Bugs have a strong sense of smell and are sensitive to caffeine and diterpenes, so they stay as far away from coffee grounds as they can. Your plants won’t mind the grounds, so sprinkle them around your garden to keep annoying bugs at bay. Turn your hydrangeas blue

Dust off your chemistry class notes – you can use coffee grounds to do a cool science experiment in your own garden. Roses, blueberries, and azaleas all appreciate the acidity in coffee grounds, but something magical happens when you add them to the soil around your hydrangeas. Hydrangeas typically sport pink or purple blooms, but when the soil has a higher acidity level, the flowers turn an eye-catching shade of blue. Some gardeners use chemical fertilizers to trigger this color change, but using spent coffee grounds is a much more eco-friendly option.

3. Grow your own mushrooms

Here’s a wild one – try growing your own mushrooms. Most mushrooms are really picky about growing conditions, and incidentally, they love the chemical composition of coffee grounds. The espresso making process sterilizes the grounds, so it’s safe to start growing oyster or shiitake mushrooms at home without expensive setup.

4. Use them as an ingredient

Spent coffee grounds aren’t just for gardening. After brewing, the grounds still have tons of flavor, so why not add them to your food? Thoroughly dry your grounds then add them to your favorite meat rub for a deep smoky flavor. Not only does coffee taste amazing in barbeque, it tenderizes meats and takes your steak sear to the next level. Since you’re grinding your espresso very fine, the grounds won’t make your food any crunchier than cracked black pepper would.

5. Make an exfoliating scrub

Combining dried used coffee grounds and coarse brown sugar makes a fantastic exfoliant. Proper exfoliation removes dead skin cells to help brighten and smooth out your skin, leaving you feeling baby soft. If you have rough skin, regular exfoliation promotes blood flow to keep healthy skin looking young. There are a lot of recipes out there for DIY coffee soaps and scrubs, and none of them require crazy chemicals or strange ingredients. In fact, you probably have most of the supplies in your pantry already.

6. Pamper your skin

If you want to smell as amazing as a cup of your favorite dark roast, you’re in luck. Coffee-based soap is good for your skin, even if you don’t use it as a scrub. Coffee’s natural antioxidants help boost collagen levels, which defends against premature aging, smoothes fine lines and wrinkles, and helps protect your skin from sun damage. Plus, the residual caffeine content is great for tightening skin and reducing puffiness. Word of warning – if you have highly sensitive skin, it’s a good idea to check with a dermatologist before using espresso grounds as part of your beauty routine.

7. Scrub tough cleaning messes

Trying to cut down on mystery chemicals and plastic sponges in your cleaning routine? Coffee grounds are more abrasive than baking soda, so they’re great for scouring your sink, polishing your grill, and scrubbing tough kitchen buildup. The acids in the grounds are great for breaking down grease, and yes, it’s safe to let it go down the sink so long as you’re not using a ton of grounds at once. Just don’t use coffee grounds to clean white grout or your granny’s china because it can stain.

8. Absorb lingering kitchen odors

Dried coffee grounds can make stinky fridges smell fresher. Coffee is very good at absorbing odors, so if you forgot to toss those old leftovers last week, your coffee grounds can help you out. Also, if you’ve been chopping garlic and the smell lingers on your fingers no matter how many times you wash your hands, a quick scrub with coffee grounds will help neutralize the odor.

9. Use them as a natural dye

If you’ve ever spilled coffee on your shirt (who hasn’t?) then you know it can leave a stubborn stain. This is good news if you’re the crafty type – dye made from used coffee grounds will give a beautiful latte-colored fabric in no time. So long as you’re using a natural fiber like wool, cotton, or linen, the acids in the coffee will set the dye without a mordant. You can even use coffee to darken your hair or cover up those stray grays.

So, there you have it. After you pull a shot, you don’t have to feel bad about wasting coffee grounds. There are still loads of useful, sustainable things you can do if you think outside the portafilter.