WEF Technology Development: Completely Eliminates Coffee Grounds and Tea Leaves Develops "Hi-Mimosa," a Low-Temperature Biological Oxidation Volume-Reduction System

2026.08.25 09:30

WEF技術開発株式会社

WEF Technology Development Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture; Representative Director: Akira Aoyama) has developed the “Hi-Mimosa” low-temperature biological oxidation volume-reduction system and successfully conducted treatment tests that completely eliminate high-moisture coffee grounds and tea leaves without producing odors or wastewater.

Coffee grounds, which are generated in large quantities worldwide, cause serious environmental impacts, including methane gas generation during landfill disposal, CO2 emissions during incineration, and water pollution resulting from improper disposal. Since they contain substances that inhibit plant growth if left untreated, measures such as recycling them into fuel or building materials, or proper composting, are urgently needed.

However, while coffee grounds are generated in large quantities at factories that produce coffee beverages, establishments that serve coffee do not typically produce significant amounts. Consequently, collection and transportation pose challenges for recycling efforts. The company’s “Hi-Mimosa” system uses proprietary enzymes to rapidly break down organic waste through biological oxidation, enabling complete on-site disposal.

■ Features of “Hi-Mimosa”

・No Odor, No Wastewater

The major issues with organic waste (especially food waste) treatment are odor and the water generated. Conventional treatment systems adsorbed odors using activated carbon and other materials, while the water was evaporated using heating elements.Hi-Mimosa operates without deodorization units or heaters, so these problems do not occur. Furthermore, most so-called “elimination devices” are unable to process waste all the way through gasification and instead flush away the remaining residue with water. Hi-Mimosa is an ultra-high-speed solid-phase bio-oxidation reactor, eliminating the need to flush waste with water.

・Decomposition and Elimination via Biological Oxidation

Using proprietary enzymes, it rapidly decomposes organic waste such as coffee grounds and food scraps, and by combining this with water evaporation, it achieves nearly complete elimination.

■ Coffee Grounds Treatment Test

We loaded 5 kg of coffee grounds into the Hi-Mimosa test unit.

Mimosa試験装置

Mimosa Test Unit

処理物のコーヒーかす

Coffee grounds to be processed

コーヒーかす投入

Loading coffee grounds

投入量の確認

Verification of the amount loaded

24時間後

24 hours later

Coffee grounds treatment results: We confirmed that even coffee grounds with high moisture content can be completely eliminated without any issues.

Although we verified the treatment 24 hours later, a visual inspection suggested the coffee grounds had been fully processed within 12 hours.

■ Benefits of Coffee Grounds Processing

Not only coffee grounds but also tea leaves with high moisture content are prone to decay, making efficient transportation difficult. Furthermore, transporting them to recycling facilities poses challenges in terms of transportation costs and CO₂ emissions.

Since locations where coffee grounds are generated likely also produce large amounts of food waste, it is possible to use Hi-Mimosa to dispose of both coffee grounds and food waste together.Preventing the disposal of food waste helps alleviate the burden on municipal incineration facilities (which burn hard-to-burn food waste using fossil fuels) and contributes to CO₂ reduction by avoiding incineration.

The Hi-Mimosa product lineup includes a unit capable of processing up to 5,000 liters, making it suitable for managing large volumes of coffee grounds and tea leaves generated at beverage factories.

■ “Hi-Mimosa” for Home Use: Solving Municipal Food Waste Incineration Problems

In Japan, waste separation has become so extensive that much of the waste collected at municipal incinerators consists of high-moisture food waste, which requires large amounts of fossil fuels to incinerate.

The WEF is considering the installation of Hi-Mimosa units in each household as one solution to this problem.If compact “Hi-Mimosa” units are installed in every household, there will be no need to transport heavy, high-moisture waste to collection sites; transportation from collection sites to treatment facilities will also be reduced; and the most problematic issue—combustion challenges in incinerators—will be resolved.

家庭用「Hi-Mimosa」