TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Taiwanese company has come up with a clever way to reuse spent coffee grounds by manufacturing shoes with the waste and making a profit from the business.

The idea was conceived by Ccilu International Inc. (馳綠國際), a Taichung-based firm that has invested years of effort into the technology that turns discarded coffee grounds into materials for shoes.

A pair of rain boots can be made with the coffee waste from 15 cups of 12 oz. beverages (355 ml). The quantity of used coffee grounds needed to make a pair of sneakers and slippers are five and two cups, respectively, CNA quoted CEO Hsu Chia-ming (許佳鳴) as saying.

According to Hsu, the company’s footware products have secured ten international patents, have been recognized in various design awards, and are now available in 40 countries, spanning Asia, Europe, and the U.S. From the upper to the outsole, the materials are composed of 40% to 60% spent coffee grounds, he added.

Companies in Taiwan play a significant role in policies to promote a circular economy. Another example is Guantian Black Gold, a brand in Tainan that repurposes the discarded shells of water chestnuts into a variety of products from a type of biochar to room deodorizers.