6.3 Mushroom cultivation

Mushroom cultivation on coffee waste is already done in the Netherlands, but not yet on Texel. However since there are companies that already have implemented this method and these companies are willing to share their knowledge, it is likely that implementation of mushroom cultivation farming on coffee waste can happen within 10 years. Besides this de Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij already has a network to distribute shiitake mushrooms.

2015-2020 Pilot for cultivating on coffee waste

Before implementing the system a pilot can be initiated by using coffee waste of current restaurants that buy shiitake mushrooms from Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij. A workshop at Rotterzwam can be followed to learn more on shiitake cultivation on coffee waste. Since the hospitality industry benefits from shiitake cultivation and the coffee waste is wasted anyway, the hospitality industry can give the coffee waste to Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij for free. To collect the coffee waste it is the easiest to use the existing delivery moments of the shiitake mushrooms. This could make the deal interesting for Maarten Dijker, since production cost are lowered since the sterilization process is not necessary when using the free coffee spent. This makes the pilot attractive. Through this method Maarten Dijker and the hospitality industry are able to increase shiitake mushroom production on a costs effective sustainable manner.

2015-2020 Create relationships between Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij, municipality and HVC

To be able to bring the coffee waste of households to the Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij, households will need to separate coffee waste. A separate division in the collection bin for coffee waste can be made. De Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij, municipality and HVC have to agree on a contract and price for receiving coffee waste. The price can be based on the pilot, which gives more insights in costs for producing shiitakes mushrooms on coffee waste.

2020 Start to collect coffee waste from households

Once everyone has receive the collection bin, coffee waste collection can be initiated and distributed to Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij.

2020-2025 Expand Texelse Paddenstoelenkwekerij

With an increasing supply of coffee waste, the Texelse paddenstoelenkwekerij will have to expand its facility to produce more shiitake mushrooms. Calculations in chapter 6 indicate that at a certain point there is enough shiitake production so restaurants can include shiitakes in their menus.

2025-2030 Promote local used shiitake mushrooms at restaurants

Once production of shiitake mushrooms is high enough, the usage of local shiitake mushrooms cultivated on coffee waste can be promoted and labeled with ‘Texelse Blue Economy’. This may attract more customers who are interested in locally sourced sustainable food.