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"  What happens to the uneaten muffins that don&amp;#039;t sell at Starbucks each day? They go in the trash, but Starbucks is hoping it can make better use of them. The company is researching how to turn the stale baked goods and old coffee grinds into useable products. According to the New York Daily News, researchers in Hong Kong are working on a way to lessen Starbucks&amp;#039; environmental footprint by figuring out how to refine the coffee giant&amp;#039;s waste and turn it into bio-plastics and laundry detergent. The process is done at a biorefinery, which takes food waste and turns it into useable products. Similar to an oil refinery, the biorefinery transforms food products into bio-based fuel. More From Delish: Using Leftovers: 10 Ways to Make Them Better  The unwanted baked goods are mixed with fungi to break down the carbs into simple sugars, which is then fermented. The bacteria transforms the sugars into succinic acid, which is the agent that ultimately turns the wasted food into detergent, among other things. Starbucks isn&amp;#039;t the first to experiment with biorefineries. England&amp;#039;s Sainsbury&amp;#039;s, a mega-supermarket chain, uses the technology to generate power for 2,500 homes. More From Delish: Double-Duty Recipes: Plan for Leftovers Hong Kong Starbucks alone produce more than 5,000 tons of coffee grounds and uneaten baked goods, which is currently turned into compost or tossed in landfills. Although the proposed changes sound like a good idea, some think it will drive up food prices. Do you think Starbucks in the U.S. should transform its leftover food into useable products?  Find more great food content on Delish: Search for the perfect recipe from our homepage Find out the latest food news Get a recipe book to save your favorite dishes Sign up for our free newsletters Check us out on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a39029/starbucks-recycles-coffee-and-stale-muffins-for-laundry-detergent/>