Collecting Coffee Grounds for Compost

[Shane Genziuk]

Hi guys, I'm new to this group and wanted to introduce myself and the volunteer group that collects used coffee grounds for composting and fertilizer. We have saved many tonnes of coffee grounds from going to landfill, and at the same time built up healthy soil and productive plants. I hope you get the time to stop by and see some of things that we are doing with those grounds, and if this is something you might be interested in started over your way, let me know how I can help.
Cheers,
Shane
http://groundtoground.org/

[Lauren Angelo]

Hi Shane,

Thanks for joining the group and introducing the concept of grounds to
grounds. I checked out your site, and I'd love to find out more about
what I myself (or others on the list) could do on a local level. From
what I understand, coffee grounds are awesome for speeding up the
decomposition in backyard compost bins, and perhaps lots of local
coffee shops are just tossing their grounds in the garbage?

Lauren

[Dan]

Hi Lauren

I semi-regularly get a bucket of coffee grounds from Dana Street
Roasting Company. They throw them away if someone doesn't take them. I
am not the only person who takes grounds from them, but I get the
sense that most of the grounds go in the trash. If you want them to
save grounds for you then you have to bring them a bucket. I have a 5
gallon soy sauce bucket that I got from one of the chinese
restaurants, and that gets filled up in about a day. It is heavy when
it is full! You should bring the stroller for bringing it home.

I treat the coffee grounds as if they were neutral on the browns-
greens continuum. Does anyone know if that is right?

---Dan

[Shane Genziuk]

Good work there Dan! Re the browns v greens mix, used coffee grounds
have a carbon to nitrogen ratio of 20 – 24:1, which is about the same
as grass clippings. I have more info on what is in coffee grounds in
my primer article which you can find at the following URL:
http://groundtoground.org/2010/07/05/ground-to-ground/

[Shane Genziuk]

Yes Lauren, most used coffee grounds are discarded to landfill, with
only a small percentage finding its way to the garden.

Getting started is as easy as having some locals wanting to get
involved, then approaching a coffee shop or two.
Not everyone knows about reusing coffee grounds, but once they do they
tend to want to make a difference in their habits.
Coffee shop owners are like everyone else and normally (but not
always!), welcome a neighborhood group to start collecting,

I've got a link below on one of the cafes that is involved in Ground
to Ground. They put up a logo and let their customers know what they
are doing, and as more people find out hopefully more want to get
involved. At the end of the day it was all going to garbage anyway, so
whatever can be collected is a good thing.
http://groundtoground.org/2010/12/22/cafes-recycling-coffee-grounds-little-cupcakes/