Grounds for Change
- added December 7, 2007
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- AndreaKnoll
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by Michelle
When you empty out your coffee grounds, what do you see? Most coffee grounds are deemed garbage and sent off to the landfill, but a few clever businesses see spent coffee grounds as much more. Starbucks has started an innovative recycling program called Grounds for Your Garden, which provides complimentary coffee grounds for customers, schools, nurseries and parks. Used coffee grounds are available upon request on a first come first served basis, and are packed in reused coffee bags.
Coffee grounds are excellent material for composting as they are high in nitrogen and add heat to compost when combined with materials high in carbon, such as dry leaves, brown paper or straw. Starbucks' win-win arrangement provides gardeners with high-quality compost material and finds a use for a large component of the waste produced by the company.
Meanwhile an Indiana-based company, Java-Log, have found another creative way to reuse coffee grounds, manufacturing an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical-based fire logs from them. Made from waste coffee grounds culled from instant coffee manufacturers and chain coffee shops compacted with non-petroleum wax, their logs burn longer and brighter, and smell nicer, providing heat and energy from 20 million pounds of coffee grounds annually that would otherwise have ended up in landfills. In addition, the Java-Log produces 80% less carbon monoxide and particulate matter than wood logs, and is produced from 100% renewable resources. You can even compost the ashes left over when your Java-Log has finished burning.
So the next time you empty your coffee filter, take another look. Do you see garbage? Or do you see black gold waiting to decompose into compost or be recycled into a fire log? Going green doesn't have to mean going without or living a miserable life walking barefoot uphill both ways. Creative, positive change can pop up in the most unexpected places - even in the bottom of your coffee cup.
http://www.dailymantra.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantra
When you empty out your coffee grounds, what do you see? Most coffee grounds are deemed garbage and sent off to the landfill, but a few clever businesses see spent coffee grounds as much more. Starbucks has started an innovative recycling program called Grounds for Your Garden, which provides complimentary coffee grounds for customers, schools, nurseries and parks. Used coffee grounds are available upon request on a first come first served basis, and are packed in reused coffee bags.
Coffee grounds are excellent material for composting as they are high in nitrogen and add heat to compost when combined with materials high in carbon, such as dry leaves, brown paper or straw. Starbucks' win-win arrangement provides gardeners with high-quality compost material and finds a use for a large component of the waste produced by the company.
Meanwhile an Indiana-based company, Java-Log, have found another creative way to reuse coffee grounds, manufacturing an environmentally friendly alternative to chemical-based fire logs from them. Made from waste coffee grounds culled from instant coffee manufacturers and chain coffee shops compacted with non-petroleum wax, their logs burn longer and brighter, and smell nicer, providing heat and energy from 20 million pounds of coffee grounds annually that would otherwise have ended up in landfills. In addition, the Java-Log produces 80% less carbon monoxide and particulate matter than wood logs, and is produced from 100% renewable resources. You can even compost the ashes left over when your Java-Log has finished burning.
So the next time you empty your coffee filter, take another look. Do you see garbage? Or do you see black gold waiting to decompose into compost or be recycled into a fire log? Going green doesn't have to mean going without or living a miserable life walking barefoot uphill both ways. Creative, positive change can pop up in the most unexpected places - even in the bottom of your coffee cup.
http://www.dailymantra.com
http://www.myspace.com/thedailymantra
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- AndreaKnoll
- 8 months ago
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