Used Coffee Grounds

Used Coffee Grounds

In High Demand

By Jacque

I was talking with my brother the other day about composting, and the use of used coffee grounds in compost piles.  In the conversation, he relayed to me that used coffee grounds in his area are in high demand.  Why?

According to an articleI read recently, the grounds are rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy needed to compost organic matter.   Approximately 2% nitrogen by volume, used coffee grounds are becoming a common replacement for manure in compost piles.

Spinning Composter Item For Sale. Click pic for more details/order.

Where my brother lives there are several coffee shops that make their used grounds readily available to the public.  In my community, special arrangements need to be made with coffee shops to procure their use coffee grounds.  It is a simple process; go to your local coffee shop and talk with the manager.  Make it easy and clean for them to give you their grounds by providing a five gallon bucket with a lid, label it with your name, and return to pick it up at the coffee shop’s convenience.

• Spread them on the surface of the soil and cover with leaves or mulch.
• Add the grounds to your compost pile.
• Layer the grounds with leaves and/or grass clippings and turn once a week.

You do not have to use the coffe grounds all at once.  They can be stored in the five gallon bucket or plastic bag.  Some have worked the grounds into planting beds, but they will take a few months to break down.  Also, the filters from coffee makers can be composted with the grounds.

Besides being good for your garden, using coffee grounds in this manner reduces the amount that will end up in landfills.  Keeping these, and other organic materials, out of landfills helps reduce the amount of green house gases produced.  As organic materials decompose they produce methane, a gas that is 25 times worse than carbon dioxide.

This morning, enjoy your coffee… just save the grounds.

Original article: Science Daily

Research by: Oregon State University

Green Home

Here are some companies and their products for your home:

Alpine Energy Group - Fiberglass windows.  This company claims that it’s windows provide less wasted energy and lower heating and cooling costs.  As well as an insulating value of R-20.

Bosch - Energy efficient dishwashers.  According to their advertisments, the 800 series is 148% more energy efficient than the federal standard. 

Greenplay - Children’s furniture.  Made with environmentally safe materials such as post-consumer recycled plastic.  All of the wood used is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.  The best thing about this company is that when your children outgow the funiture they will ytake it back and either recycle it or donate it!

Radiantec - Solar compatible radiant heating systems.

5 Simple Steps to Green

According to Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, co-authors of The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming, the United States produces “25 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide, making us the biggest polluter on the planet.”  This can be an intimidating fact.  How can the average American family have a positive impact on such a global problem?

Here are five easy things your family can do:

1. Green Lights:  You can help save 500 pounds of CO2 in one year.  That is the same as taking 4.7 million vehicles off the road for a year!  How?  Replace your regular light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs.  Generally, these compact bulbs use one-third of the energy of an incandescent bulb.  Green lighting, along with turning off lights when not in use, can save your family money in energy costs.  Saving the planet = saving money …… welcome2green!

2.  Paper or Plastic?  Neither!  To make a dozen plastic grocery bags, requires roughly the same amount of petroleum needed to drive a car one mile.  Paper bags require the cutting and processing of trees that will take decades to re-grow.  Also, consider the amount of energy used to cut down, transport, and mill trees for those paper bags.  The solution - switch to reusable canvas bags. Consider how many bags you brought home from the grocery store on your last visit.  Now think of all the bags you would save by reusing canvas bags!

3.  Say Bye-Bye to Bottled.  Water that is.  Approximately 2,500,000 plastic water bottles get thrown away and make there way to landfills every day.  It takes these bottles an average of 1,000 years to break down.  In addition, most of the caps on these bottles are not recyclable.  So, even if you are doing your best to recycle your plastic water bottles, you may still be creating unnecessary waste. 

4.  Recycle!!!  I know this is not the first time that you have heard this, but it is one of the easiest and most effective ways to help.  Recycling alone can reduce your families pollution by up to 95%.  Imagine that!  This is not limited to, recycling plastic, glass and paper.  It can include such practices as donating unwanted items for others to use.  Buy used items yourself, my wife enjoys shopping for antiques. 

5. Welcome Others 2 Green.  The world does not need to be filled with eco-experts for us to enjoy success.  Talk to your community, friends, and family about all things green.  Write a comment on this site.  Share your knowledge, experiences, successes, failures, and resources with others.  Continue to explore websites like welcome2green.com.  Together, we CAN make a better future for Mother Earth.

Welcome2Green!  It is not as hard as you thought.