In my experience (and I've used literally TONS of Starbucks grounds over the years) you cannot setup a schedule with them. It's first come first serve. If you are lucky enough to find a store that customers have not already started collecting grounds from (unlikely) it will not last long. Once people see you taking bags of grounds out, they'll either ask you what you are doing with them or ask the store employees. Soon you'll be competing to get to them first. If you have a regular schedule, someone else will figure it out and adjust there's to get there before you. The best strategy is to just be consistent and accumulate a pile of bags covered with a tarp as the sun degrades the plastic. If you collect from a store that collects the drip grounds in addition to or instead of the machine "pucks" - expect the bags to leak and ruin the carpet in your car - so use a plastic tote in your car. If you want, you can break up the pucks without staining your hands by making a frame of 2x4's and a 1/2" or 1/4" hardware cloth scrren and scrape them through the screen with something like a flat shovel. They really have many uses. Some are: -- layer around shrubs and then cover with mulch in spring. -- use in lasagna layers as a green (beans are green before roasting). -- compost them (again, as a green) -- mix into soil before and after planting a high N crop. -- sprinkle over soil as a slug deterrent - still some caffeine content - I haven't read prove this really works, but I believe it does. -- dry them on a board in the sun and break fine. Use as an organic, time release lawn fertilizer. Spread heavily when grass is dry.

I have been collecting Starbucks grounds for about four years. One thing collectors might not know is that Starbucks throws away most of their grounds. I estimate the nearest store pitches about 70-90% of the total coffee grounds. For the first six months, I went inside the store and requested grounds. I received one bag which was welcome. One time they had none, and I asked permission to check the dumpster. With permission, I checked and found four bags. After that, I never went inside and always checked the dumpster. My average haul is three bags, once I learned what day trash collection was. Inside the store the collector is given only espresso grounds. In the dumpster you find both espresso and regular grounds. While the regular bags include trash (which the espresso bags do not), the grounds have more moisture and are not in clumps like the espresso grounds. I use a special rake to hook the bags and transfer the bags into my Rubbermaid container. One has to grab the bag by the knot. If you hook the bag it breaks. If there is a mess, I clean it up with a brush and pan. The trash is sorted once I get home; and goes in my weekly trash collection.

I just made a deal with my local coffee shop. I will still go to SB, but the competition there has gotten heated. There are three of us now racing there daily for the goods. I visited the local coffee place and left my number and the owner called me. He was SO incredibly nice. He said that if I would bring him a 13 gallon trash can that they could dedicate for UCG, then I could have all of them. So to Wal-Mart I went. Got the trash can, took it in and had a fabulous conversation with him about cats and composting. I made a new friend. On Saturday I took my son there for lunch and the food was fabulous too. I don't drink coffee, so I'm happy that they have great food too so that I can do business there. dlpasti, maybe if you have somewhere local like that, you could try to strike a deal?

Hmmmm.... maybe my flies have more attractive stuff than UCG .... becaue the buckets full of SB UCG don't seem to attract any. The gist of these messages was to keep trying to find a way that works for each store manager. /////////////////// snips from another thread on subject of SB: ]] I no longer get in the customer line, in case that annoys. I go over by the end of the counter where the opening is. The busy cashier may not want to be bothered with me, but another less busy person usually will ask if they can help me. ]] The woman running the place told me they do the grounds thing for gardening in spring because otherwise they aren't picked up. Even here in Louisiana. I told her I compost year round and I would be happy to pick them up. She did not mind saving them for someone but her main concern about saving them was they could not be left in the store overnight. I told her I probably could pick them up a few times a week and asked if I just stopped by if I could get what they had and she said sure. I was thrilled. ]] Our local starbucks puts UCG in heavy-duty trashbags (maybe 25lbs each), tie a knot in the top and places these in a neat wooden container on the back porch. They are available year round. I usually get 3-4 each trip and I don't even go inside! I have probably composted 10 bags of their grounds for every 1 cup I have purchased...:)[this post from mendopete .. so suspect the mendocino area] ]] Last week I finally went by my local Starbucks to ask about getting used grounds. The staff were really enthusiastic and said it was no problem at all, tell every gardener that I know about them. I took in two clean five gallon pails and they have filled them both every day for me for the last week! Today the manager stopped me and gave me some mumbo jumbo about not being able to have my clean, bag-lined white pails on his floor. Something about Starbucks policy or local health bylaws. He was unsure of why he was telling me that I could not leave buckets. I gave him my best "whatever is best for you, I just really appreciate your help :-)," and he agreed to keep supplying me, but I was left feeling somewhat uncomfortable. I had heard from some of the counter staff that the new manager was not big on saving grounds for gardeners, so I was not totally surprised. ]] As a former Starbucks employee, and a current AssMan at another chain coffee place, I can tell you that there *is* a bit of concern regarding buckets of grinds left sitting around. This isn't a problem, if people come to pick up the buckets.. but can result in a bit of a hassle for the store if they get forgotten for days on end. A couple of reasons. Space is one. The SB where I worked had virtually NO back room. A hallway with the manager's desk, shelving up to the ceiling, and the sink. There was no room for more than two people back there, let alone extra stuff. And yes.. that evil dreaded health board. Depending on who you have checking out the premises, there's no reasoning with these people if they see 'garbage' stored under your counters etc. Surprise inspections are a stressful thing, even for a place that knows they're up to code. Having something around that could get a frown from the inspector does get a managers heart racing. Having a 'fresh' bucket of grinds is usually managable. When you're not scared to open it and show the inspector. No mold, no smell. Just 'Grinds for Gardener Steve'. He'll be by at 4 to get em'. Not so bad. But if they've been sitting there a few days because Steve forgot *again* to pick them up.. that poses a bit of a problem. SB has gotten around this, by launching their Grounds for Gardeners' program. The grounds are labelled and actually displayed. This helps a great deal. And people who take a garbage bag, there's no complaint there. Though Im sad to see that most SB in my area now are combining ground garbage with other garbage. When I asked the other day, I was told they didn't do that until the spring. I suggested I just take their ground garbage off their hands, and they told me it was all combined. Boo. They said they only separate them in the warm months around here. It's disappointing. But it's good to hear that they're not all doing it. I wonder: In the cities that have composting programs. Toronto etc.. does SB and other coffee places have a'grounds bin' that goes? Or are those composting programs not for businesses? ]]FWIW, the SB near my home collects them on request. I call in the morning on a weekend, and by mid afternoon they've got a nice large trashbag full. They said they used to bag them without request, but not enough people took them, so they gave up. ]] After reading about their corporate commitment to give grounds away, I called my local Starbucks ahead of time, spoke with the manager and introduced myself. I work across the street two days a week and we agreed that I would bring in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid, in the morning and pick it up at the end of the day. I went to a local paint shop that supplies contractors (Sherwin-Williams) and they happily sold me 3 super solid plain grey 5 gallon buckets with very tight fitting lids for $3.50 CAD each (this could be a problem if closed by accident by SB people as they have to be pried open with a screwdriver... so far, I have just kept the lids in my car and no-one at SB has asked for one). I drop off the bucket in the morning and pick it up on my way home after work. People are friendly, even excited about seeing the grounds go to good use and usually offer to help me carry it out, which I decline. I want this to be easy as pie and a full bucket weighs about 30 lbs I think, so quite manageable for me to carry. ]] Some Starbucks supervisory folks and local "health" officials looking for minute "problems" have raised "issues" (I am a physician once worked for a county health department so I know how the system "works.") We've managed to overcome all objections. Support from local employees has ranged from one manager who had the employees come to her home to enjoy a meal based on the vegetables we'd been providing to an "eye-roller" greeting us with little enthusiasm. Just hang in there and remain unfailingly pleasant. ]] have been having poor results getting UCGs lately, but I walked in to Starbucks today, too embarrassed to ask for anymore, and the manager acually asked ME if I wanted any. She said she had "about 8 million tons of them" saved. I really almost teared up. :) It didn't turn out to be quite that much, but a good sized bag, and a nice barista even offered to carry them out for me! Yay! Here is a link that might be useful: Thank You SB thread