I've got a deal with the local convenience mart that is one mile down the road. I swap out 2 5-gallon buckets twice a week. That is approx 20 gallons, or approx 150 pounds, of UCGs with the filters a week. I've been doing this for a year, except for a few months last summer when I broke my wrist. We have a pretty good routine going and most of the employees are in a routine of emptying the grounds in the buckets (sometimes they forget). I think they appreciate having less of those heavy, messy coffee grounds in their garbage.

I make sure to stay pretty reliable about swapping out the buckets; also make sure to spray out and wipe clean the buckets in between uses.

Sounds like you have a great deal going, terrene. I think my problem is that the Starbucks has so many employees (mainly young students) and it's not that they don't want to help or do it, but they just either don't know about it or get too busy to do it. Maybe in a couple of weeks it will be more routine for them to do it when they get used to my daily call in the morning to remind them to do it and my evening call asking whether there's anything to pick up. I just hate to have to be so much "in their face" about it. I wish we could just have an understanding and stick to it.

Thanks for letting me vent.

Marianne

I feel your frustration. Last spring the Starbucks near me was putting its grounds out regularly in the "Grounds for the Garden" bucket inside the store, and I practically had to fight off other gardeners to get them. This year, no sign of it. I asked and was told "There is no interest." I think they are just too lazy and don't care. I found a different one that said I should call in the morning and they will have a bag with my name on it by the afternoon. So I'm going to try that. Hope it works!

Oh, I went to the Starbucks website and complained. Probably did no good whatsoever, but it made me a little less frustrated.

Marianne,

What a bummer!! Is there a smaller coffee shop or convenience store on your daily route that might help out? As you know, my arrainement is pretty much the same as Terrene's and when I don't show, the employees are concerned. They'll even call me. The other day I couldn't pick-up and forgot to call them but one of the employees took an old bucket of theirs and started filling it up so I wouldn't lose any grounds. :O) After a few years we've developed a great relationship.

I actually work at a Tim Horton's which is similar to your Starbucks. I could take the grounds from work, but there's more filters since they brew by the pot and not huge thermos containers like 'my' crew. I also know that if someone approached them they might think it's a pain in the derriere. Got to get those attitudes changed!

I do hope things turn around for you. Give it time and if it's still not good for you, try someplace else?

That's so cool, Tiffy. They actually call if you don't come!! You know, I offered to give them buckets for them to fill but they refused them and said they couldn't accept anything from the outside. Maybe it's a health regulation thing? Who knows, but I did get a huge load of UCGs this afternoon after I had called in the morning to make sure they were saving them. I could barely lift it out of the car (it was double-bagged in plastic garbage bags) - the young man was very helpful and carried it to my car from the store.

Maybe you're right, I just have to give it time...

Quoi qu'il en soit - I'm happy for every ounce of UCGs that I get.

Marianne

Ahhh, there you go! Fantastic! Looks like a phone call might be the key to unlock their UCG vault. :O)

My local coffee shop lets me leave my bucket with them to fill. I have my name and telephone number on the lid. Soon I am hoping to be able to collect compost from the local organic food using resteraunts for my home and work composting. We live in a community with about 10 small, independent eateries and they will all be glad to give me food scraps so they don't have to pay someone to come and pick them up!
I am just waiting for a lot of work to be done in the back and side yards so I can build my composting bins. They will have to be large. Right now they are small...

GGG

I am also frustrated with my local Starbucks. They also have a bucket out with the "grounds for gardeners" label. However, there is never any UCG in there. Usually it is filled with cups and napkins from people who think it is a trash can. When I ask if there is any available they just say, "Check the bucket." When I ask if I could set up a time to pick some up every day, they have flatly said no. They only put them in the bucket to be fair to everyone. All I can say there is no way there are that many people who want UCG in my little town.

I'm sorry. So far, I've had good luck with the Starbucks closest to us. When I've been there, there's always been huge bags of UCG in their "Grounds for Gardeners" bucket. I imagine it varies from store to store. It's company policy to make them available I believe, but probably depends on on individual employees' motivation. It wouldn't hurt to email Starbucks and mention the location you visit. Perhaps they'll remind their employees.

Actually, after my gripe the other day, it has been almost smooth sailing. I still have to call them in the morning to remind, but I gladly do that. When I picked up last night, I saw that they have designated a bin to me (!) with a sign saying "coffee grounds only" behind the counter so it's not accessible to other patrons (in case people would use it as a garbage can and throw other stuff in there).

Minnesuing, at first they said no to me, too, and the reason they gave was that people forgot to come pick up their UCGs eventhough they promised to do so. I pleaded with them and told them that I had actually had deals fall through because the shop-owners forgot to save the UCGs and I had had to make trips for nothing. That somehow softened them and they agreed to try it out. It looks like I might be able to train them after my initial problems and I'm so happy!

When I have this one down pat, I might expand to local food suppliers for old bananas etc. like GGG! But baby steps, baby steps...

i've been reading in the soil forum i think or maybe organic, but they go to the vendors i think maybe where they sell the vege's and such and this one lady gets all the rotted or one's that are not good enough to sell, the vendor will give them to her knowing it keeps it out of the landfill. i think that is so cool, then one day another vendor was emptying some vege's in a bin and they were telling that vendor about keeping the stuff out, and so she got even more vege's and fruit. i thought ohhh man ohhh man!! so much compost!! LOL we live in a tiny town so that would not be possible for me, but i think that is so very cool!! LOL ~Medo

Laperouse,

Great going!

Discovered the other day that another person had asked to pick-up the grounds when I let go of it last fall for a while, but the employees were not as receptive because the person never thanked them or communicated with them. I always say hi! to everyone as I walk in and yesterday went out of my way to talk to the manager. I invited him to come over this weekend and see what was happening with the grounds. He is coming over with his spouse on Saturday and if they want plants I'll gladly dig a few out of the gardens as repayment. :O)