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Soil, Compost & Mulch

Composting Starbucks UCG with filters

7 years ago

I got a heavy bag of Starbucks used coffee grounds with the paper filters. I know the UCG are nitrogen rich, but I would like to know if I can just dump the UCG with the filters in the compost, or should I include more browns? I ask, because I will soon run out of brown material, so I don't want to waste them. I only have papers, cardboards and pine shavings.

What would the ratio of the UCG and one filter together be approximately?

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Comments (7)

kimmq
7 years ago
While coffee grounds test at about 2.28 percent N not all of that is readily available, and in a cubic yard of coffee grounds that is about 0.01 percent of total nitrogen. The paper filters in my compost piles get digested fairly quickly, I don't think I would be too concerned about the C:N ratio.

http://www.sunset.com/garden/earth-friendly/starbucks-coffee-compost-test

kimmq is kimmsr
armoured
7 years ago
I've never used coffee grounds in very large amounts - but my intuition would be to be more concerned about the possibility for a lack of air and going anaerobic (esp if wet and dense), rather than green/brown ratios. Mixing in rest of pile and with things with structure, like cardboard, would help avoid. Filters should be no issue at all.
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Thanks, Cornelius, for posting the link to such a useful article on the composition of UCGs. I also agree that sociability and showing some understanding of others' needs goes a long way to building a mutually satisfying relationship... 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. It takes about 10 minutes total to make two stops and this makes it clear that they won't have grounds in the shop overnight. So far, I'm getting 5 gallons a day and I think I could probably leave two buckets if I wanted to. I bought some green spray paint and made a stencil of a leafy plant and sprayed it on the sides of the buckets just as a visual reminder. Right now I'm dumping the UCGs in a pile next to my woodshed (I live just outside the city) and when the snow goes, I plan to build progressive compost bins using free skids and coat hangers and start turning into a compost whacko! Now if I could only convince my husband about the Nubian goats...
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regular ucg pickup arrangement with starbucks!! thanks starbucks!
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Comments (7)
Good for you. I have collecting SB grounds for about four years. While the organization makes an effort to give out grounds, most stores seem to pitch about 80 to 90% of the grounds. I prefer the loose grounds and filters to the expresso grounds that the stores give out. Some stores do not seem to realize how many grounds one gardener can use. While one store always gives out one twenty pound bag, another has nice foil bags that only hold five or ten pounds. With my seven piles, I can use two hundred pounds some fall weeks. My procedure is as follows. Two or three times a week I go directly to the SB dumpster. I have a snagging tool, and two large Rubbermaid containers. The average haul is three bags of loose grounds, filters and some trash. If you grab a bag anywhere but by the knots, it will break even though they are double-bagged. The small and heavy bags are the best. Larger bags have more paper and plastic trash are not worthwhile. If I break a bag and it spills outside the dumpster I clean it up. If the wooden gate surrounding the dumpster is closed, it is closed after my visit. If anyone tells me they will give me grounds inside, I explain that my results are much better at the dumpster. I have not been inside the store since I asked permission once three years ago. If I do go inside, sooner or later the manager will request that the dumpster not be visited.
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Comments (21)
I thank the OP for asking this question because I am in exactly the same predicament and was about to ask the same.. just Starbucks coffee grounds and shredded cardboard and paper products in my bin! I do toss in kitchen scraps (no meats or dairy), but for just two people (me and the wife), we don't produce much waste to contribute. I want to diversify the ingredients in my bin, but this young neighborhood is very-lacking in available OM. I'm hoping to find a score of leaves in the town I work in to toss in my truck on the way home one night, but either everyone is lazy or rich because there's not a single bag to snatch anywhere. I've been eagerly looking for weeks. I'm almost desperate enough to offer older/handicapped folks a free leaf-raking if they supply the rake and let me take all the leaves. My town sanitation/water company is contracted with another company to deal with yard waste and is not allowed to share any of it with the town residents (breech of contract). So I'm in the same boat and was also wondering what kind of 'compost' I am making with these meager ingredients. It is certainly better than no ingredients though.
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Comments (23)
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?
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MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
7 years ago
My compost heats up very nicely with a combo of SB coffee grounds and some browns. Leaves or straw. I shred the straw with the vacuum attachment to the leaf blower. It's hard to find dry leaves here in Phoenix, so availability is very limited.
toxcrusadr
7 years ago
They are a weak green, not as strong as grass clippings for example. I too would recommend mixing in some other materials so they don't cake up and get anaerobic. So that stuff should be a bit on the brown side. Mix in some stuff and give it a day or two, check for temp/moisture/aroma and adjust accordingly over the next couple weeks. Long as it doesn't get too hot or smelly it's enough browns.
Richard Brennan
7 years ago
I use coffee grounds all the time and I agree with the above advice. For cheap additional browns, try wood pellets sold for wood burning stoves at big box or agricultural supply stores.
chigardenlady
7 years ago
I use the grounds and dont worry about mixing them. I pour large garbage bags I'd grounds and filters (collected from a Starbucks run to many different locations) about once a month on my pile. It smells great. It is unidentifiable in a few days. Worm food. Never makes pile anaerobic. The only time it's a problem is if u mulch with it.
lazy_gardens
7 years ago
I compost my coffee grounds and filters. The filters vanish at about the same rate as leaves.

I did switch to brown filters, because the white ones were ugly.

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