I called Starbucks last night and just said "Hey there I was wondering if there was anyway I could get your used coffee grounds for my garden". The guy on the phone was like "Sure when do you think you'll be by to pick them up". I told him and gave him my name. Just swung in and grabbed the bag and gave them 5 bucks for their tip jar. Least I could do to help them out. I tried calling Dunkins in my area but I either got "It's too much of a hassle" or "I have to check with my district manager". I'm trying to find other locations that will give me as much as they can as a couple years ago I dumped about 3 small barrels worth and the outcome was major growth in the garden; a lot of tomatoes and zucchini. My house doesn't go hungry when we have fruit trees and fresh vegetables at our fingertips. I just wish more places could accommodate the need, I'd be dumping more in the garden.

I am lucky to have a local nursery that makes good compost. I can get them to fill the back of my pickup for $40. I need to ask them how the compost is made and where does it come from. My lawn is large enough for me to gather enough grass clippings to make about 4 yards of compost a year. The advantage of making your own is that you know what is going into it. Unfortunately, many lawn products that are used to kill weeds are somewhat persistent. The residue can last in compost for quite a while. If a compost operation is getting grass clippings from a golf course that regularly sprays broadleaf weed killer on their turf, it will end up in the compost and it will have an impact on your plants. Do a google search on the subject. Lately it has become a bigger and bigger problem because so many municipalities are using composting as a way to divert yard waste from landfills. Lloyd's compost sounds like good stuff. After two years, most herbicides will be much diminished.

Last fall I removed English ivy, lots of it, trying to get every sprig out of the yard. It had even crept halfway across the yard in spots. I just sat down on the ground and pulled it up, following the vines back to roots. Some of this ivy had been in place for probably 60 years. It came up easily. I think the ground was fairly soft from recent rains. I just used my hands, though I kept a trowel nearby to use if needed. Ended up with a pile in the alley about five feet high, ten feet long, and the city came out with a truck that had claws on a crane and they scooped it up. This year there has been no ivy except where it's trying to come back in from neighbors' yards. I pull up all intruders as soon as I see them.

And stonetech, while I'm fairly cynical about things touted as green, and don't expect all recycling is collected and reused in an ideal manner (local recycler's fine print reads that they may "reject" -- ie dump -- any loads that are not acceptable at their discretion), I do think the effort is worth it. All local trash is incinerated, so even if only some is diverted, recycling has a chance to be the better option here. Arguments about the costs of such services, about what's greenwashing, about consumerism in general, about the global commodities markets and the economics of the waste business... all are topics worth thinking about, but that may be beyond the scope of this forum...