COU RTES Y OF C OMP OS T COA LITION
seems like every day I get a call from someone wanting to know
how they can participate." Compost Coalition's user-friendly site
also offers advice for residents on how to produce less waste,
what to compost ("if it grows, it goes"), and a map of the city's
community gardens, recycling centers and Ground to Ground participants. "Everyone who has participated has been very pleased,"
says Hoffman of Ground to Ground. "It's been pretty easy and
goes fairly smoothly."
Simplicity was key to getting the program on its feet: While
some coffee shops re-bag grounds in coffee bean packaging, for
most of the program's participants a bucket exchange keeps
things hassle-free. Four-gallon buckets donated by a local penitentiary are stamped with the Ground to Ground seal, filled by
baristas and other foodservice workers, set by the door and taken
home by local gardeners. "When people come in, even if they
haven't participated before, they can just take home a bucket,
use the grounds either on their gardens, compost or on the lawn,
and return the buckets and do it again." says Hoffman. Extension
agent Richards says the program sees "citizens who don't even
garden, but they'll pick up the grounds and deliver them to their
neighborhood community garden." Because the grounds provide
nutrients many commercial fertilizers lack, the relationship is
win-win. "Coffee grounds are slightly acidic," says Richards, "so in
areas with alkaline soil, like Austin, coffee grounds help to lower
the soil pH just a bit."
Composting is still relatively new to Austin, and the city's
recently enacted Universal Recycling Ordinance—which requires
all foodservice businesses to compost by 2016 (2017 for larger
businesses)—means major changes for some. But Hoffman hopes
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the roaster's Counter Intelligence education program, host weekly cuppings and allow Counter Culture to more easily supply the West Coast with
fresh coffee. |
freshcup.com | January 2014
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