Hole in the Fence

So I am sitting in my favorite coffee house, Black Horse (which used to be called Uptown and which is where I used to work in my college days sooooo long ago). After the euporia of my latte began to wear off and more pragmatic thoughts began to filter through my brain, a conversation I’d had with my mom bubbled back to the surface. It was about coffee grounds. Coffee grounds and gardens. And reusing. And not wasting.

You see, coffee grounds are GREAT for my garden. And Black Horse has LOTS of coffee grounds. Therefore, getting LOTS of coffee grounds from Black Horse would be GREAT for my garden. Oooooh, I LOVE logic! (You can tell that by now my latte high has completely dissipated).

I asked Eric—the manager and coffee hero who created my nectar-of-the-gods—if Black Horse recycled its grounds. His response was measured and polite.

“Hell no. We have way too many grounds for that.” He pointed to the trash bins where they deposited the steaming remains of brewed and espressoed coffee.

“But you would give them to someone who asked?” I pressed.

“Sure. In fact, we have a few people who come in for that already. Why, were you thinking about some for your garden?”

My opening arriveth on golden wings.

“Yep. And I have a few other friends who might like some, too.”

Do I ever. Here’s the deal: if you live in SLO and you need grounds, feel free to stop by and ask for a bag of grounds. Better yet, bring your own bag. Tell Eric that Samson sent you. If we get enough interest, I’ll formalize this with Eric and we’ll create an actual Grounds for the Garden program, which will benefit everyone involved:

• Us gardeners will get some beautiful high-quality grounds for free
• Black Horse will reduce their trash fees and get increased customer pass-through
• We’ll be taking waste bound for a landfill and reusing it to produce necessary commodities

If you’re NOT from SLO, have you considered asking your local coffeehouse about reusing their grounds? They’ll probably be up for it if you explain the potential benefits.

Huzzah for community involvement!

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