Backroom Coffee Roasters has teamed up with Stiletto Gardener - a Growing Power Regional Outreach Training Center, to use recycle used coffee grounds into
compost. Coffee grounds can be an excellent addition to a compost pile. The grounds are relatively rich in nitrogen, providing bacteria the energy they need to turn organic matter into compost.
A benefit of diverting coffee grounds from the landfill is that it helps cut greenhouse gas emissions. To keep organics out of the landfill is a good thing for reducing greenhouse gas emissions because organics decompose and produce methane. Methane is about 25 times as bad as carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.
Recycling coffee shop grounds also fosters interactions between community residents and local businesses. The coffee grounds stay in their communities, meaning that fuel isn't being used to truck them from far-flung areas of the county to landfills.
Stiletto Gardener founder Ameena Salahuddin trains farmers to develop and maintain small scale farms, backyard gardens and edible front yards. Salahuddin has recently completed an intensive CUA (Commercial Urban Agriculture) program with Growing Power, and is the newest Regional Outreach Training Center (ROTC) of Growing Power in Columbus, Ohio. Stiletto Gardener offers instruction on irrigation methods, seeds and transplanting, container and raised-bed gardening as well as sustainability—developing a comprehensive growing system that allows food to grow year-round without heat. Stiletto Gardener is based in Columbus, OH. For more information, visit www.stilettogardener.com or vistit them on Facebook.