The other Starbucks within range is located in a shopping center and they'll save the grounds during the summer but not in winter. They told me there's no demand in winter and that's probably true for that location.

Claire

I still might do a little dumpster diving, though. I know 90% of all their USGs go in to one, single bag, so it's not as if I'd have to sort through too much trash (maybe some straws, maybe some cups, etc.)

I can appreciate not wanting an extra bucket behind the counter. How about setting that bag out in a bucket by the dumpster? Or just don't harass me if you see my pickup truck around back by the dumpster. Something tells me it's too easy to just say NO rather than figure out something.

I love UCG, but they are not the end-all-be-all, thankfully there are lots of options for compost, the trick is just finding what is available to you.

-I've even called ahead to several shops & state that I would be coming by between 10:30-11am or 11am-11:30am depending on the shop location. They'd save a large bag for me to pick up. Now I'm told they don't have SPACE to store them in the back or out front so just come in & they'll give me what they have.

-Some no longer have the copper can with silver bags, but if you ask for grounds they'll give you some they've stored in the back.

Wouldn't recommend this course of action if you're looking to establish a long term relationship with this particular franchise. Now, if you simply want to chastise the manager for not bowing to your demands, that's a different story...:)

For a year I went into the store and asked about grounds and received a ~ 20 pound bag. Once I went in and they had no grounds, so I asked if I might check the dumpster. Never went into the store again (not a coffee drinker). But that day there were FIVE bags in the dumpster. After that I took three Rubbermaid containers (bag leak) and a broom and pan to collect any mess I made.

I learned what day the dumpster was emptied, good idea to go right before the pickup arrives. The dumpster will be full and easy to remove the bags on top. An extra bonus turned out to be used grounds with filters is better compost material than the expresso grounds the store gives out. Less moisture in them. These bags do have paper or plastic trash mixed in with the grounds at least some of the time.

My last tip would be to find a good tool for snagging knotted plastic bags. I found a $5 tool at a good OLD fashioned hardware store, not a big box store. Kinda like a mini rake. If you grab the plastic bags anywhere but the tied knot, the bag WILL BREAK.

Make sure you leave the gate the same way you found it, if there is one. Clean up any trash around the dumpster, even if you did not create it.

The Starbucks that is on my way home is pretty new and has a LOCKED gate for the dumpster! I hate when that happens.

_____
Composting
We introduced Grounds for Your Garden in 1995, which offers customers complimentary five-pound (2.27-kilogram) bags of used coffee grounds to enrich garden soil. And where commercial composting is available, many stores are able to divert other food waste and any remaining coffee grounds from the landfill as well.

They keep the foil bags of grounds in a bucket by the door and I'll empty that first, then ask if they have any more behind the counter that haven't gotten to the bucket yet. They always give me whatever is there, even if the bag isn't full yet.

Claire

Karen

That's a lot of potential compost!

That said, I've only been turned down by one SB among many in our city. Maybe there is more demand for it, here?

I wonder if the OP were to contact local garden clubs or community gardens to create more local demand, the SB shops might find they can accomodate the gardeners in some way.

They don't want to have to walk around a bucket all day.

If you walk in the store and asked, I suspect they'd give you what they had on hand.

If you made your rounds regularly and hit all the gas stations, office bldgs, restaurants, banks, hotels, etc. in your neck of the woods, you could probably get a nice bucketful every time you tried.

Home made note cards, cookies, anything to build on the rapport you have established. I sometimes tip the starbucks people when they don't have any grounds for me. Makes them think :)

For a while I had an arrangement with my local WaWa (a 7-11 type chain) where I would drop off a couple of 5-gallon buckets and they'd fill them with UCG and filters. This was mainly because I had an understanding store manager and asked nicely. I eventually stopped because I had enough UCG.

GASP!!! Is this even possible??

;-)

A local restaurant will save me the grounds/filters but I just don't have time to make a regular pick-up. Three more years to retire and then watch out....

Lloyd

I can't have too many UCGs.

Well there were 7,950 US Starbucks stores in June 2008 (first google search I found) times 150 pounds grounds per week (probably low) times 52 weeks times .75 estimate what gets pitched
equals 46 million pounds a year? Most of the weight is water no doubt, like one poster suggested.

The kids there are very nice to me (I go out of my way to be nice to all the SBX people I deal with since really, they're doing me a favor after all). I use a cane because of an old injury and both SBX insist on carrying the grounds to my car for me. The teens at the closer one have even apologized to me for keeping me waiting when the store was busy and gave me a free iced tea.

I seldom buy things when I'm there but I always toss a buck into their tip jar as a thank you for their efforts. Quite a few of the kids have been interested in finding out what I do with the grounds and are delighted to hear I'm using them to grow things.

I have met all types of people in this world. Some are care free and have no complaints and brush problems off like nothing, they take a simple situation and are happy to abide. Then there is the opposite end of the spectrum. The person who looks for complaints. Who finds something negative in every situation. The person who is always to busy to help someone else and who always has some kind of attitude problem as if they are the only ones working.

You just have to find the good ones. And if you have to deal with the bad ones, find common ground by talking with them. If you cannot find a solution for the grounds, move on to the next one:-)

WRONG!

UCGs go in the trash can that sits under the counter along with all the other trash. To collect the UCGs would require a separate can/bucket and since there isn't much room, that bucket often finds its way on the floor in the work area. I could sense the employee wanted to be accommodating, but apparently they recently came up with a policy.

I'd be willing to take the entire bag of trash and sort through it myself (usually nothing more than a few napkins n straws in there), but I've been told they stopped saving the grounds by more than one person on more than one occasion. I still might try again considering its been nearly a year.

The first part abut forbidden by law to give away grounds appears to be correct. I don't know about the other two. One woman in franchised outlet always saves some ground just for me.

Like I said. Certain employees will accommodate a second bucket while others wont. Plain and simple. No "WRONG" about it. It depends on who you talk to and how you try to set up the agreement/pick up schedule. Im not saying every SBX will accommodate.

Its funny you take a small paragraph from my entire post and past a huge WRONG but ignore the rest. Sounds to me like you give up too easy and believe the "bad" ones who wish to deceive you.