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Seeking UCGs
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Posted by
wendrew8 (
My Page) on
Mon, May 17, 10 at 22:32
| For those of you who obtain UCGs from a source other than your own coffee maker, how did you go about finding someone to donate them and did you provide them with a receptacle, etc. for collection? Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| Go to Starbucks. They have a corporate policy to donate to us for our gardens. I've been a bunch of times, and as long as someone didn't beat me to it, I've walked away with big bags of them. |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| Do an online search for Starbucks[SB] in your county. Make a list and keep in your car. Whenever you are near one, drop in and seek out the small trash can they usually put the silver bags of UCG in. If empty, look like you need help and unless very busy, one of the UNIVERSALLY friendly and helpful Baristas will ask if they can help you. One SB on my list prefers for me to call ahead and they save the grounds for me, but all others usually have some already prepared. Once I got my sister hooked on UCG, she asked the waitress at a restaurant that she goes to every week, and she gave her a whole big bucket of UCG. My sister now leaves a clean bucket each week and the lady saves them for her weekly visit. BTW ... I'm naturally on the shy side, and it took me a while to get my nerve up to go into a SB and ask. That's why it means so much that the clerks are unfailingly cheerful and willing to help. Free UCG to feed my plants, worms, and compost pile AND cheerfully done! Doesn't get much better than than! I'm such an old pro now that I give UCG for gifts. [have to work at being an eccentric old lady, donchaknow] Both [non-driving] older and [mega-busy] younger friends seem to appreciate the gift .... |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| I've been getting up the nerve to ask the waitress at our local coffee shop/diner if she will save them for me. It is one of those old diner type establishments where everyone in town goes on Saturday/Sunday morning for the 3.99 breakfast special and then sits there drinking coffee and talking for hours. I've peeked in their garbage can by the coffee makers as I've walked past and there must be 5 gal of coffee grounds there on a Saturday by noon. I'm sure if I just said "hey, can I take that garbage bag from you" they would give it to me. I'd be willing to scoop out anything that didn't belong (plastic from the pouches of coffee they use). Starbucks is a little out of my way but this diner is about half a mile from me and right on my way to town. In fact, I have a lunch date there tomorrow. Maybe I'll get up the nerve to ask them...... |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| There is a convenience station right down the road from me that I frequent. I caught the owner on a slow night and asked her if she gardens. We got to talking about gardening, and I asked if she composted. She said that she tried it and it didn't work out, so I asked if she just threw away her coffee grounds, she did, so I asked if she would save them for me. I provided her with a container, she fills it up, I dump it regularly. She appreciates not having to empty her trash as often, and the bags are lighter because the only thing going in the garbage is napkins now. It's a win-win situation. All that she has asked me so far is for a bucket of finished compost when it gets that far. My co-workers, who receive some of my excess garden goods and canned veggies, have been saving grounds for me for a while. I have found that most people don't mind at all, as long as you regularly retrieve the grounds and clean out the container. Talking about gardening is a great way to begin the conversation. One of the people whom I asked to save grounds for me did for about two weeks. The composting bug bit him and he now uses his for his own pile. |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| There is a lot of info in the 131 hits on Searching 'Starbucks' in this forum. Searching Coffee grounds would also produce a lot of previous threads. In one or two of them, you'll see a post of mine saying that Starbucks throws most of the ground away, at least at the stores I am familiar with. I estimate 80-95%. Employee apathy, less corporate interest in the green program, lack of storage for grounds; these all play a part. One store at the mall say they will not give out grounds, period. I went into a store for a year and on each visit was given a double bagged ~20 pound bag of grounds. Once they had no grounds. I asked if I could check out the dumpster. Found five bags, and never again went into the store. |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| I work on campus of a large university and there is a coffee shop in my area of campus. I've gotten to know the manager pretty well and asked him if they give their grounds to our organics composting program we have on campus. He said they didn't because the pick up service didn't come often enough. This perked my attention and I responded "REALLY?!? How hard would it be to keep the grounds seperate if I swung by every afternoon after work to pick them up?" He was all about it and was really happy to see someone want all his coffee grounds as they were just going to waste. So now I just swing by and pick them up everyday on my way home. He couldn't be happier and neither could I! Its a win win!!! |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| My local Madison Alabama StarBucks dumps their UCG into a metal waste basket double-lined with plastic bags. They do this all the time, regardless of whether anyone has reserved them or not. So if I'm just driving by, I stop and ask for them. Sometimes I get a few, sometimes many pounds, almost too much to carry. I can ask them to save them for me the next day. So far they seem to want me to come in at 9 AM to pick them up. Still the amount available varys. I cannot figure it out. But the price is certainly right! I wish in a way they had an outdoor bin to sit the bags in until/unless someone wanted to pick them up. Then significant amounts of UCG could be available till that got emptied, either by individuals or the trash pickup folks. But they don't, at least not there. Jim |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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- Posted by jolj 7b/8a-S.C.,USA (My Page) on
Wed, Dec 7, 11 at 23:20
If you are near the midlands of S.C., there are not one, but two coffee processing plants here who give coffee waste away by the dump truck load.
You haul, last time it was haul to my land 15 miles from the plant, the cost per dump truck load was $65.00, that was dirt cheap. |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| Like Robert, I went to StarBucks 3 to 4 times to ask for coffee ground, each time BUYING a snack. They acted like I'm wasting their time, and told me they don't give out coffee ground for the winter. This is despite corporate on-line promise that they give a 5 lbs. UCGs for customer if asked. So I went to dumpster behind the store. It's OVERFLOWING with garbage. Through clear plastic bags I could see which one has grounds in it. Like Robert, I never go back inside the store and ask again: save myself the hassle, and save them time. |
RE: Seeking UCGs
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| Things are bad in san francisco, they lock up the dumpsters. Some starbucks are nicer then others. You have to find ones that are willing to be helpful. It really takes time, but I found a good starbucks near the former tower market that is willing to do it. |
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