by Jared Garrett

Created on: May 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 21, 2007

It is said that if the average person would compost all of their food leavings that were not animal products, their garbage would be reduced by over 25%. So what are we waiting for? Let's start with those coffee grounds!

What is nice is that coffee grounds are not so difficult to compost. One concern that some people have is that there might be too much acid in coffee grounds for composting. This is not really a problem. Brewing the coffee gets rid of the majority of the acid in the grounds. Any acid that is left is handily dealt with by the rest of the compost's contents and the worms.

So here is what you should do. When you have finished brewing coffee, take the entire grounds and filter holder out to your compost. Gripping the top edges of the filter, dump the grounds into your compost. You don't really want to try to compost the filter: it will not break down for a long time. And the fact is, you really want to make sure to compost those grounds, as they will add some choice nutrients like nitrogen to your compost.

The key to having a successful compost is keeping it moist and, surprisingly for some, keeping it in the shade. If you do both of these things you will naturally attract worms. Worms are what turn all of the vegetable and leaf leavings, and coffee grounds of course, into nice, nutrient-rich soil.

So enjoy that coffee, but remember that your compost will enjoy it too!

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