Multipurpose Coffee Grounds

(Page 2 of 2)

May 2009 Web
By Stephanie Nelson 
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If you don’t drink coffee, visit your local coffee store and ask for their grounds. Most shops have bins of prepackaged grounds for free.

Greening your coffee experience is a three-part process: First, drink organic, Fair Trade, shade-grown coffee as it benefits coffee farmers in developing countries. Second, cut down on waste by bringing your own cup or mug. An estimated 16 billion disposable coffee cups were thrown away in 2006. Third, don’t let your coffee grounds go to waste; they are more useful then you might think.  

RELATED CONTENT

More about coffee and repurposing

• Find out how Starbucks is working to make all of its coffee cups recyclable.

• Learn how to tell if your local coffee shop is really selling fair-trade coffee.

• Save money and stay chic with these recessionista style tips on how to reuse and repurpose items around your home.

• Trim your budget with these green craft projects.

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  • MikeW 5/21/2009 6:35:36 PM

    _coffee is toxic for dogs, but only if they ingest them_

    Heaven forbid your dog might spend the day licking themselves after a flea rinse. And as my vet points out, any rinse that doesn't leave residue is ineffective against fleas.

    It's also not wise to tempt dogs with flavors of toxic-foodstuffs. Once they get the taste for it, they look for the real thing. That's one of the big problems with so called "dog chocolate" with the theobromine removed.

  • Stephanie nelson 5/20/2009 5:57:45 PM

    Mike-

    Thanks for the link. You’re absolutely right; coffee is toxic for dogs, but only if they ingest them. A flea rinse isn’t harmful for dogs, just make sure to keep the coffee grounds away from their face.

  • Stephanie nelson 5/20/2009 5:57:16 PM

    Kelt-

    Sorry about the link! Here is a link for a dog rinse I found: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1508592/green_uses_for_organic_brown_coffee.html?cat=22. After you rinse and shampoo your dog, rub coffee grounds into their coat and rinse. Make sure you don’t get any coffee grounds near their mouth as coffee can be toxic for dogs.

  • Stephanie nelson 5/20/2009 5:55:58 PM

    Mike-

    The strong odor of coffee grounds repels ants, slugs and snails. As with
    adding any compost or fertilizer, be sure to monitor mold growth. If
    mold does occur, remove it as soon as possible to prevent it from
    spreading. Here is the link where I found this information:
    http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2009/02/24/climate-for-action/.

  • gadgetboy 5/19/2009 8:54:46 AM

    @MikeW: Coffee is only toxic to dogs if INGESTED. A coffee rinse will not harm the animal.

  • MikeW 5/19/2009 8:46:20 AM

    This is just a lousy, poorly researched and dangerous article.

    "When garden pests dine in your garden, add coffee grounds to keep them away from beloved plants."

    Coffee grounds may cause very rapid mould build-up which will kill some plants. Compost the grounds first.

  • MikeW 5/19/2009 8:40:34 AM

    The coffee is toxic to dogs.

    http://www.mhhs.net/poisonous%20foods%20for%20dogs.htm

  • Kelt. 5/18/2009 10:10:06 PM

    Your link to the "coffee grounds as natural flea rinse" contains no information on coffee grounds a natural flea rinse.
    This annoys me, as I really wanted to know what to do. Will you spring the info, or is it on a need-to-know basis?

  • Stephanie nelson 5/18/2009 11:29:44 AM

    It should work with chipmunks. You can also mix the coffee grounds with a blend of pepper extracts, which act as a stronger “repellent” for chipmunks and other pesky rodents.

  • Dezygnher 5/17/2009 8:28:10 PM

    Will this also keep those chipmunks away from tulip/Iris bulbs and my sunflower seedlings?

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