Ground coffee! Recycled beans helping gardens flourish

[dutchman]

Used ground coffee beans are being used to help the city bloom.



A trial of the alternative to fertiliser in Lady Herbert’s Gardens and Greyfriars Green has proved to be a success and will now be extended to flower beds in the city centre.

Lab tests show ground coffee is particularly good for acid-loving plants, but as a substantial amount of the acid is cooked out and drunk the residue is also suitable to be used as a fertiliser.

The idea came about after a member of staff at McDonald’s on Cross Cheaping heard about a similar scheme in London.

John Kiely, who runs the restaurant and is vice chairman of the Coventry City Centre Business Improvement District (BID), said: "We are constantly challenged to reduce our environmental footprint, and as part of this we already recycle our used cooking oil and convert it into bio-diesel. "Recycling our used coffee was the next logical step and another stride towards our ultimate goal of sending zero waste to landfill.

"I am delighted we can contribute to the greening of the city centre in such a proactive way."