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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Recycle Coffee Grounds and Prevent Drain Clogging


To prevent coffee grounds from clogging drains and drinking fountains on campus, here are just a few ways you can recycle them:

Fertilize plants – Old coffee grounds are nutrient-rich for plants that thrive in an acidic soil.  Used coffee grounds are said to repel snails and slugs too.

No Place for Pet Litter – You can keep pets from defecating in your garden if you spread a mixture of coffee grounds and orange peels around the area. Your pets will find the scent of the mixture too exotic for their defecating standards.

Rub coffee grounds on hands to get rid of smells from chopping or cutting up pungent foods.
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Fireplace Dust Regulator – When cleaning your fireplace, toss a handful of wet coffee grounds in your fireplace.   The wet grounds will hold the dust in place, lessening the dust clouds, so you won’t inhale or get any in your eyes.

Coloring Ingredient –Used coffee grounds can serve as a great brown dye on anything from fabric to paper. Take the coffee grounds and band them in either a filter or nylon. Soak the grounds in two cups of hot water for five to ten minutes. Once you have done this, you have a dye ready for action. When dyeing a larger piece of fabric, simply increase the amount of water and the amount of grounds. If you have brown furniture, a dye made from coffee grounds can also be used to cover up unwanted blemishes.

If you are not a coffee drinker, like me, I understand that some coffee shops will be happy to give you theirs. 

Thank you!

Mary Ranghelli
Facilities
09/30/2009