Coffee grounds can now give gardens a boost too.
Grounds to Ground is a company that turns recycled coffee waste into a natural pest repellent and soil conditioner. The company, based out of Kenner, Louisiana, was started by couple Yvette Tablada and Andres De La Puente.
The inspiration for the practice came from a lecture the duo attended when they lived in Miami, Florida, about a recent practice in India to replenish the GMO-ruined soils. The program there was called “pay for pee porta-potties,” in which the country paid people to use porta-potties so soil fertilizer could then be made from the urine.
After leaving the lecture, Tablada had her own idea for an environmentally-friendly practice and began searching for ways to implement it. Through this initial research, she developed the idea of using coffee.
“We’re really hoping to build a socially conscious company,” Tablada said. “We want to deliver a green, natural product to the market.”
Coffee functions as a natural soil amendment. According to the company’s website, the grounds act as organic matter which releases nitrogen into the soil, feeding earthworms and deterring pests. As the earthworms digest the grounds and move through the dirt, the nutrients are spread through the soil, aerating it and bringing oxygen to the roots of plants.
In the city, the coffee is picked up through the waste management system and Grounds to Ground collects it from that, keeping it from filling up local landfills.
Customers can rest easy knowing Grounds to Ground product is safe for animals, children and the environment.
It has been a gradual process of trial and error for the duo in establishing their routine of drying the coffee in the greenest way possible. First they tried using ovens and hair dryers to dehydrate the grounds, but they constantly searched for other alternative methods until they obtained their current equipment, which can hold up to 250 pounds of coffee waste.
The equipment used is made up of several trays that sit on wooden racks in the couple’s garage so the grounds can be dried in any weather.
“We are collecting that and making viable products out of it and adding different spices to it,” Tablada said.
The natural spices work to deter certain pests from the garden. Currently, the company offers two products — one repels cats, while the other repels snails, slugs and ants.
The company is currently based out of their garage, as it is still up-and-coming. Everything is hand-stamped and hand-bagged. The duo collects, processes, sells and distributes the products.
Grounds to Ground’s product functions as three-in-one, possessing the soil amendment, an earthworm feed, and spices which act as a pest repellent. The product is available in 10 local-area stores.
An 11th location in Kenner called Jack & Jake’s, which opens soon, will also feature Grounds to Ground products in the market.
“We would really like to scale up in the future,” Tablada said. “Right now, our feedback is really good, and the city has really responded. So we’re getting people coming back and buying our product every few weeks.”
Since the operation began almost a year ago, the company has recycled more than 8,000 pounds of waste, which would have ended up in landfills.
Tablada and De La Puente hope to use Grounds to Ground to give back to the community with some ideas they currently have.
You can reach Ashlyn Rollins on Twitter @ash_r96.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Zoe Geauthreaux

Grounds to Ground uses similar packaging for its two products, 'Cat Repellent and Soil Conditioner' and 'Snail, Slug & Ant Repellent and Soil Conditioner'.