The University's Costa (Blue Met) now collects coffee grounds for anyone who needs a hit of nitrogen for their compost. I made use of this service and requested a bag to take home - all 14kg of it! It'll do wonders for the veg I'll be growing in March!

Composting reduces the amount of food waste that ends up at the landfill, giving your soil the nutrients and microorganisms it craves. You'll see a huge difference compost makes to your plants - and even better - it's completely free!

Organic (Green) materials such as fruit and vegetable scraps, crushed egg shells and coffee grounds increases the amount of nitrogen in your compost, and brown materials such as leaves, paper and hay increases the amount of carbon. You should aim for a balance of green and brown materials. More tips on what and how to compost can be found on the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) website.

Check with your local council to see if they offer subsidies for compost bins for home composting.

Above: Image of the compost bin in my garden

If you want to grab yourself a bag of coffee grounds, email catering@londonmet.ac.uk.

Kara