The Good2grow Transition Year team from Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh. Photo: Good2grow/Facebook

Teens come up with grounded idea

A transition year mini company in Cork could be headed to Colorado to further develop their award-winning eco-friendly coffee fertiliser business.

Good2grow was developed by a group of 4th year students at Coláiste An Spioraid Naoimh after something caught their eye during a brainstorming session at a local coffee shop.

“At this point we were stuck for ideas and running out of time,” team leader Hassan Mannan told the Cork Independent.

“While we were sitting and attempting to brainstorm, we noticed the barista throwing out massive amounts of waste. We didn't know what it was, so we asked the barista what she was dumping and she told us that they were coffee grounds,” he said.

After some research, Hassan and his team discovered that coffee grounds are filled with key minerals such as nitrogen and calcium.

Based on further advice from local experts in the field of gardening, the team decided to add seaweed powder, earthworm casting and Epsom salt to their product.

To create the fertiliser, Hassan and his 7 teammates visit coffee shops around Cork city to collect coffee grinds which would usually be thrown away after use. The grinds must then be completely dried and weighed before being mixed with the other ingredients. Once the fertiliser is prepared, it is packaged in a 100% compostable bag within a box which is fully recyclable and biodegradable. Each box features hand drawn designs, a logo sticker, and instructions for use. Having already won 1st place in the Cork City section of the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Young Enterprise competition, the team is now looking ahead to a county final in UCC for which the top prize includes an all-expenses paid trip to Colorado State University College of Business this summer. The winning mini company will also go on to represent Cork at the national finals in Dublin.

“We feel nervous but excited at the same time as we are eager to show how our company has grown and how we have grown at the same time as humans. At the start of the year our company agreed we would like to do something that would benefit our environment, and this idea suited us perfectly,” said Hassan.

Teacher and enterprise coordinator Anthony Malone added: “This bunch of students is a very enthusiastic and a very capable team of young entrepreneurs who show great dedication and resilience in their work. We are very proud of them, and we are confident in their ability to succeed.”