Orlando Sustainability

Mustard Seed And Their Amazing Mattress Recycling Service

There’s only one mattress recycler in the whole state of Florida. This unicorn is otherwise known as the Mustard Seed of Central Florida  and is located in the historical town of Eatonville. The Mustard Seed is known for its work rebuilding the lives of families who have suffered disaster or personal tragedy by providing household furnishings, clothing, and overall, making their house a comfortable home. What’s unique about this non-profit organization is that it has a scrappy approach to carrying out its work while also being environmentally responsible in the community.

Since 2011, The Mustard Seed’s recycling efforts have deconstructed more than 175,000 mattresses and sold their components, diverting nearly 4 million cubic feet of waste from the landfill. Landfills hate when a truckful of mattresses comes in to dump because mattresses have a low bulk density. Mattresses don’t weigh much, so the revenue they generate on the tipping fee is low. Plus the bulkiness of mattresses means that they take up a lot of the landfill’s precious capacity. It’s a win-win for everybody when mattresses are recycled.

Recycling a mattress takes manual deconstruction, and it’s not easy work. Mr. Howard, the supervisor of the Mustard Seed’s mattress recycling program, is always looking for volunteers to help him shuck the ever-growing stack of mattresses and boxsprings. It starts with a sharp box cutter and making a steady incision around the entire length of the mattress. Once you’ve opened the outer part, you can pull off the foam, metal boxsprings, and fabric topper. Oftentimes, the biggest deterrent is the glue that’s holding everything together. Howard has been recycling mattresses for over ten years and knows every technique in the book to break them apart for the valuable materials inside.

In states like California, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, there exists the non-profit organization the Mattress Recycling Council. They were formed by the mattress industry to operate recycling programs in states that have passed mattress recycling laws.

MRC assembles a network of collection sites and recyclers in each state. The consumer/resident drops off the old mattress at the collection site for free. MRC pays a fee to the collection site for each mattress they turn over to them. Many of these collection sites are municipal transfer stations or landfills. MRC pays a fee to transport the mattresses from a collection site to a mattress recycler. In the final step, MRC pays the recycler (like Mustard Seed) a fee for each mattress they recycle and any earnings from the re-sale of steel, foam, wood, etc is theirs.

To get a similar statewide program, the Florida legislature would need to pass a law (like CA, CT and RI) that requires a mattress recycling fee of 15-20 dollars be charged on every mattress sold within the state – by both traditional retailers and online retailers.

At the Mustard Seed, recycling efforts generate income to help fund the furniture and clothing programs. They accept donations of furniture, appliances, household items, linens, dishes, toys, home decor, and anything that makes a house a comfortable home. They serve around 3,000 people each year — and rely on community support.

Volunteer to help out The Mustard Seed by signing up here.

 
 

Mr. Howard, the king of mattress recycling.

 
 
 
 
 

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

 

O-Town Compost doesn’t take bio-plastics, but accepts paper, bagasse, wood, and bamboo products

 

Sign The Petition - Stop Online Retailers from Selling Falsely Advertised "Compostable" Products

For the regular person, it’s not easy to decipher the difference between a bag that’s compostable and a bag that’s green-tinted plastic. As Orlando’s Community Composter, we’ve been unpleasantly surprised by compostable products and bags ending up in our collection containers that clearly label themselves as “compostable/biodegrable” but are obviously not. The fact of the matter is that producers of these products don’t take the time to test out their products, or consult the composting industry. Customers believe they’re purchasing the correct bags to breakdown in compost piles, but are being dupped by the greenwashing.

With the petition found below, we’re urging big online retailers, like Amazon, regulate and prevent sellers from greenwashing and making false claims. The responsibility for fighting contamination needs to start with the retail industry, and trickle down to the consumer, who should also learn what is and isn’t acceptable in their compost bins.

By requiring all products labeled “compostable/biodegradable” to meet either CMA or BPI certification, composters can be rest assured that the material they get isn’t going to be tricking them and polluting the earth. Not to mention, composters like us would love to not have to be the police.

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

O-Town Compost doesn’t take bio-plastics, but accepts paper, bagasse, wood, and bamboo products

Over a quarter million pounds were kept from the landfill in October!!

Check In with Charlie, the Founder of O-Town Compost (Short Video)

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

O-Town Compost doesn’t take bio-plastics, but accepts paper, bagasse, wood, and bamboo products

Almost a quarter million pounds were kept from the landfill in August?!

O-Town Compost funds the Construction of a Community Garden's Compost System

Apopka’s ABDC Garden Gets A New Compost System

 The ABDC Garden in Apopka, FL was founded to provide a safe place for community members to grow their own food and to share gardening education with all who visit. At ABDC Garden we also donate fresh produce to the food bank, Loaves and Fishes. 

For over 10 years the garden has served our community and last year we were overjoyed to receive a generous grant of 47k  from the Orlando Regional Realtors Association. The volunteer Garden management team worked hard to thoughtfully allocate the grant money to improve existing infrastructure and to expand our ability to host events for the community, such as gardening and seed saving workshops. 

The garden improvement plan also included plans for an updated compost system. The shortage of local, high quality compost means that creating our own compost is imperative. The updated house compost system will significantly improve our soil for healthier plants and more nutritious crops. 

     Unfortunately, the ABDC Garden has experienced a set of challenging circumstances whereby some of our funding was lost and the work was not completed. The garden team was heartbroken to see the completion of our compost system grind to a halt. 

        As luck would have it, a generous local business heard about our loss and stepped up to help complete the compost system! Charlie Pioli of O-Town Compost is a friend of the ABDC garden. He has helped educate garden management staff and members on how to successfully create compost and when he got word that the gardens compost system was in distress, he offered to donate the $300 that was needed to complete our compost project! 

     Thanks to the help of OTown Compost, our garden team will move forward on building a multi bay compost system. Check out our garden design below. ABDC garden would like to extend our most heart felt thanks to Charlie and O-Town Compost for saving the day… and our soil! 

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

O-Town Compost doesn’t take bio-plastics, but accepts paper, bagasse, wood, and bamboo products


Now Serving Kissimmee & Lake Nona!!! 🌍🌱🥕🌶️

O-Town Compost now serving Osceola County

Current O-Town Compost subscribers, please share this announcement with anyone you know in Kissimmee and Lake Nona!

Don’t forget to sign into your customer portal, and use your unique referral code to Get $15, and Give $15 when they sign up. ✌️

They can sign up here: https://o-towncompost.com/subscribe

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Don’t trust products that look like plastic, feel like plastic, but say they’re “compostable.”


January Newsletter: Our New Year's Resolution is to Compost More Food Waste

Featured Subscriber of the Month: Hanalei Shave Ice

Slow down, take a load off, and embrace the ALOHA spirit. That’s the vibe at Hanalei Shave Ice, one of O-Town Compost’s longtime commercial composting partners located at 1308 Lang Avenue in Orlando.  Here is where you will find Hanalei’s charming ‘ice-truck’ nestled in the backyard of The House on Lang under the beautiful trees and hanging moss. Owner, Brandy, is following in her father’s footsteps by serving up delicious shaved ice treats. The ingredients are always fresh, seasonal, and free of fake chemicals and sugars. Did we mention that ALL the serviceware used to serve and consume these treats are compostable?! 

Before she started her shaved ice business, Brandy worked for Darden and was tasked with implementing the company’s “green team.” She was always specifically interested in capturing food waste to make a valuable end-product rather than see it wasted in the trash. Diving more into her Hawaiian culture, Brandy learned how Hawaiians prioritize environmental stewardship, and how the practice of composting was ubiquitous. According to Brandy, “living aloha and being good to the Earth is just part of one’s responsibility as a human citizen.”  After opening her shaved ice truck, Brandy was composting all of the business’s waste on her own but could not keep up due to the high volume. Once she did some searching on the internet, she was happy to find the services of O-Town Compost. 

Since partnering with O-Town in October 2021, Hanalei Shave Ice has diverted 869 pounds from the landfill! In fact, 95% of the food truck’s waste goes to compost, leaving only a small bag for recycling and an even smaller bag for trash at the end of the day.  Customers have noticed these efforts too, and given her lots of positive feedback. They get excited about the possibility of composting, and through the example of Hanalei, can picture themselves doing it at home. As Brandy advises, “it only takes a small change to start.” That being said, Brandy’s heart sinks when she sees single-use plastic products being used by other food service businesses. Sure, compostable serviceware can be slightly more expensive than plastic and Styrofoam, but she believes “living Pono” and being good to the environment is an important part of her choices as a brand. 

Hanalei Shave Ice definitely stands out as a waste warrior in the Central Florida Community. If you haven’t visited Hanalei Shave Ice before, now is your opportunity! Hanalei has special flavors weekly, so check out their Instagram page to stay updated! Right now, all O-Town Compost subscribers can receive a family 4 pack ($28 value!) when they show an email receipt proving an active residential subscription. This is Brandy’s thanks to her customers who are doing good for their home, family, and for our world. 

O-Town subscribers! Each month we want to highlight subscribers that are standing out as waste warriors in our composting community. If you are interested in being featured, send us a direct message or e-mail us at info@o-towncompost.com. 

Get Involved With our Partner Farms, and Help Them Pick out Contamination at the Compost Site.

O-Town Compost is growing, and taking on more commercial customers. We’re laser-focused on our mission to divert as much possible food waste from the landfill as we can. For a region like Central Florida, where composting is a bit of a foreign concept, this inevitably leads to contamination. And lately, our partner farms have been receiving higher contamination than they’d like to. Of the total contamination found at our partner compost sites, 99.5% is from commercial customers, not residential subscribers, who are oftentimes self-policing.

We try everything in our control to make sure the correct materials end up in the correct bins, but at the end of the day, we can’t babysit our commercial clients. That’s why we’re asking for our community’s support in filling an occasional volunteer slots to pick out contamination at Froot Farm in Christmas, FL and Everoak Farm in East Orlando.

Details:

  • Volunteers will be given the address of the farm that needs the help, and the contact info of the farmer.

  • Time slots will be around an hour for volunteers, or however long it takes to remove the bulk of the contamination.

  • Trash pickers and buckets will be provided, so volunteers won’t have to bend down to get contaminants.

  • Please dress for the compost site (i.e. boots, hat for sun, sun-screen). You’ll probably get some soil on you.

  • If interested, please email us at info@towncompost.com, and we’ll reach out when we have opportunities available.

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Our new residential infographic is looking sleek!

What have we been up to?


December Newsletter: New Partnership with Oh Eco, Orlando's Zero Waste Shop

Sign up for O-Town Compost’s service at Oh Eco Zero Waste Shop

Thanks to Alyssa Bolaños, owner of Oh Eco, you can now sign up for O-Town Compost’s convenient residential composting service at the shop! Simply scan the QR code, enter your details, and take home a bucket!

Anyone who signs up at Oh Eco’s shop will receive a special promo code for $10 off service. We love to see community partners teaming up to fight waste and starve the landfill.

What you do if you have a pumpkin, or more than fit in your bucket.

Americans toss out 25% more trash from Halloween to the New Year than any other time of year. O-Town Compost will only pick-up what’s contained in your bucket on a normal pickup day. Then what do you do if your scraps won’t all fit in the bucket, or you have a Jack-O-Lantern?

Step 1: Sign in to your customer portal and access the shop.

Step 2: Scroll down mid-page to locate the item titled “Additional pickup of material that doesn’t fit in bucket.”

Step 3:Order item for $5. Now our driver will know on your next pickup to expect additional material outside the bucket, and will happily collect it.

Step 4: Keep your additional scraps in the fridge or freezer until the night before pickup day, and put them out in a bag, box, or even a container of your own. We’ll wash and return the container to you if you reach out and let us know!

Get Involved in The Community…

Sign Up to be a “Feed The Need” volunteer!

Feed the Need Florida launched in 2020 as a response to increased food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and continues to respond to the dynamic food needs of our community.

Volunteers are an important part of the 4Roots family and key to the success of our mission.

Find Out More

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Give The Gift of Composting 🎁

Follow the instructions below to gift a friend/neighbor a composting subscription.

Step 1: Click HERE to access the gift card page.

Step 2: Enter the dollar amount you’d like to give, your name, and your email.

Step 3: Enter the recipient’s details and even a personal message to them.

Step 4: Enter payment information.

What have we been up to?


November Newsletter: Over 31 tons composted! Let's Go!!!

Featured Subscriber of the Month: Cigdem Ozkan

This month, we are pleased to highlight a residential subscriber, Cigdem Ozkan. Cigdem is representing Lake Baldwin on our Friday route, which recently expanded to over 100 household stops in one day! Cigdem has been a subscriber with O-Town Compost since September of 2021, and has already diverted 250 pounds from the Orange County landfill! Also, she’s been a big part of our green events team, acting as a waste ambassador at the Orlando Pride Festival and Cows & Cabs. Lastly, she’s spearheaded an Office Composting Program at her job with The Balmoral Group in Winter Park, showcasing her commitment to composting, and earning that referral bonus.

Originally from Turkiye (formally known as “Turkey”), Cigdem moved to the US in 2016 for graduate school at UCF, and is now a civil engineer. She used to save her food scraps in her freezer and give them to a neighbor who had a compost pile in their backyard. She then moved to an apartment complex and searched for another way to compost. After finding O-Town Compost online, she asked Charlie if she could drop off her food scraps, and he introduced her to our front-door valet composting service.

Although she doesn’t think that the individuals reading this newsletter need her to “rave about the environmental benefits of composting,” she wanted to share a story about why composting was important in her household:

“I started to live an environmentally conscious life out of pure laziness! I hated taking the trash out. I had to drive to the dumpster every other day if I didn’t want my apartment to smell like garbage. It was the chore I dreaded the most. So I started looking into ways to reduce my overall waste….I still had a lot of food scraps in the trash that smelled bad when combined with inorganic waste. Then I knew it was time to start composting. It was an essential part of my low-waste journey…Composting gave us a way to ‘offset’ some of our carbon footprint…”

In her spare time, Cigdem enjoys bowling, working out, spending time in nature, and gardening – and her plants “love the black gold.” She likes the fact that she has the option to receive finished compost, and alternates between donating it and requesting it for her household. When she does receive it, she uses it to grow herbs and vegetables.

O-Town Subscribers! Each month we want to highlight subscribers, like you, that are standing out as waste warriors in your community. If you are interested in being featured, send us a direct message or e-mail us at info@o-towncompost.com.

Get Involved in The Community…

Parramore District Trash Clean-Up! - 12/3

This community trash clean-up event is hosted by Parramore District, Wells Fargo, and the local environmental nonprofit, IDEAS For Us!

Find out more

Sign Up to be a “Feed The Need” volunteer!

Feed the Need Florida launched in 2020 as a response to increased food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and continues to respond to the dynamic food needs of our community.

Volunteers are an important part of the 4Roots family and key to the success of our mission.

Find Out More

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Give The Gift of Composting 🎁

Follow the instructions below to gift a friend/neighbor a composting subscription.

Step 1: Click HERE to access the gift card page.

Step 2: Enter the dollar amount you’d like to give, your name, and your email.

Step 3: Enter the recipient’s details and even a personal message to them.

Step 4: Enter payment information.

What have we been up to?


October Newsletter: It’s Time that Orlando Gets Aggressive on Waste Diversion

It’s Going to Be Hard To Achieve Zero Waste Unless We Do Something Now

Incentivize trash reduction with Pay-as-you-Throw

The Orlando area welcomes around 1,000 new residents per week, making it the second fastest growing metro in the country. With population growth comes a need for more resources, greater demand, and, inevitably, more waste. For a City like Orlando, it seems like a far-cry to achieve zero-waste (90% diversion from the landfill), even if the goal isn’t until 2040.

The City of Orlando is unique for a municipality, managing their own waste without contracting any of it out to private haulers. They have their own Solid Waste Collection Division with their own trucks, making their own operational decisions. Under Chapter 28 of the municipal code, the City’s Solid Waste Department has exclusive rights to collect all “solid waste,” and there isn’t a separate definition for “food waste” or “organic waste.” This adds a lot of gray area to what we do as community composters, but that’s an issue for another blog post.

A big reason the Zero Waste Goal by 2040 is going to be difficult to achieve is due to the lack of infrastructure in place to manage the region’s different waste streams (i.e. construction & demolition debris, and special waste, like batteries, textiles, furniture, mattresses, and, of course, food waste and yard debris). Frankly, it’s an issue that the City’s planners should be addressing more so than the solid waste department. 

Currently, the majority of the City’s garbage goes to the Orange County Landfill, and recyclable material gets hauled to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Cocoa Beach, or all the way to a Tampa area MRF. Luckily for the region, Orange County has plans to construct a MRF in the next 5 years at the Orange County Landfill, saving a whole lot of transportation costs and emissions.

O-Town Compost seeks to become part of this waste diversion infrastructure, and has already created some small-scale solutions for the City’s residents and businesses to significantly reduce their waste by collecting and processing food scraps. As environmentalists, we want to live in a city that’s bold with their waste reduction approach. One day we’d like to see Orlando have a curbside composting program paired with a Pay-as-you-Throw (PAYT) trash metering system that incentivizes people to keep their trash at a minimum while diverting all their materials to the recycling/compost bins. With O-Town Compost as the contracted composter and hauler (*wink). 

On the other hand, the commercial and industrial side of waste makes up about 60% of what ends up in landfills, and presents a big opportunity to divert high volumes of food waste. For example, one grocery store produces food waste equivalent to 100-200 households each day. Other cities around the country have shown that implementing a commercial organics ban on food waste generators over 1 ton per week is a scalable solution that has real positive effects. Of course, none of this is possible without the infrastructure in place. And the right infrastructure in place likely can only come from a public-private collaboration.

Join our Compost Advocacy Group below, and stay up-to-date on the fight for a zero-waste Orlando.

Get Involved in The Community…

Parramore District Trash Clean-Up!

This community trash clean-up event is hosted by Parramore District, Wells Fargo, and the local environmental nonprofit, IDEAS For Us!

Find out more

Sign Up to be a “Feed The Need” volunteer!

Feed the Need Florida launched in 2020 as a response to increased food insecurity caused by the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and continues to respond to the dynamic food needs of our community.

Volunteers are an important part of the 4Roots family and key to the success of our mission.

Find Out More

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Referral Bonus Increased to Give $15, Get $15

Send a friend or neighbor your referral link, and both parties get $15 off!

Step 1: Sign into your customer portal HERE

Step 2: Click on the “Give $15, Get $15” tab to access your link

Step 3: Copy your unique link, and send it to friend, share it to your HOA group, or on social media.

What have we been up to?


September Newsletter: Fall Compost Giveback Begins!!!

Featured Subscriber: Eddy Simone

Eddy with his pup

This month, we are pleased to highlight one of our residential subscribers, Eddy Simone. Eddy represents our Tuesday route targeting food waste in West Orange County. He has been a subscriber with O-Town Compost since late May of 2022, and has already diverted 107 lbs. from the landfill! Eddy is originally from Danbury, Connecticut, but has been residing in Central Florida working as a zookeeper at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge for over 13 years (side note: did you know O-Town Compost has experience using the manure of herbivores to create compost? Maybe the animals of the Lodge would like to contribute???). Eddy’s hobbies include exploring the great outdoors and doing anything that has to do with mother nature including mountain biking, cycling, hiking, and taking his 2-year-old dog named Wednesday, on adventures. He also enjoys making his morning coffee and refining on its craft daily – also a large component of what he adds to his bucket.

Eddy first heard about us through The Farmacy, an organization that we work closely with and provides local organic food options throughout Central Florida, bridging the gap between local farmers and fresh food-loving residents. After Eddy did some research on our Instagram page, he was ready to start composting. He believes that composting is “one of the easiest ways to combat climate change and to divert his trash from the landfill. Overall, it’s an easy step towards zero-waste living.” With Fall Compost Giveback beginning this month, Eddy says that if he decides to request compost, he will use it on the landscaping of his home, since his HOA will not allow a garden. Does anyone else feel this pain? Even so, this compost will help enrich the Florida soil.

 Eddy stands out as a waste warrior because he is frequently in communication with us to make sure items he is placing in his O-Town bucket can be composted. He truly wants to produce as little waste as possible, and buys products according to what is recyclable or compostable. This is a great reminder that not all products that say ‘compostable’ truly are, and Greenwashing is still prevalent.

O-Town subscribers! Each month we want to highlight subscribers that are standing out as waste warriors in our composting community. If you are interested in being featured, send us a direct message or e-mail us at info@o-towncompost.com.

Get Involved in The Community…

Native Planting at Honeymoon Island State Park

Join IDEAS and City of WP in removing invasive species from Mead Garden! Invasive species often out-compete native species, resulting in wide-spread ecological and economic damage. For that reason, we will be removing invasive species from Mead Garden to help keep the natural balance of this ecosystem.

Find out more

World Cleanup Day w/ Rep. Eskamani & O-Town Compost

This year, Representative Anna V. Eskamani is joining forces with O-Town Compost, to take action in our shared vision of a cleaner, waste-free Orlando, and you are invited!

World Cleanup Day is one of the the world’s largest one-day civic actions. This occasion allows volunteers, governments and organizations to come together in efforts to embrace sustainability and tackle global waste.

Find Out More

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Referral Bonus Increased to Give $15, Get $15

Send a friend or neighbor your referral link, and both parties get $15 off!

Step 1: Sign into your customer portal HERE

Step 2: Click on the “Give $15, Get $15” tab to access your link

Step 3: Copy your unique link, and send it to friend, share it to your HOA group, or on social media.

The Composting Movement Grows!


August Newsletter: The O-Town Community Flexes Their Muscles

Featured Subscriber: KOS Coffee & Bodega

Who doesn’t enjoy sipping coffee in an intimate setting? Maybe you need to pick-up some wine or a last-minute gift? When you visit KOS Coffee & Bodega on Fairbanks Ave., across from Rollins College’s campus, you can do all this and more while knowing that your purchase is contributing towards environmental and charitable causes. KOS has been composting its coffee grounds and other organic scraps with O-Town Compost since January of 2022. KOS Coffee’s owner, Russell, was shocked when told that the shop had already diverted 659 pounds from the landfill, proving just how quickly organic scraps can add up even in a small coffee shop.

KOS is short for a Norwegian word that translates to coziness, or being “content, connected, and around those you love.” Besides a dedication to creating quality products, KOS is also passionate about supporting charities and initiatives that help change the world. This was one of the reasons owner Russell decided to seek out a composting service. After some research, he discovered the convenient services offered by O-Town Compost and started service right away.

KOS is also working towards becoming a zero-waste certified business, and that’s where composting comes in the play. From an operational standpoint, not having to deal with transporting messy coffee grounds out to the dumpster daily helps their staff a lot. According to Russell, O-Town’s service makes it extremely easy. Their bucket is kept in a convenient spot behind the coffee bar. Each Friday an O-Town Compost driver arrives with a new clean bucket and takes the full one, leaving KOS with a blank slate for the weekend ahead.

When asked if he would like to see more businesses in the Central Florida area participating in composting, Russell’s reply was “100% yes.” He believes that there are so many small things that everyone can be doing individually to change the direction we are going environmentally. We couldn’t agree more, and are so happy to have KOS as a subscriber. Check out their website at ChooseKOS.com to see all the amazing things they have going on – or better yet, visit them in person! Not only does KOS have great monthly subscriptions available for items like coffee bags and wine, but they recently started an unlimited in-store coffee subscription for only $40 monthly! For anyone who drinks coffee daily, that’s a deal!

_______________________________________________________________

O-Town subscribers! Each month we want to highlight subscribers that are standing out as waste warriors in our composting community. If you are interested in being featured, send us a direct message or e-mail us at info@o-towncompost.com.

Get Involved in The Community…

Native Planting at Honeymoon Island State Park

Join IDEAS For Us and Keep Pinellas Beautiful in planting native grasses and sea oats throughout Honeymoon Island State Park! Planting these native plants will serve to rejuvenate the ecosystem for the wildlife and contribute to the resilience of the soil from storms.

Find out more

Shoreline Restoration at Ulele Springs

Join IDEAS For Us and Ecosphere in a shoreline planting at Ulele Springs. We will be removing some invasive, planting 1000 bareroot shoreline plants, and cleaning up the area to completely revitalize the space.

Find Out More

Composting Advocacy Opportunities

To achieve the goal of a Zero Waste Central Florida, it’s going to take political advocacy and action at the community grassroots level. Going forward, we want to bring together our subscribers, who are willing to write, call, and canvass for political change in support of food waste recycling.

Our subscribers are already doing a lot, diverting their household’s food scraps from the landfill, and deserve all the praise. Although, to live in a zero waste society, we need to unify our voice.

Click on the link below, and send us an email letting us know you’re interested in joining the Composting Advocacy Group, and we’ll be in touch shortly with more information about our efforts. Members of The Compost Advocacy Group will be subject to discounts, and promo codes.

I'm interested in being more active in further composting in Central Florida. CLICK HERE.

Referral Bonus Increased to Give $15, Get $15

Send a friend or neighbor your referral link, and both parties get $15 off!

Step 1: Sign into your customer portal HERE

Step 2: Click on the “Give $15, Get $15” tab to access your link

Step 3: Copy your unique link, and send it to friend, share it to your HOA group, or on social media.

O-Town Compost had a busy July!


4 Roots Farm Campus - Orlando's Sustainability Incubator

We’re declaring Orlando as the country’s “The Green Silicon Valley.” Not for innovative new technologies that make life digitally faster, but by bringing back the community-model of local dependence and giving it a contemporary spin.

O-Town Compost, The Farmacy, and 4 Roots formed a unity to make a better food future in Central Florida by repairing the broken food system and making sure that our organic waste is going back into creating more food. It’s the old circular economy that businesses love to use as a buzz phrase, but rarely is achieved in totality. The 4 Roots warehouse, located in The Packing District, now serves as a co-op workspace for Feed The Need, The Farmacy, and O-Town Compost.

239837_1528213167.jpg

Our subscribers, by now, have probably received a flyer to The Farmacy’s online shop making anyone’s mouth water for the organic food easily available. Unlike the meat, dairy, and produce you buy from Publix or Aldi’s, The Farmacy sources all their food locally within 50 miles or so, maintaining the nutritional value for people to consume and reap the health benefits. It’s preventative medicine. The carrot sitting on display in Publix may look like a carrot, but, biologically, it’s dead and was most likely grown with synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. You can order online from their website, or find them every Saturday at the Winter Garden Farmer’s Market with their massive farm stand.

O-Town Compost assures that any unsold produce doesn’t find it’s unfortunate end in the smelly landfill. It’s very easy for us to place our bins in the large commercial cooler, or along the donation bagging line to catch any spoiled food. The operation inside the warehouse has been thought out from beginning to end, which we want to become the new norm for Central Florida. Since, we formed our partnership with 4 Roots and The Farmacy, we have diverted over 5 tons of food scraps just from the warehouse alone!

Composting 101

Charlie Pioli gives a presentation on food waste recycling, including vermacomposting and his reviews of different backyard composters. Why is composting better for the environment than standard recycling, and what is O-Town Compost able to accomplish on the community composting scene in Orlando, FL?

Slinging Buckets and Composting Orlando's Food Waste

O-Town Compost’s Charlie Pioli, gives you a look into Orlando’s community composting business with his big plans for the future. It’s never been so easy to recycle your food scraps into soil amendment while supporting the local food system at the same time! Join our movement!

How to Build a Worm Bin with O-Town Compost

Worm bins can be a simple yet effect way to recycle food scraps into premium plant fertilizer (worm castings), or just to keep a constant supply of fishing bait on hand. Regardless, watch our video to learn how to set up your own bin. Or, for between $50-80, we can come out and do it for you, and get you started with enough Florida Red Wigglers to get you going. Email us at info@o-towncompost.com.

As a plant fertilizer, worm castings “contain all the essential nutrients that plants need in addition to enriching the soil in which the plants are grown. Not only can this fertilizer be used on nearly any type of plant, it can also be used directly on plants without burning them and can even deter unwanted insects. Worm castings can be applied as top dressing, side dressing, or worked into the soil.” - Gardening Know How

Charlie Pioli of O-Town Compost shows us how to build a worm bin and shares some other useful tips for composting at home. If you live in the Orlando, FL are...

We Need Your Support! Contact a Representative Today!

O-Town Compost has been on the Central Florida community composting scene for 7 months now, and has been steadily growing. Our goals are to grow food waste recycling infrastructure around the region, and support sustainable agriculture while doing so.

If you like what we do, please contact your local politician and let them know about your support for our mission. An individual’s voice goes a long way in letting our elected officials know that O-Town Compost is making a difference. You don’t have to be a subscriber to see that what we’re doing is moving the needle.

We appreciate you writing an individual heartfelt message, or you can use the template below:

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Subject: On Behalf of O-Town Compost, Orlando’s Community Composter

Dear [insert title and name of city representative],

I am writing to you as a concerned [name of municipality] resident, who strongly supports striking a balance between economic growth and environmental conservation. In [name of municipality], wasted materials are mounting daily while the infrastructure to recycle that waste is substantially inadequate. Single-stream recycling has proven to be an uphill battle, as Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) fight contamination and cannot find end-markets for their recyclables. According to multiple recent studies, 99 percent of truck loads carrying recyclables in the County were rejected at Waste Management’s MRF last year, and transported to the Orange County Landfill as a result. That means that nearly 100 percent of everything we put out to the curb as residents is ending up trashed.

This is a serious problem as the state is running out of landfill space. Fortunately, we have another option to reduce our waste footprint, and that is composting our organic waste, which makes up a sizable 40 percent of all that goes to the landfill. Moreover, adding organic waste to our landfills contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, including methane and CO2.

O-Town Compost is a small-scale community composter that is making a huge impact with its food scrap collection service, converting both pre- and post-consumer food waste (including meat and dairy wastes) into finished compost for local agriculture projects, such as Fleet Farming. Its mission is to grow into an organization that can handle the majority of Central Florida’s organic waste stream (including animal waste, such as horse manure), and transition the Orlando-area into a circular economy.

Small community composting businesses, similar to O-Town Compost, are active in cities and counties around the nation and are proving that they can move the needle in keeping food waste (as well as pet waste and other organic materials) out of our landfills. This frees up space for non-recyclable trash, and reduces greenhouse gas emissions produced by our landfills. O’Town Compost’s model (https://o-towncompost.com/ ) is similar to Bootstrap Compost in Boston, MA and Rust Belt Riders in Cleveland, OH.

I am writing to you today to voice my support for their efforts in our community, and I would like to see [name of municipality] find ways to incentivize residents and businesses to use their services. Ideally, food waste collection and composting should save cities money, while solving our landfill challenges and beautifying our green spaces with organic compost.

I greatly appreciate your attention to this issue.

Sincerely,

[Your name and address]

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Here is a list of some politicians you can email, depending on which area’s jurisdiction you fall under:

Winter Park, FL

Steve Leary - Mayor of Winter Park, FL - sleary@cityofwinterpark.org

Marty Sullivan - Commissioner Seat #1 - msullivan@cityofwinterpark.org

Shelia DiCiccio - Commissioner Seat #2 - sdeciccio@cityofwinterpark.org

Carolyn Cooper - Commissioner Seat #3 - ccooper@cityofwinterpark.org

Todd Weaver - Commissioner Seat #4 - tweaver@cityofwinterpark.org

City of Orlando, FL

Buddy Dyer - Mayor of Orlando, FL - buddy.dyer@orlando.gov

Jim Gray - District #1 - jim.gray@orlando.gov

Tony Ortiz - District #2 - tony.ortiz@orlando.gov

Robert Stuart - District #3 - robert.stuart@orlando.gov

Patty Sheehan - District #4 - patty.sheehan@orlando.gov

Regina Hill - District #5 - regina.hill@orlando.gov

Bakari Burns - District #6 - bakari.burns@orlando.gov

Orange County Unincorporated (To find your district & commissioner: https://www.orangecountyfl.net/BoardofCommissioners.aspx#.XrAW_6hKjD6)

Jerry Demings - Mayor of Orange County, FL - mayor@ocfl.net

Betsy VanderLey - District #1 - District1@ocfl.net

Christine Moore - District #2 - District2@ocfl.net

Mayra Uribe - District #3 - District3@ocfl.net

Maribel Gomez Cordero - District #4 - District4@ocfl.net

Emily Bonilla - District #5 - District5@ocfl.net

Victoria Siplin - District #6 - District6@ocfl.net

Composting Continues

Well guys, we've made it to the middle of April. 

We're still operating (food waste collection services are considered waste haulers, and that is considered an essential service). 

Food waste is being created now more than ever (we hear folks asking for MORE buckets because they are cooking more frequently). 

Some of you are gardening (it’s a good time to create a victory garden and stay resilient to shocks in the food system like this . 

Amazing connections are occurring (keep up the good work, everyone!).

We send all our best to the O-Town community - 

Featured
logo.jpg
O-Town Compost Launches Food Waste Collection Service In Gainesville, FL
July 2024 Diversion Report.jpg
Meet The Amazing O-Town Compost Team!
epa wasted food.jpg
The EPA's Wasted Food Hierarchy

Customer Feature - Jeannette from College Park

“Have you ever thought about composting??  Or maybe you have tried the city’s free compost bin and didn’t get good results- or worse you got flies and smells??  This was me too! I wanted to compost mainly to produce “good” dirt, but also for the environmental benefits- less waste going to the landfill and avoiding unwanted greenhouse gases.”

“I attended a seminar by O-Town Compost about composting and whoa – there was a lot more to it than I thought. You need the correct mix of nitrogen and carbon, right temp, enough water etc…well that seemed to be more than I wanted to take on in my back yard.” 

“That is where O-Town Compost’s food scrap collection service comes in. I tell you it could not be easier…you simply put your food scraps (and other approved items) in the provided air tight bucket and put it out for collection (weekly or biweekly).  No fuss no mess no smells no flies…composting for dummies!! I could not be happier with the service. Super easy and the company is awesome to deal with. Win – win…I get to compost with none of the hassle and reap the benefits in that twice a year I get some of that O-Town “black gold” to use in my yard!  At the same time diverting my food waste from the landfill to help the environment. You should definitely give O-Town Compost a try … you won’t be disappointed!”

otown.jpg

Follow us on social media. #OfficeComposting #WorkplaceSustainability #CommunityComposting