O-Town Compost Launches Food Waste Collection Service In Gainesville, FL

 Gainesville, FL September 15, 2024 - O-Town Compost is excited to announce the launch of its convenient, odor and pest-free food waste collection service in Gainesville, FL. As a Food Waste Collector registered with the City of Gainesville, O-Town Compost will offer commercial establishments and multi-family properties the service needed for them to comply with the city’s food waste collection ordinances passed in July 2022.

“Diverting food waste for composting instead of disposal in the landfill is a significant part of the City of Gainesville’s Zero Waste Initiative. Our mission is to reduce the amount of food waste going to the landfill and make nutrient-rich compost to support this community and its local food systems,” said Richard Devereaux, Gainesville General Manager of O-Town Compost.

O-Town Compost expects to begin distribution of its collection bins to its commercial establishment and multi-family property partners beginning October 1, 2024, with regular collection routes scheduled to commence immediately thereafter. The food waste that O-Town Compost collects will be transported to Gaston Mulch & Soil’s composting site for processing into soil amendment. Gaston Mulch & Soil and O-Town Compost currently collaborate together in Orange County, FL to compost 150 tons of food waste per month from the Orlando area.

O-Town Compost was founded by Charlie Pioli in Orlando, FL in 2020. An ex-waste industry consultant, he had two missions in mind: to reduce food waste going to Central Florida’s landfills while supporting local soil health.

To date, O-Town Compost has diverted nearly 5 million pounds of food waste from the landfill, serving 1,000 businesses and residents. This has been made possible with local farm partners who work to process organic waste into soil amendment, which in turn is used on their farms to increase yields and fertility. 

Learn more about O-Town Compost at www.o-towncompost.com or contact Richard Devereaux directly at richard@o-towncompost.com.

Richard Devereaux Gainesville General Manager richard@o-towncompost.com www.o-towncompost.com (352) 317-8819

The O-Town Compost Family

From left to right, standing: Kristin, Erik, Cristina, Charlie, Patrick, Shem, Nicole, Delwin

From left to right, kneeling: Erin, Stephen

Everoak Farm and O-Town Compost: Growing, Eating, and Wasting Local

By Kristin Anderson & Shem Jenkins

In a society where food travels an average of 1,500 miles before reaching your plate, local farms like Everoak Farm are special. Everoak Farm is located only 5 miles east from downtown Orlando. Owners Mike and Nikki Garcia are taking on the challenges of curating their Certified Natural Grown farm, utilizing bio-intensive gardening techniques, implementing regenerative farming practices, and turning organic and biological inputs like compost into the earth. Working with nature, they build healthy and biologically active soil that is regenerative, and in turn, they produce abundant, clean, chemical-free, and nutritionally dense fruits and vegetables for the Orlando community all year long.

Charlie Pioli and Mike Garcia have known each other for years, connecting initially at the Audubon Park Community Market. Mike doesn’t use fertilizers; instead, he works to rotate beds with new crops, plants multiple crops together, and uses compost made from the food scraps that O-Town Compost collects to nourish the farm’s soil. Compost is an important part of the farm’s strategy to maintain and increase fertility and build the foundation for a healthy and thriving ecosystem that supports abundant plant growth and supports nutrient dense produce. According to the United Nations, close to 1 billion tons of food goes into trash bins every year, and food waste accounts for more than 8 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Partnerships like the one between O-Town Compost and Everoak Farm are established by forward-thinking farmers and composters, like Mike and Charlie, who find real world solutions to modern day problems both sustainably and abundantly.

O-Town Compost delivers food scraps from its collections, which Everoak farm combines with wood chips from local arborists, to create compost that becomes the soil amendment that is the building block that forms the foundation of Everoak Farm’s regenerative agriculture practices. This partnership is a mutualistic relationship, creating a hyper-local system for food distribution, waste management, and food production. Some O-Town Compost subscribers also receive their fresh produce, eggs, and meat from Everoak’s CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or buy what they need directly from Everoak’s booth at the Audubon Park Community Market. By doing this, customers close the loop by participating in a zero-waste food system. This transition to a circular food economy presents a compelling opportunity for farmers, waste collectors, community composters and consumers. By closing the loop, we reduce our reliance on external inputs and minimize waste and pollution throughout the food production and consumption cycle.

When you buy your produce and meats directly from local producers like Everoak Farm, eat at local restaurants that do the same, and divert your home’s food waste from the landfill by subscribing to your local community composter, you actively participate in a circular food economy. The circular approach shortens food’s distribution distance, significantly reduces the carbon footprint associated with food transportation, and allows for the extraction of maximum value from food products throughout their life cycle. When paired with the regenerative farming practices Mike and his wife Nikki use on their farm, we begin to see a shift back to a more balanced, stable, and reciprocal relationship between production and consumption. 

Central Floridians are constantly looking for ways to be kinder and more mindful of their impact on this earth as we move through our precious time on it. We can all see and feel the immediate benefits in ourselves, our families, and in our neighborhoods when we support these regenerative approaches to farming, agriculture, consumption, and waste management. By supporting these systems, we provide a very clear and sustainable path that nurtures the abundance of our planet, while at the same time creating a healthy and thriving, mutually beneficial relationship between all populations of humans, plants, and animals. 

So Grow, Eat, and Compost locally. We are the stewards of our Earth.

Learn more about Everoak Farm by visiting their website.

https://www.everoakfarm.com/

Learn more about O-Town Compost by visiting our website.

https://o-towncompost.com/

O-Town Compost now offers Bulk Compost Delivery!

• We now offer 2 cubic yards of screened or unscreened compost delivered to your home or business. 

• Please go through the shop in your customer portal to purchase if you are an O-Town Compost Subscriber. https://accounts.o-towncompost.com/accounts/login/?next=/accounts/

• Please go through the Public Shop located on our website’s homepage if you are a future O-Town Compost Subscriber. https://accounts.o-towncompost.com/shop/shop/

O-Town Compost family with Mike at his Everoak Farm.

From left to right, standing: Nicole, Stephen, Charlie (Owner of O-Town Compost), Mike (Owner of Everoak Farm) , Delwin, Jamie, Ciana, Chrissy, Shem, John, Patrick, Sara.

From left to right, kneeling: Cristina, Angelika, Mary, Meredith, Erin

Photographer: Kristin Anderson

Episode 30. Joseph McMillan - CEO of Atlas Organics

Atlas Organics is a big fish when it comes to commercial composting and expanding food waste recycling infrastructure in the Southeast. Their CEO, Joe, joined Charlie on the podcast to discuss their plans for growth in Tampa and how they leveraged equity investors to take their game to the next level.

Audio Block

Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

Episode 26. New Earth Farm - John Cline

John is a self-proclaimed novice when it comes to composting and running a micro-hauling company. That didn’t stop him from starting New Earth Farm’s community composting initiative in St. Louis, MO. He asks the right questions, and doesn’t jump into decisions. Although, community composting is a passion, for it to be successful, you can’t think of it as a hobby, and John is doing a great job.