Married and with three kids, it’s incredible what the owners of Java Compost have accomplished in the 2+ years since they began. After New Jersey declared a statewide Organics Recycling Mandate they are in an ideal position to push composting forward in their region.
Buckle up for another episode of The Community Composting Podcast.
Dear O-Town Compost Community,
It’s been quite a ride so far. We’re proud to see that so many Orlando residents feel it’s necessary to recycle their food scraps, and chose us to make it happen. This community support means so much to us, and acts as a reminder every day that what we’re doing is making a difference.
Ultimately, O-Town Compost seeks to make composting as easy as possible, without pests or odors, in order to boost participation and fuel a county-wide movement. Imagine the Orlando metro area, with thousands of composting households. Whole neighborhoods putting out their O-Town Compost bucket, and admiring each other’s lush gardens fertilized by O-Town Black Gold.
It’s exciting the opportunity that composting presents as a viable solution to managing the 350,000 tons of organic waste that goes to Orange County Landfill each year. Sometimes this volume seems insurmountable! But we’re on track to grow into an organization that can handle it within 10-15 years. More importantly is the shift in the cultural mindset here in Central Florida. Our mission is to change how people look at their food scraps, and think twice before throwing a banana peel in the trash. This is going to take years, but that’s okay, because we’re in it for the long-haul.
Thank you for joining us along our crazy journey, and we hope you have happy holidays and a very merry Christmas.
Best,
O-Town Compost Team
PS. We’re offering composting subscription gift cards in 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year quantities. For more info, click the button below.
Here at O-Town Compost, we aren’t a big fan of the consumer holiday, Black Friday. Although, this year, we are. It’s the day that people in West Orange County can join the movement to reduce waste going to the landfill, and join us in striving for a zero waste Central Florida.
The meaning behind Black Friday doesn’t have to be about mindless consumption. It can be about becoming closer as a community through recycling our food scraps!
Convert kitchen food scraps into rich garden compost with the power of worms and this simple cardboard “lodge." It sets up quickly with just a drill, hacksaw, and shovel.
Install this composter with just an 8" diameter tube in your garden or any convenient spot. Once installed it requires nothing but vegetable scraps, some leaves or shredded paper, and a bit of soil.
Unlike other above ground worm cafes, this cardboard model costs under $8.00. You will also need to find a lodge “roof,” I use an inverted salad bowl!
Now your worms will produce super-rich compost that feed plants immediately surrounding your lodge, plus create additional pounds of rich compost within a couple months to dig up and spread around your garden.
On the morning of September 26th, we will be opening up our composting site to the Orlando community for a tour of our operations. Come see how we have processed over 14 tons of food scraps into compost, returning nutrients to the soil. Also, there will be a permaculture component of the tour focused on growing local food and working with nature rather than against it.
It’s crazy to think how OTC has grown in the last year (hey 2020 hasn’t been all bad), and we hope to share the inspiration with everyone else. We’re not the only ones who want to see food waste recycling become commonplace in Central Florida.
After the tour, there will be a plant sale of mostly native Florida perennial plants that are easy to foster and maintain. Stepping out of the industrial food system and community composting go hand in hand, so we’re always trying to promote growing food in place of lawns.
The following tour times on 9/26 will be 10am-11am, 11am-12pm, and 12pm-1pm. Send us an email if you haven’t already to express your interest in attending. Masks are required for everyone’s safety, and you are welcome to bring guests.
“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!”
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