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...

Compostable Doggie Bags and Gloves! NOW FOR SALE

Whether you’re a dog owner or someone looking for a solution to avoid single-use plastic, we got you covered! Now on our compostable serviceware page, we are offering a variety of compostable dog doo bags, and food prep gloves that can also be worn for everyday use to protect against COVID19. Help O-Town Compost starve the landfills of plastic.

sold out

Food Prep Gloves (Medium) - 200

$20.00

• Restaurant quality

• Food grade certified

• 100% compostable

• Powder-free

• Multi-purpose (use them for protection against COVID19)

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Eco-Pooch Compostable Dog Bags - Belly Band (x18)

$3.00

Leash Dispenser Rolls – Rolls of 18
– Dimensions: 8.25″ x 6″ x 5.5″ high

Please note that O-Town Compost does NOT accept pet waste in our composting program yet! See what we do accept on our FAQ page.

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Eco-Pooch Compostable Dog Bags - x 120

$10.00

Standard Doggie Bags – Rolls of 120
– Dimensions: 8″ x 12″ x 6″ high

Please note that O-Town Compost does not accept pet waste in our composting program yet! See what we do accept on our FAQ page.

O-Town Compost's vision for the future

It’s been seven months since O-Town Compost entered the Orlando compost scene and we’re happy to say that we’ve been busy! Four tons of food scraps have been diverted from the landfill and turned into O-Town Black Gold thanks, in large part, to our dedicated subscribers!

The composting network has grown to a brigade of residential and a handful of commercial composters, such as offices, cosmetic retailers, and a coffee shop. We have our first Zero Waste Wedding under our belts, and were set to do more until the great COVID monster stomped through town, making social gatherings a thing of the past. Instead of immediately going into panic mode, we decided to diversify our offerings, and the On-Farm Composting Service was born to address the manure management headache that some stables and ranches constantly face. With our first stable on board, we are able to divert roughly 1,100 pounds of manure weekly, and create a beautiful soil amendment with a waste byproduct. A byproduct that some stable owners unfortunately pay to be hauled to the landfill.

Still, with all our small stories of success, we’re not quite comfortable yet. We have a long road ahead to fully address the waste problem and a lack of regenerative agriculture in Central Florida. Small isn’t necessarily bad for a community-focused business, but we’re going to need to grow in order to make serious strides in Orange County’s environmental landscape.

Right now we offer food waste collection in 16 zip codes in the county, or roughly a third of the land area. The public should look for an expansion in the next 6 months to West Orlando (West of I-4). When you request service on our contact page, we take note, and tally the number of requests from each zip code with the aim to get out there soon.

Another opportunity for growth is building our partner network. For example, stables, ranches, landscapers, etc. Any environmental operation that produces an organic byproduct that can be composted. We offer our partners a sharing of ownership on the finished compost product, and a solution to their waste byproduct. Imagine, a decentralized network of local composting facilities around Orange County, rather than the traditional approach in the waste industry, where there exists a giant, centralized facility. The benefits of small are that a smaller facility requires lower transportation costs, smaller operational costs when you are dealing with less waste, and, most importantly, the finished compost stays in the community! This, my friends, is how we break the hold of industrial agriculture and Big Waste.

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

First Batch of Compost Will Be Distributed to Subscribers Early!

To show our immense appreciation for our loyal Orlando subscribers in the time of the COVID19 pandemic, we thought it was time to give back, and move everyone’s distribution date up early. Due the shutdown, more people are at home cooking and gardening, and it just makes sense. This doesn’t mean that our subscribers WON’T receive their regularly scheduled share 6-months from their subscription date either. Everyone who selected to “receive” their share of compost will still be delivered an additional 20 lbs 6 months from the date they hit “subscribe.” All we ask is to please empty the bucket, and put it back on your porch for us to collect during a normal pickup day, so we can keep reusing them. (Fun Fact: The 3.5-gallon compost buckets are old cream cheese icing buckets from Publix!)

Four hundred pounds of compost is going out this week and next to our subscribers who selected to receive their shares, and 400 pounds are going to Fleet Farming as a donation to their urban gardening efforts. A total of 800 pounds of O-Town Black Gold will be recycled into the community to improve our soil’s health! That’s right…Thanks to your banana peels, flower trimmings, and coffee grounds we have finished the composting process on our first batch of compost! We encourage you to use it in your vegetable gardens, as a potting mix, or just sprinkle it through your lawn to improve the seeding process.

Isn’t #CommunityComposting a beautiful thing?

Say "no" to plastic, and go compostable

We are excited to announce that we are now selling compostable food serviceware items such as cups, plates, bowls, utensils, straws, etc. Additionally, we provide easy-to-use Kitchen Caddy bins that sit on your kitchen counter making it extremely convenient to add food scraps to while cooking. And the key to keep them yuck-free is to line them with our compostable liners!

We guarantee that our products are actually “compostable” not just “bio-degradable.”

We deliver to anyone in our service-area, with deliveries to our subscribers/clients being free. Otherwise, it’s a $5 delivery fee. Thank you for supporting community composting! Let’s turn Orlando green!

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 - 

NEW SERVICE! - On-farm Composting

The equine industry has a significant presence here in Central Florida, and with a great number of horses comes a great deal of manure to be managed. At O-Town Compost we specialize in the collection and processing of people’s food scraps, but since the COVID19 pandemic started, we’ve decided to venture into a new areas and diversify our business offerings. Introducing our “On-Farm Composting Service,” where a wasteful byproduct is transformed into a valuable resource.

The average horse generates 45 pounds a day of manure, and closer to 55 pounds if you include the bedding! When I first read this statistic, I was shocked! Where does all this organic material go? Does it just remain on the farm or get hauled to the landfill?

Different stable owners do different things, but typically smaller stables spread their raw manure onto the pastures in hopes that it’ll fertilize and grow more grass for their horses to graze on. Whereas, larger stables, lacking the proper time or heavy machinery to spread manure, will opt for renting a dumpster to fill and send to the local landfill for disposal. One dumpster load can cost a couple hundred of dollars to haul, and contributes to the ever growing mountain of organic waste that notoriously comprises 40 percent of all landfill waste.

It just so happens that horse and cow manure are the perfect consistency to make a crumbly and earthy compost. Manure alone has around a 25:1 Carbon to Nitrogen ratio being perfect for the active composting process. No outside feedstock is necessary to achieve a quality final product, but something, such as food waste, can be added without negatively affecting the result. The longer you let the manure dry out, the higher its carbon content becomes and it becomes better to add a nitrogen-heavy food waste.

Excitingly, O-Town Compost has begun construction on our first Aerated Static Pile (ASP) compost bin at Scala Stables located in East Orlando near University of Central Florida. Additionally, our services include regular weekly monitoring and upkeep, screening and transport of the finish compost, and technical assistance. Stable owners are left with a comprehensive instructional packet, and the ability to call anytime they’re experiencing a problem or have a question.

Advantages of choosing our composting method:

• Eliminate the time and expense of off-site disposal

• Produce finished compost in 60 days or less without turning the pile

• Destroy parasites, pathogens and weed seeds in the finished product

• Stop offensive odors

• Significantly reduce flies, rodents and other pests

• Improve your animals’ health

• Create nutrient-rich compost product that is safe to use on pastures and gardens

• Utilize the finished compost for an absorbent stall bedding

• Earn revenue by selling your finished soil amendment and create a return on your investment

• Enhance the appearance and value of your farm or stable.

If you or someone you know could benefit from this easy-to-use and environmentally friendly solution for on-farm waste management, please send us an email at info@o-towncompost.com.

Silly horse rolling around in the dirt.

Orlando's Community Composter Diverts 2 Tons!

Thank you to our community composters that helped us achieve this milestone!

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!”

O-Town Compost welcomes three more zip codes into its service area! 32812, 32839, and 32809!

Due to popular demand, O-Town Compost is expanding its services. Are we still not servicing your zip code? Send us an inquiry to petition for your area! https://o-towncompost.com/contact

We track the number of customers in each area of town and regularly study our routes to see where new customers could be added. 

O-Town Compost's Facts and Figures

Don’t discount O-Town Black Gold!

O-Town Compost Celebrates Its First Ton Diverted!

Thank you to all our awesome subscribers and customers who are committed to food waste recycling in Orlando, Florida !!! It’s an exciting journey to be a waste warrior.

O-Town Compost Extends Its Reach Into College Park! (32804)!!!

“Let the food waste come.” - Charlie Pioli, Founder of O-Town Compost (with a battle-worn yet determined look on his face)

We’re excited to welcome the residents of zip code 32804 to our expanded service area! The College Park area is an example of how a number of people in the community came together to request food waste collection service, and O-Town Compost listened. It’s much more efficient, environmentally and economically, for O-Town Compost to run a route in an area with a greater client population.

We are hoping to be able to stretch farther in the next year, as we gain traction around Orlando. I have a feeling West Orlando (Winter Gardens, Windermere, Ocoee, etc) will be smelling O-Town Black Gold sometime during 2020.

Compost On Orlando!

College Park joins the community composting movement.

O-Town Compost is Now Offering Free Food Waste Drop-off at UCF

Fridays from 12:30-2:30pm outside The Student Union Building we will have a booth accepting your food scraps, leftovers, and all things good for composting!

We hope to see you this Friday January 24th!

Let's Be Honest - Your Office Goes Through A Lot of Coffee - Now Introducing Our Office Food Waste Collection Service!

O-Town Compost is now providing offices around Orlando with a way to divert their food waste, and an easy way to participate in corporate sustainability that aligns with their business values.

The food waste collection service is focused on being customized to meet each office’s needs. The number one priority is to avoid any pests or odors with routine pickups.

Once a week (or more, if needed), on Fridays before heading into the weekend, a member of O-Town Compost will empty the receptacle, replace the liner, and conduct an on-site cleaning of the bucket before hauling your lunch leftovers, coffee grounds, tea bags, and paper towels (among other items) to our composting site in East Orlando.

Every six months, our office clients will be given a report informing them of their waste diversion impact. Also, they can also choose to opt in to the occasional social media post on our Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts publicizing how many pounds they’ve diverted. It’s a win-win for the earth and the reputation of your business!

With coffee consumption comes a plethora of grounds that are ideal for our compost.

Find Us at The Audubon Community Market!

We are pleased to announce that we will be hosting a booth at the Audubon Park Community Market on most Mondays! Our primary objective is to bring marketing awareness to our easy-to-use residential food waste pickup service, which takes Orlando’s food waste and converts it into rich compost for local farmers to grow more fresh food in.

At our booth, we will be soliciting two types of soil amendments for local area gardeners and urban farmers. This isn’t your granddad’s mushroom compost. Our two products are:

• O-Town Black Gold - Our screened compost in 20 pound quantities for $10 apiece. This compost is high in organic matter and a direct result of people’s food waste being turned into a valuable humus to grow more food in

• Revival Gardening’s Premium Worm Castings - A premium product that your plants will love! Sprinkle just a little on top of the soil around the plant, like a fertilizer, and watch it grow

Now Accepting Meat, Fish, and Dairy

For those who wonder what we accept, remember this slogan:

“If it grows, it goes.”

Basically, if it grew out of the ground, we will accept it in our compost program. The website’s FAQ page does a pretty good job at answers any questions you may have, but always feel free to contact us at info@o-towncompost.com.

Things We Do Compost:

• Fruits and veggies

• Coffee grounds, filters, and tea bags

• Paper towels, napkins, and paper plates

• Egg shells

• Pasta and grains

• Meat and bones

• Cheese and other dairy products

Things We Do Not Compost:

• Fruit stickers (please remove from produce before composting)

• Pet waste including excrement or food

• Paper cups

• Kleenex or facial tissues

• Any type of plastics including most bio-degradable plastics

• Pesticide infused products for killing rodents or cockroaches

The law according to O-Town Compost.

Happy Holidays From O-Town Compost

The holidays are meant to be a time for bringing people together, and showing appreciation for one another. We just want to say how immensely grateful we are for the support we’ve received from the people of Central Florida. Shout out to Orlando Permaculture, Ideas For US Orlando and UCF branches, East End Market, Cuplet Fern Chapter of Seminole County, Central Florida Fruit Society, friends and family who donated to our GoFundMe, and, of course, our subscribers!

We would be remiss if we didn’t say we have big plans for 2020. On the forefront of our minds is to continue our marketing campaign while educating people on the importance of composting and allow them to get over their unfounded fears of odors and rodents. Our other goals for The New Year involve;

• We want to increase the volume of food waste we’re receiving to multiple tons per week

• Making relationships with event planners, caterers, and venue spaces is essential for our Event Food Waste Recycling Program, and Zero Waste Event service

• Office spaces, who generate food waste and coffee grounds in their break rooms, would be an ideal fit for our service. These corporate partnerships give firms an outlet to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability (#practicewhatyoupreach)

• And lastly, residents on the West side of I-4, will soon be given the option to subscribe for O-Town Compost’s residential food waste collection service. We predict that by the summer of 2020, O-Town Compost will be servicing the zip codes of College Park, Windermere, Winter Gardens, Ocoee, and parts of Apoka.

Currently, our business operations are a new concept to a lot of people in Orlando. As people become more accustomed to us and our mission, we will inevitably grow. The 1,200 pounds of food waste we’ve diverted in the first month and a half of being open for business is really only a sliver of what’s out there. Cheers to a grimy and successful 2020!

Happy Holidays,

O-Town Compost Founder, Charlie Pioli