It's Time For the Fall Compost Giveback! 🌱🌶🥕🥑

We’re doing the giveback a little differently this season.

O-Town Compost subscribers now have the option to go to the shop in their customer profile, and order their 20lbs share of O-Town Black Gold finished compost! Once ordered, you will be receiving it on the next regularly scheduled pickup date. Please don’t forget to put out the empty bucket after you’ve used your compost!

Subscribers have until 10/15 to order their free share of compost for the Fall until our next giveback in March 2022.

Follow the instructions below to order your share of free compost. Happy planting 😉

Step 1. Login to customer portal

Step 2. Select the ‘Shop’ tab on the menu at the top

Step 3. Order the free item titled “Compost Giveback - Fall 2021”

Episode #16. Common Ground Compost - Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli

Tune in as Charlie interview’s Meredith from Common Ground Compost. She’s one the country’s top waste industry experts, and is based out of NYC, which has a major trash problem. Hope you enjoy!

Episode #15. Bootstrap Compost - Greater Boston's Food Scrap Go-Getters

Charlie’s vision for O-Town Compost and starting a community composting organization in Central Florida was largely inspired by Bootstrap Compost in Boston, MA. As a college student, Charlie was a subscriber and replicated the business model.

Enjoy the episode as Charlie talks to his longtime hero, Igor Kharitonenkov, co-founder of Bootstrap Compost!

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.

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!

O-Town Compost Leads The Fight Against Food Waste

Credits to Rob Greenfield Films

Big News For Composters! Please help us Take Action!

“Currently, no federal policy exists that encourages or provides resources to mobilize a national composting effort, though several states do have policies that support and recognize the benefits of composting. Furthermore, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not yet recognize composting as an approved conservation practice, thus rendering composting ineligible for USDA conservation program funding and support. Federal policy that accelerates national composting efforts will play a critical part in meeting the U.S.’ net-zero emissions goals by 2050, (ISLR article, Brenda Platt & Sophia Jones).”

O-Town Compost is leading the political movement in Central Florida throwing our support behind this Bill, which we believe will change the food waste recycling landscape in the United States with more infrastructure.

We urge our blog followers and customers to take action by following this link to send your support to Florida senators Rubio and Scott: CLICK HERE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT

It literally takes 10 seconds to send the pre-made template showing your support!

Episode #13. Juneau Composts - One Lady, One Mission

Lisa comes from a commercial fishing background, and where sleep is a novelty. After starting Juneau Composts, she bootstrapped her way into recycling over 500,000 lbs of food scraps, and has made composting a significant part of the landscape there in Alaska. Lisa demonstrates that there are no shortcuts, just hard-work to building her dream.

I’d highly recommend this episode for those looking to navigate the policy-making landscape as a composter, and get your municipality into gear.

Episode #12. Black Earth Compost - Taking Massachusetts' Food Waste By Storm

After Massachusetts passed the statewide organics ban in 2014, Connor saw his company, Black Earth Compost, balloon in size over the next year. Surprisingly, he believes pig farmers are the largest food waste recyclers in the state, and sets a great example how to work side by side with other food scraps collectors, like Bootstrap Compost.

New Route! O-Town Compost opens service to Apopka and Altamonte Springs!

We’re bringing our convenient odor and pest-free composting service to West Orange County! Current subscribers, please tell your friends out in Hiawassee, Apopka, Pine Hills, and Altamonte Springs that we’re servicing the following zip codes for composting pickups;

32808, 32810, 32703, 32701, 32818, 32714, 32811

Use promo code “COMPOST4FLORIDA” for $20 off when you subscribe on our website.

Episode #11. Rust Belt Riders - Cleveland, OH

Oh boy, this was an inspirational interview. As we hear from more and more community composters around the nation, we gain perspective on what a successful community-driven business looks like in order to emulate in our own practices.

Daniel, one of the Rust Belt Riders’ co-founders, started like many composters in the food service industry. He witnessed firsthand how much edible food and food scraps were going into the trash, and knew it was wrong. Today, the Rust Belt Riders are making a huge positive impression on the Cleveland, OH area, and absolutely crushing it when it comes to organics recycling and creating a healthy soil for gardeners and farmers.

Episode #10. Gary Bilbro - EcoSafe

Gary has been a mentor to Charlie from the beginning of O-Town Compost. He founded his own composting company in Charleston, SC, SMART Recycling, and is a wealth of experience and knowledge. Now Gary represents Ecosafe as a product manager, distributing compostable bags, dog bags, and serviceware across North America.

If you’re a community composter, this interview is going to blow your mind!

Episode #9. Suncoast Compost - Tampa, Florida

Listen to the latest community composting podcast as Charlie chats with Kali, the owner of Suncoast Compost in Tampa, FL. Our composting neighbors in Central Florida address the challenges and success of running a small business focused on diverting food scraps from the landfill.

Episode #8 - Strengthening the Relationship with Your Local Municipality - Vanessa Balta Cook

Listen to Charlie's latest episode interviewing The City of Winter Park’s Sustainability Director, Vanessa Balta Cook, and how local municipalities can team up with community composters.

Episode #7. Naples Compost, Owner Hannah Rinaldi (Naples, Florida)

The community composting movement is sweeping the state of Florida, and we absolutely love to see other successful composters, like Naples Compost, crushing it in out home state. Listen to this inspiring interview on any podcast platform (Apple, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc).

Check out their website: https://naplescompost.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/naplescompost/

Anna Eskamani, Monique Worrell, and O-Town Compost Join Forces to Cleanup The City Beautiful

RSVP to attend at bit.ly/407earthday!

Join Representative Anna V. Eskamani, State Attorney Monique Worrell, and O-Town Compost for a community litter clean up day this Saturday (4/17) from 10am - 12pm at the Supervisor of Elections Office on Kaley!

We’ll supply all the tools you need, and we ask that you dress comfortably with closed-toe shoes and wear a mask. You’re encouraged to bring a refillable water bottle to stay hydrated and reduce plastic waste!

We'll be meeting in Orlando (32806); please RSVP for exact address at bit.ly/407earthday!

Note: All activities will comply with CDC guidelines, so please wear a mask.

Also, here is the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/485563645971792/

Episode #6 - CompostableLA, Los Angeles, CA - Founder, Monique Figueiredo

Monique founded Compostable in 2019 when she saw a need for additional community composting resources in Los Angeles. Her vision for a community-led organization is woven through the fiber of Compostable's foundation.

Enjoy listening to another fascinating interview with Monique!

Episode #5. Xander Shaw - Red Hook Community Composting Site, Brooklyn, NY

“At Red Hook Composting Site, Xander learned to compost by hand, lead volunteers, provide professional development and youth empowerment through composting, and model best management practices.”

This was a fascinating conversation with Xander on The Community Composting Podcast, as we dived into everything from NYC’s $2 billion dollar trash problem to how to keep your compost pile rodent and pest-free. I hope you enjoy listening! - Charlie

Florida State Bill 1764 calls for Sustainable Florida Future

A couple weeks ago, State Senator Janet Cruz from Hillsborough County introduced SB 1764 calling for businesses and institutions who are generating in excess of 1 ton of food waste per week to find an outlet to recycle their organic waste. This would affect universities, cafeterias, restaurants, cafes, caterers, and any food service business out there that sends a significant volume of organic waste to the trash each night.

Here at O-Town Compost, this bill didn’t take us by surprise. We knew something like this was coming eventually, and have been urging more businesses to get on-board to start composting before it becomes mandatory and uncomfortable to do so. This same policy has been passed in states like Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, California, and cities like Austin, TX, New York City, Seattle, etc. It’s the gateway to more aggressive restrictions on food waste, because legislators are beginning to realize that harmful greenhouse gases created by organic waste at the landfill is speeding up climate change.

This bill is great news for community composters around the state including Suncoast Compost in Tampa, Apple Rabbit Compost in Jacksonville, and Compost For Life in Miami. For us composters to meet this new onslaught of food waste, we’re going to have to hire more people and find more capacity to process the material.

We urge everyone to contact your district’s state representative, and let them know how passionate you are to see the state of Florida move towards more organic waste diversion. Here, we even prepared you a template:

Dear [insert State rep.],

On February 26, 2021 Senator Janet Cruz filed a bill that would require commercial businesses and institutions to separate and recycle the food waste that they generate up to one ton per week. This policy is a huge step in the right direction for Florida to meet their waste diversion goals. If the state had had this bill in place ten years ago, the state may have met their 75% recycling rate goal by 2020. But instead, the goal came and went.

The bill represents the way things are moving around the country to divert food waste from the landfill/incinerator, where it creates harmful greenhouse gases. Other states and cities around the country have already passed a similar bill (Massachusetts, Vermont, NYC, Austin, TX, etc). It's time that Florida join the wave of progress towards finding a solution for the solid waste that future generations will eventually have to deal with.

The bill would also give a boost to the already thriving community composting industry, and provide additional jobs in the green sector. Composters around the state, like Suncoast Compost (Tampa), O-Town Compost (Orlando), and Compost For Life (Miami) are moving the needle in providing the food waste recycling infrastructure that we need to enact such a bill. There's thousands of residents in Florida choosing to pay a community composter to recycle their household food scraps. Shouldn't the commercial sector, where most of the state's food waste is generated anyways, have to take ownership as well?

Sincerely,

[Name]

[District]

Episode #4. Compost Crew, How To Set-up a Municipal-wide Curbside Composting Program

Ben Parry, is the CEO of Compost Crew, the community composter taking care of the DC area’s organic waste. Recently, the Compost Crew was featured in a high-profile Biocycle article. Please enjoy the episode and rate and subscribe on whichever podcast platform you listen to podcasts on.

Compost Giveback - Just in Time For Spring Planting

It’s that time of year again when the dirty bearded hipster version of Santa Claus drops 20-pound buckets of O-Town Black Gold on each of his subscribers’ door steps. Just in time for people to get their Spring planting on!

This March giveback, we are set to return 2,300 pounds of compost to our amazing customers, and 1,760 pounds to Fleet Farming for those who opted to donate their share. In these last six months since our last giveback, we’ve turned close to 23 tons of food scraps into beautiful rich compost to improve Central Florida’s sandy soils.

It still boggles our mind how this…

Becomes this…