Welcome to Biobag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Rubber City Reuse!

Rubber City Reuse was founded in 2019 in Northeast Ohio and has since played a pivotal role in diverting organic waste from landfills, converting it into nutrient-rich compost used for various local initiatives such as food cultivation, soil remediation, erosion prevention, and beautification of gardens. Biobag Associate spoke to Benjamin about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Benjamin: Before this I was a chef and I saw firsthand the amount of food waste going to landfills, then I learned about the GHG emissions, and a passion was born.

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Benjamin: We currently serve Summit, Portage and Stark Counties in Ohio. Folks can call, email, or sign up through our website www.rubbercityreuse.com

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Benjamin: Roughly 10,000lbs/wk.

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Benjamin: We are about to have our 5 year anniversary!

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Benjamin: We donate roughly half of our drop off capacity to underserved communities in Greater Akron to ensure that sustainable causes are accessible for everyone. We do so in partnership with local community development corporations.

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Compost Nashville!

Compost Nashville is diverting millions of pounds of material from landfill. They donate compost to local farms, schools, and community gardens each year, and they get to compost for thousands of homes in Middle Tennessee. BioBag Associate spoke to Catarina Muschaweck about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Muschaweck: Our co-owners, Micah Puncochar and Jeremy Lekich, had a few friends who had tried composting and weren’t enjoying doing it themselves, so they had the idea to start composting for people in the community. They started with a Toyota Camry (affectionately known as the Compost Camry) and two bins. We then had businesses and events reach out asking us if we can help them compost their waste, and the rest is history! 

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Muschaweck: We service over 2,600 homes, 100 businesses, and several events in Davidson and Williamson Co. Tennessee.

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Muschaweck: We take between 30,000-40,000 pounds per week.

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Muschaweck: Each year we donate compost to local farms, gardens, schools, and non-profits in the area! 

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Muschaweck:

We will have surpassed 10 million pounds diverted and 10 years of service in April!

More about our environmental and community impact: www.compostnashville.org/our-impact 

More about our story and background: www.compostnashville.org/about-us 

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Veteran Compost!

Veteran Compost is a veteran-owned business focused on creating high quality compost and soil products in Maryland, DC and Virginia. We provide food scrap collection, finished compost, and a host of other great products. BioBag Associate spoke to Veteran Compost about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Veteran Compost: I got home from Iraq and couldn’t find a job. So, I started looking at recycling businesses that I could start with the money in my pocket. Over the years we have grown from a company of 1 to a company of more than 25 great composters.

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Veteran Compost: We offer collection of food scraps from residential, office and commercial customers throughout Maryland, DC and Northern Virginia. We handle everything from a 7-gallon bin on someone’s doorstep to tractor trailer quantities of material from food manufacturers. We are always looking for new opportunities and folks to compost with, send us an email or give us a call anytime!

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Veteran Compost: We compost all of the material we collect as well as material from several other haulers. Typically, we handle around 150-200 tons of food scraps per week.

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Veteran Compost: We make an organic crab compost, that’s about as Maryland as you can get for a product!

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Veteran Compost: We are really proud to hire veterans and family members of veterans whenever possible.  We are always looking for great people to join our team in DC or Aberdeen, MD – so if you know someone looking to get into the compost field – send them our way!

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Compost Queen!

Compost Queen is a Public Benefit Corporation in Fort Collins Colorado. They are dedicated to fostering a sustainable and regenerative future by empowering individuals and communities to embrace the transformative potential of composting. BioBag Associate spoke to Max Poling with Compost Queen about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Poling: Compost Queen began in 2018 after our founder sought sustainable solutions for her own family’s food waste. Frustrated by a lack of local composting options, Jamie started community composting with a few friends.

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Poling: Over the last five years we’ve expanded from residential composting to commercial services in 65 gallon wheeled carts. This lets us divert and recycle for single family residences, apartments, townhomes, restaurants, cafeterias and food manufacturers in Northern Colorado. We’re currently focusing on the cities of Fort Collins and Timnath. Visit CompostQueenFC.com to learn more about how our service works, check our service locations or get on our mailing list.  

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Poling: Compost Queen is celebrating the Grand Opening of our headquarters at the Back Gate Farm in Fort Collins, allowing us to greatly expand our collection volume. We’re currently taking in 6,000 pounds of organic material per week. 

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Poling: Every employee gets to choose a royal title at the end of their training. One of our favorites is the Count of Monte Compost. 

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Poling: Compost Queen uses decentralized, farm based community composting to leverage a small footprint with a big impact. Operating and hauling material allows for feedstock decontamination at the point of collection, resulting in higher quality end material. We currently have four registered Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity facilities in Larimer County on urban farms. 

Fostering community education is a key part to normalizing organics recycling in the Northern Colorado community. As a Woman Owned & Operated business, Compost Queen, led by Jamie Blanchard-Poling, has evolved from a small initiative with a wheelbarrow to a thriving enterprise. 

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Renuable!

Renuable is a composting service that offers food scrap collection throughout Broward, Miami-Dade, Tampa Bay, and St. Pete. BioBag Associate spoke to Kate with Renuable about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Kate: After being disappointed in the lack of access to composting, our CEO set out to make a change. After composting at home for a while he began to realize that the best quality compost comes from community involvement. This inspired the Renuable Community Compost Program which now diverts food waste from over 300 residential and commercial members all throughout Broward, Miami-Dade, Tampa Bay, and St. Pete. 

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Kate: Residential memberships include a 5-gallon bucket with weekly or biweekly pick-up, we also offer a drop-off option. We service Broward, Miami-Dade, St. Petersburg, and Tampa Bay. People can sign up from our website at www.liverenuable.com. Commercial memberships include a number of 55-gallon bins with weekly pick-up. Email support@liverenuable.com with inquiries regarding commercial memberships. Keep in touch by following us on Instagram @liverenuable. 

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Kate: We process about 30,000 lbs. on a weekly basis from our residential and commercial members.

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Kate: We composted for the Torturtuga Music Festival for the past two years and are going to be composting for them again in 2024! 

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Kate: Renuable has many other business sectors. Reach out to support@liverenuable.com for further questions. 

• Event Composting Services
• Sustainable Landscaping
• Kids Sustainability Enrichment Program
• Compost Workshops
• Waste Audits 
• Shop: Finished Compost and Compostable Bamboo toothbrushes

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Glad Earth Compost!

Glad Earth Compost is a composting service based in Lansing IL. BioBag Associate spoke to Adam with Glad Earth Earth Compost about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Adam: As my own enthusiasm for composting grew, I became aware of services offering doorstep composting in Chicago and its north and west suburbs, but none serving the area where I live at the northern border of Illinois and Indiana. In hopes that there would be people out there who wanted to divert their food scraps from the landfill I launched Glad Earth, and there they were!

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Adam: We currently serve residential subscribers and are interested in finding some commercial partners as well. Anyone can get in touch through our website—www.gladearthcompost.com—or directly through email: gladearthcompost@gmail.com

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Adam: We run our pickup route every two weeks and currently take in about 130lb each trip. We composted an amazing 3,442lb in 2023

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Adam: All of our composting happens in my small suburban backyard!

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Adam: We launched in July 2022. My kids (Miriam, 2, and Jonah, 1) usually drive my route with me, and they love it when we “do compost”!

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Our Sustainable Journey!

Our Sustainable Journey is a composting service in the suburbs of Chicago. BioBag Associate spoke to Steven Heeley with Our Sustainable Journey about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Heeley: We started on accident. When our daughter was born we were looking into having a garden with less chemicals in it (that was almost 15 years ago) and we got into worm composting. The worms kept growing so we needed more than just the food scraps our family made so we reached out to family and friends and realized this was a niche no one was really involved in… and now we’re here!

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Heeley: We serve the suburbs of Chicago, mainly DuPage and Will county, residential and commercial customers. They can get in touch by emailing me at Steven@OurSustainableJourney.com or through our website.

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Heeley: a little more than a ton a week. We just hit 100,000lbs this year, which is super exciting for us!

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Heeley: We primarily use composting worms to do the work of breaking down the material we take in, instead of hot composting (which we still do, but then feed the finished compost to the worms). Millions of worms chowing down on food scraps is pretty neat.

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Heeley: Our focus is on organic/pasture raised stuff. Aside from the composting worms, we have bees, cows, pigs and chickens, all mostly grass fed, free range, and able to roam on as much land as we can give them so they get to live a good life.

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Green Box Compost!

Green Box Compost is a composting service in the Madison Area of Wisconsin. BioBag Associate spoke to Esai Ponce of Green Box about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Ponce: Ben grew up in a family that interacted with soil intimately. They prided themselves on their large vegetable garden, and composted the scraps from their plates, turning them into nutrients for next year’s garden. He knew this natural cycle from practice, and wondered if there wasn’t a way to make it accessible to people with less time and space.

In 2017, after working at a green home builder and a sustainable seafood company, he discovered a composting company’s van making its rounds. He resolved to learn more about the industry, with an eye to helping his hometown of Madison access this important service. In 2021, he founded Green Box.

Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Ponce: Madison Area residents, they can sign up online!

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Ponce: 6 tons/week

Please give us 1 fun fact about you or your business.

Ponce: Before we amended the zoning codes for our warehouse to be a composting business it was a doggy day care; we sometimes still get furry visitors ~2 years later!

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Ponce: Building off the above, we are somewhat unique in that our operations take place in-vessel and indoors to maintain our agreement with the city of Sun Prairie.

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at Curbside Compost!

Curbside Compost is a program that picks up food scraps and delivers compost with a focus on the Fairfield and Westchester County communities in Connecticut. BioBag Associate spoke to Nick Skeadas of Curbside Compost about his organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Nick: We just thought that we really needed to do this service here in this market. Composting wasn’t being offered, and we wanted to get the food scraps out of the waste stream.

Who do you serve, and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Nick: People can reach out to us at curbcompost.org, email us at info@curbcompost.org or call my cell phone at 914-646-6890. These are the best ways to get in touch with us. A list of communities served for residential collection can be found on the home page of the website. Commercial tote service is also available.

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Nick: We take in about 4,500 lbs. of organic material a week. 

Please give us one fun fact about your business.

Nick: One 32-gallon toter full of fish weighs 190 pounds!

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.

Welcome to BioBag’s Community Heroes series! Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier.

This month, we are taking a look at O-Town Compost!

O-Town Compost’s mission is to become a key component of the City of Orlando’s waste diversion infrastructure to help the city meet its zero-waste goals. O-Town Compost founder Charlie Pioli comes from a career in solid waste/recycling consulting and started O-Town Compost to give neighbors in East Orlando a sustainable option for their waste. BioBag Associate Michael Downss spoke to Charlie about his organization. Their interview is transcribed below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Charlie: [O-Town Compost started] after spending 3+ years as a solid waste and recycling consultant based in Orlando, FL. During this time, I experienced how our country’s solid waste infrastructure works, and I’m disenchanted with how wasteful we are. In my opinion, even the standard recycling of paper, bottles, and cans lacks true environmental benefit. I was introduced to community composting while attending college in Boston, MA and subscribing to Bootstrap Compost. I carried that business model throughout my short career as a consultant and decided to put it into action here in Orlando. 

Who do you serve, and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?

Charlie: We serve residential subscribers, offices and small commercial clients, and do events. Additionally, we started a new service targeting local horse stables and farmers to help them manage their manure or byproducts. Go to www.o-towncompost.com for more info on all our services.

How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?

Charlie: Anywhere from 1,300-1,500 pounds. 

Please give us one fun fact about your business.

Charlie: I like to take my dog, Ginger, on my residential routes with me. She loves sticking her head out the window for car rides, and I’ve nicknamed the service “Duber.” 

If you would like to be featured in a future edition of Community Heroes, please email us at marketing@biobagusa.com.