Compost

Note: we are sunsetting our compost program in early June. Check out Corbin Compost or Compost Crowd for home/business composting.

When we throw food away, we remove important nourishment from the soil nutrient cycle that can be used to grow food and support biodiversity. But food waste in landfills also generates greenhouse gas emissions. In a landfill, food waste undergoes anaerobic decomposition (without oxygen) and generates methane—a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO₂). In contrast, most home and garden composting is aerobic (with oxygen) and, when done correctly, virtually eliminates methane emissions. Aerobic composting also stores carbon in the soil.

We’re currently not seeking new compost partners at this time.

We currently collect food waste from Laura Chamberlin Professional Chef & Sugar Mamas Bakery.

Refugia Gardens Compost Guide (PDF)

2022 Totals (thus far)

• pounds of food waste diverted from the landfill
• buckets (5-gallon) and bins (32-gallon) collected
• pounds ( metric tons) CO₂ equivalent would have otherwise been generated by the food waste at the landfill.
  That’s about the same emissions from using gallons of gasoline in a car, or miles driven with 25mpg fuel economy.

2021 Totals

• 16,369 pounds of food waste diverted from the landfill
• 595 buckets (5-gallon) and 129 bins (32-gallon) collected
• 25,081 pounds (11.38 metric tons) CO₂ equivalent would have otherwise been generated by the food waste at the landfill.
  That’s about the same emissions from using 1,279 gallons of gasoline in a car, or 31,975 miles driven with 25mpg fuel economy.

All-Time Totals (Dec 2018 – present)

• pounds of food waste diverted from the landfill
• buckets (5-gallon) and bins (32-gallon) collected
• pounds ( metric tons) CO₂ equivalent diverted
  Equivalent to about gallons of gasoline in a car, or miles driven with 25mpg

(The bolded numbers are automatically updated from our records every week.)

Notes: Carbon dioxide (CO₂) equivalent is a quantity referring to the conversion of different greenhouse gases’ warming effects into common “units” of carbon dioxide’s warming effect. For example, methane has a warming effect of up to 34 times more potent than CO₂ over a century, so every 1 pound of methane emissions is 34 pounds of CO₂ equivalent. Food waste emissions calculations derived from the EPA’s Waste Reduction Model (WARM) and Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator. The EPA’s WARM calculations are tailored to waste management entities and don’t account for our small vehicle’s transportation emissions. See Project Drawdown’s “Composting” solution page for further references.