Community Compost: The space between worm bins and anaerobic digesters?

Compost is often considered a panacea for the United States’ tremendous food waste problem. Indeed, composting is a much better option than putting spoiled food in a garbage can destined for a landfill. However there are limitations to the benefits. Home systems don’t scale, while industrial compost may rely on volume to remain cost-competitive. That means we lose the incentive to recover food before it spoils. Community-based compost may offer the best of both worlds combining local home pick-up with the higher volume that comes from engagement with restaurants and grocery store. Through this series underwritten by Inika Small Earth we’ll explore the impact of composting programs at all levels and the opportunities afforded by community-based recovery efforts – including community composting.