holy compost

Holy Compost

“Nearly half of the solid waste produced globally is organic or biodegradable. ...While many landfills have some form of methane management, it is far more effective to divert organic waste to composting.”

Project Drawdown Solutions—Composting

“In the United States alone, food waste [as unused food and food rot in landfills] generates the same amount of greenhouse gas emissions as 37 million cars.”

Amelia Nierenberg, One Thing Your City Can Do: Reduce Food Waste, The New York Times


Food Composted is More

Ryan Green on Happy Trashcan small business start-up and local fertility

Food composted is more than food not wasted. Among efforts to reduce food waste and associated greenhouse gas emissions, composting continues a cycle that includes harvest, retail, and preparation. What’s trimmed, leftover, or spoiled can help regenerate soil.

And, it’s business. In this interview segment (October 2018), Ryan Green, co-owner Happy Trash Can Curbside Composting, shares basic benefits of composting, lessons from his experience ranging from farm to big city composting operations, and the creative, collaborative means he and his wife Adrienne used to start their curbside composting business.

Update since this recording: Happy Trash Can acquired the large dump trailer that allows them a single round trip for compost pickup! For more, Ryan can be reached via the Happy Trash Can website. Interview conducted by Megan Hollingsworth (Extinction Witness) in collaboration with Linda Lombardo (Voice of Evolution Radio).

Compost operations and other businesses mentioned in this interview:

  • Saffron Table—Diverse Cuisine of India and South Asia (out of business—COVID-19)

  • Strike Farms—Certified Organic Farm (out of business)

  • Sustainable Generation—Commercial Composting Systems and Services

  • NYC Compost Project

Additional composting information:

“Roughly a third of the world’s food is never eaten...”

Project Drawdown Solutions—Food Waste

“Buyers in ‘developed’ countries waste approximately 222 million tons of food per year. The entire net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa is only 230 million tons per year. Thus, the developed world wastes almost as much food as is produced in the Sub-Saharan region.”

- Two Initiatives Targeting Global Food Waste: YieldWise and SAVE FOOD via The Borgen Project


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