Composting for City Dwellers

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Many of us at Farm to Philly practice varying methods of composting, but not everyone has the room to do so. That doesn’t mean you can’t compost your garbage, though, and reap the benefits later on!

A friend sent me a link today to Bennett Compost. For $15 each month, you get a five gallon bucket and weekly pickup of your saved food scraps, cardboard, fireplace ash, and a whole host of other compostibles. Each spring Bennett returns the resulting compost to its clients for free. The website indicates that each customer routinely receives ten gallons of compost.

Here’s the rub: you have to live in Philadelphia—they don’t offer the service to the burbs yet. And if you’re an organic gardener, there’s no guarantee the compost will be made from organic scraps. Bennett won’t accept lawn trimmings treated with pesticides, but there are no rules about fruit and vegetable trimmings.

Still, it’s a cool service if you lack space for a compost bin.