Composting Service

April 15, 2024, was the two-year anniversary of the Rust Belt Riders' Avon Lake compost collection site. There are 47 members using the three bins on a weekly basis. In these two years, a total of 22,044 pounds of food scraps has been collected from our bins alone. This comes out to just over 11 tons! All diverted from landfills and put back into the ecosystem in a healthy and sustainable way.

 

Sign Up Today!

  • Reduce harmful methane emissions
  • Reduce amount of waste sent to landfills
  • Sign up on Rust Belt Riders website
  • Drop off food scraps to bins at the Avon Lake Service Department building at 750 Avon Belden

Over 40% of food is thrown away and ends up in landfills where it rots and emits methane. Methane is a primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant, and greenhouse gas. Methane is released from  landfills because of the lack of oxygen present. Whereas, composting your food scraps prevents methane from being released with the introduction of water, oxygen, and carbon in the form of wood chips or leaves. By composting, we can substantially reduce harmful methane emissions.

Composting also helps reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. Removing compostable materials from the landfills leaves more space for the disposal of materials that cannot otherwise be processed, recycled, or reclaimed, which lengthens the useful, effective lifetime of the landfill facility.

The City has partnered with Rust Belt Riders neighborhood food scrap drop-off program, to offer a solution to both of these issues and an easy action residents can take every day to make a positive impact on the planet.

In contrast to a home compost pile where meat, dairy, bones, cooked food, and paper products are restricted, Rust Belt Riders can accept these items and more, using a thermophilic composting system on a commercial scale at a commercial composting facility. Rust Belt Riders’ service also eliminates common challenges of home compost piles, including unpleasant odors, pests, flies and other bugs that can be hard to deal with, and maintenance of proper levels of moisture and heat. No stress, less mess.

For $12 a month, Rust Belt Riders takes your compostable waste and transforms it into nutrient-rich compost, which enriches soil, helps retain moisture, reduces the need for fertilizers, and helps plants grow.

To participate in this compost service you must sign up on Rust Belt Riders website. Upon sign-up, you receive a 4-digit code that gives you access to the locking containers, which are located near the mulch piles at the Service Department building at 750 Avon Belden. These bins are available  24/7/365 so you can bring as many food scraps as are generated from your kitchen at a time that is most convenient for you. The bins are fully swapped, removing the full ones, and leaving clean empty ones on Fridays. Sign-up also includes support via website chat, discounts on soil, and sustainability workshops.

Rust Belt Riders recommends using a 5-gallon bucket lined with a brown paper bag to collect your scraps in and encourages weekly drop-off. If you want a Rust Belt Riders bucket, they can be purchased at any Phoenix Coffee Café along with bags.

All acceptable food scraps and any BPI-Certified compostable product can be collected. Rust Belt Riders does not accept pure liquid, pure oil, or non BPI-Certified compostable products. Feel free to download their app, Better Bin, for a complete list of acceptable materials.

Questions? Review their FAQ page to learn more. All unanswered questions can be directed to support@rustbeltriders.com.

Sign Up Today!

 

The locking containers for compost drop-off are located near the mulch piles at the Service Department building at 750 Avon Belden. These bins are available  24/7/365 so you can bring as many food scraps as are generated from your kitchen at a time that is most convenient for you.