CHARLOTTE, N.C. — According to the City of Charlotte, more than 280,000 tons of organic waste is tossed into the trash each year. Only about 20% of the waste is recycled into compost.
It's a small percentage of what Eric Theys, with Crown Town Compost, says could actually be.
“The reason that's so bad is because when that food waste goes to the landfill, it's compacted and compressed and it doesn't have access to oxygen,” Theys said. “And so it breaks down very slowly and it releases methane. Methane is 27 times more potent than carbon dioxide.”
What You Need To Know
- Crown Town Compost began about 8 years ago
- Through its program, residents and businesses put their food waste into compostable bins
- Crown Town Compost picks up the bins weekly and takes the waste to its farm
- After about 6 months, those who participate in the program get bags of composted soil for their gardens
Theys is a co-owner of Crown Town Compost, which is a company that helps commercial businesses and residents compost their food waste by processing and recycling organic matter into a valuable fertilizer.
“Our program is to simply get people to put that food waste in a separate bin,” Theys said. “You're already putting trash in its bin, you're already putting recyclables in that bin. So put food waste in another bin.”
An accountant by trade, and an avid environmentalist, Theys grew up playing in the dirt.
“I was raised around backyard gardening,” Theys said. “I'm from Wisconsin, you know, my parents didn't really recycle. They composted, they had a garden.”
Soon after moving to Charlotte, Theys discovered Crown Town Compost and knew he had to get involved.
“In some degree to see kind of the areas that we could improve, that literally we could improve,” Theys said. “We're not waiting for someone else to do this.”
The group started off small, riding a bike from house to house to pick up composted waste. Now, 8 years later, the business has grown., adding a commercial truck and commercial clients across the city.
"It's incredibly rewarding and also wildly frustrating,” Theys said. “Because you know the impact you're not having elsewhere. You know, these other restaurants who, you know, we need to get in front of them more to be able to pitch the value of it — not in terms of like, you know, the story they can tell, but also like their impact on the environment.”
The program is pretty simple.
Clients use biodegradable trash bags they put food waste into. Then the crews at Crown Town Compost pick it up, take it to the farm and let it mature for at least 6 months. That’s when clients in the program receive bags of soil.
A finished product that earned them a spot at the Charlotte Innovation barn. A space created by the City of Charlotte which focuses on supporting local businesses that foster the goal of creating a circular economy and eliminating waste in the Queen City by 2050.
“If we can pull that out of the landfill, create soil with it, use it on all of Charlotte's public roadways and landscapes and lawns and then incorporate productive spaces through lawn and landscapes. Like fruit trees and berry bushes. I mean, now we're now really moving the needle and sustainability in Charlotte,” Theys said.
Those who participate in the Crown Town composting program get compost twice a year for their own gardens.
The cost for a residential subscriber starts at $30 per month for curbside pickup. For more information on the program and how you can participate, click here.
For businesses, or for those who live in apartments and don’t have a garden, their compost can also be donated to community gardens or green spaces around the area.