Community Compost CSA
Dawn Breeze gathering her spring share of compost into burlap bags, donated by local coffee roasters at JB Peel in Red Hook.
About Our Compost CSA…
The O Zone is partnered with the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency “UCRRA” in Kingston as well as Almstead Nursery & Mulch in Claverack to process our local food scraps into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, compost.
UCRRA operates an industrial composting operation that processes and recycles our food scraps into a high quality, local and sustainably-produced compost. Almstead Nursery & Mulch provides mulch, compost, and topsoil, as well as wood grinding and carting services to clients.
The O Zone offers both drop-off & pick-up services for residential community members, commercial businesses & municipalities. In the spring, we distribute finished compost back to our CSA members!
What is accepted in the compost bins?
We send our food scraps to industrial composting facilities. Because of this, we accept things in our food scrap collection bins that would otherwise not work in backyard compost piles. This includes dairy, meat, bones, cooked and uncooked foods, and plate scrapings - please no cooking oils or animal fats.
We do not accept pizza boxes, aluminum foil, cardboard, coated paper products, animal manures, bulk liquids, or any sort of packaging (even if labeled ‘compostable’).
Call/message us with any questions!
Why Compost?
Composting diverts food waste from our landfills.
40% of food in the U.S. goes uneaten.
That’s 20 lbs. of food per person every month, (NRDC, 2012).
Fifteen tractor trailers filled with waste leave the UCRRA in Kingston six days a week, heading to the landfill in Western NY.
In the landfill, decomposing food waste produces methane gas, a greenhouse gas 25x more potent than carbon dioxide.
If we removed food waste from the landfill, it would equate to removing 1/5th of the cars in the U.S.
Benefits of Compost
Compost is full of nutrients, vitamins, and a diverse biome, which improves our soil.
Compost cultivates nutrient-rich plants.
Compost eliminates the “need” for chemicals to provide your plants with food and/or immunity.
Composting conserves water.
Composting mitigates methane gas production that contributes to climate change.
Membership Options:
Residential Drop-Off:
Residential households are able to drop-off up to 5 gallons of food scraps at The O Zone during business hours each week. Members supply their own receptacles for transporting food scraps. Up to 32-gallons of compost will be made available to each member in the spring.
Weekly Drop-Off at The O Zone: $14/month
FYI: The Town of Red Hook is providing it’s residents with a municipal food scrap drop-off site at the Red Hook Recycling Center located at 21 Glen Pond Dr, Red Hook, NY 12571. They are open Wednesday and Saturday from 8am-1pm.
Pick-Up Services:
Pick-up service takes place on either Monday, Wednesday or Thursday depending on your route. Compost receptacle(s) provided to residential pick-up and commercial subscribers.
Options include:
Weekly Residential Pick-Up
1-5 gallon pail - $32/month
2-5 gallon pails - $40/month
3-5 gallon pails - $48/month
Weekly Commercial Pick-Up (for restaurants and businesses)
1-32 gallon roller bin - $76/month
2-32 gallon roller bins - $108/month
3-32 gallon roller bins - $140/month
4-32 gallon roller bins - $173/month
5-32 gallon rollers bins - $204/month
6-32 gallon rollers bins - $236/month
7-32 gallon rollers bins - $269/month
8-32 gallon rollers bins - $300/month
Neighborhood Drop-Spot (Host a drop spot for your neighborhood!): $14/month per household (host exempt) || A minimum of 8 participating households required to commence service. *Please contact The O Zone during business hours to set up.
Event Service || Provide composting receptacles at your next event! We will provide clean, lined compost bins with signage before the event, and then will pick up the totes from the site afterward. *Please contact The O Zone during business hours to set up.
Set up Fee: $100 (within 15 min. radius/2 tote minimum) $135 (within 30 min. radius/3 tote minimum), $210 (within one hour/6 tote minimum)
Price per 32 gallon roller bin:
2: $20 each
3+: $15 each
Don’t have a garden?
Think of a local organization, park or community garden that would benefit from your compost share!
