We have not done a blog update since 7/24, but, as always, plenty has been happening behind the scenes.
Over the last four collections, GCP has diverted a further 455.6 lbs of food scraps from landfill, bringing our running total to 21,585.5 lbs and our estimated landfill space saved to 17.99 cubic yards — just shy of 18!
One of our biggest changes has been introducing a new “drop off anytime” option, which seems to be working really well. We made the switch for several reasons. Leaving the bin out on the street towards the end of the week occasionally resulted in some very enthusiastic garbage collectors taking our food scraps before we could get to them. At other times, neighborhood animals discovered the bin overnight and treated themselves to a midnight feast, leaving us with a rather unpleasant cleanup the next morning. And then, last week, a dog walker added something to the compost bin that was most definitely not on our accepted-items list!
So, our drop-off bins now live permanently by the garage and off the street, where scraps can be dropped off at any time. So far, this seems to be a much easier system for everyone and I wish we had thought of it before!
There are some bigger changes happening within GCP too. Addison and Noah have now headed off to their respective colleges, and I am the last of the original group still here. It feels like the end of an era! I will be around until early September, but I am very aware that it is time to start handing over the day-to-day operations of the project.
Luckily, we have had lots of interest from people willing to help, including our younger siblings and several neighborhood boys. My brother Seb will be taking over much of the coordination, so today was his first full GCP training session. He has volunteered with us before, but had never followed the entire process from beginning to end.
The lifting and carrying did not seem to bother him too much. The smell when we first opened the scraps was apparently a little more of a surprise! Fortunately, once the carbon was mixed in (thanks again to the Chass family for all the shredding!) and everything was properly aerated and balanced, things improved considerably.
It feels strange to be starting the handover process after running GCP for so long, but it is also really exciting to see new people stepping in and learning how everything works. The goal has always been for this project to continue and grow beyond the three of us, so this feels like an important next chapter.
Thank you, as always, to everyone who keeps saving scraps, dropping them off, and supporting GCP.
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