Starting out, October 2023
On our two year anniversary it is fun to think back to how little we knew when we first started out. All we had was some theory (thanks to ILSR Composting 101!), enthusiasm and a few households who were willing to give it a go. We started off using compost tumblers which, while great for small household back yard composting, are totally inappropriate for our project. We also had no equipment - no protective gloves, no composting thermometer and no aerator. Not surprisingly our goal of hot composting was not quickly achieved. What followed was months of learning by trial and error, often the best way to learn! Hours were spent researching, watching YouTube videos and on experimenting. Luckily for GCP, there is a very supportive composting community across America and we have benefited from the huge wealth of information available to us from the Community Compost Coalition. We have also been supported throughout by Waste Free Greenwich who have composted along side us, given us advice and really encouraged us every step of the way.
Two years on
In two short years we have expanded from 6 households to around 20. We are really well equipped with gloves (!), a compost thermometer, large composting containers, and a wonderful aerator. Much of this equipment came from generous donations. We are now experts on hot composting and have sufficient knowledge to present at schools and fairs. We have diverted almost 15,000lbs of kitchen scraps from landfill and have made hundreds of pounds of beautiful finished compost. We are very proud of what we have achieved and very thankful to live in such a supportive and encouraging neighborhood. It is our hope that the next year will see the growth GCP and hopefully some innovations to streamline our process. Witness what our third year brings by following our blog. Happy composting!
