Part of the Food Policy Community Spotlight Series
Name: Common Ground Compost
What they do: Common Ground Compost is a woman-owned New York City-based consulting operation that helps businesses build and launch waste-diversion programs. Their clients range from commercial office buildings to hotels, restaurants, schools, residential buildings, and other organizations
How they do it: Common Ground Compost focuses on education, transparency, information sharing, and metrics, so that their clients can be confident their waste is being handled sustainably and in the way they expect it to be. They tailor their education and training as well as their recycling and composting solutions to the individual needs of their clients.
The organization runs the Zero Waste events program, through which event organizers can rent infrastructure to offer public-facing recycling, composting, and waste stations that allow event attendees to sort waste into categories, making the waste experience at events more interactive and transparent. Lastly, Common Ground Compost operates Reclaimed Organics, a bike-powered compost pickup service in Manhattan.
Mission: Common Ground Compost works with the NYC community to facilitate the recycling of organics in any setting— supporting the health & sustaining the growth of urban communities.
Latest project/campaign: Launching composting programs in commercial office buildings and developing the logistics required to make composting in high-rise buildings a reality.
Profit/nonprofit: For profit
Interesting fact about how they are working to positively affect the food system: With so much takeout in the office waste stream, a significant portion of office waste—whether it be food or serviceware—is compostable. By launching compost programs in offices, Common Ground Compost is able to divert valuable organics from landfills, regenerate soils with compost, and also, very importantly, educate office staff on the do’s and don’ts of regular recycling. Most people do not know how to recycle correctly, and poor recycling methods lead to huge costs down the line for recycling processors.
FACT SHEET:
Location:34 3rd Ave, #173, New York, NY, 10003
Core Programs: Consulting
Number of staff: 5
Community Members: 10
Areas served: Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, New York State
Year Started: 2015
Director: Meredith Danberg-Ficarelli
Contact Information: (855) 690-9940; https://www.commongroundcompost.com
