Trends come and go and kids outgrow their clothes at the blink of an eye. This surplus of unwanted articles of clothing can make it difficult to know how to dispose of these items properly, especially when affordable clothing tends to be made of synthetic materials. What’s the difference between synthetic fibers and natural fibers? Natural fibers are derived from…
While some of us find it daunting to put together a meal for a small group, Chef Tony Hull doesn’t flinch at having hundreds of guests for a single meal. As the Executive Chef of the JW Marriott in Washington, DC, his events can include upwards of 1,000 people for lunch or dinner. By his estimates, the hotel’s kitchen staff…
Compostable plastics are a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing single-use plastics, but choosing the “right” compostable plastic when you’re at a restaurant or in the grocery store can be overwhelming. How to shop for compostable plastic Because products are being marketed as sustainable using several buzzwords, it can be difficult to understand exactly what you’re…
Welcome back to our sustainable chef series, where we’re connecting with local chefs to spotlight their ingenuity and creativity as they work to reduce waste in the kitchen. In our first installment, we featured Rob Rubba from Oyster Oyster. Food waste is a big issue on both a local and international scale, and a push toward food waste reduction in…
This week we’re counting down to the new year and finalizing our resolutions for 2022. Last year, we published a blog post detailing 8 tips designed to help you prioritize sustainability heading into 2021, and we’re excited to share some additional tips this year to add to that list. Whether you’re still looking for a new year’s resolution, or just…
Thanksgiving is a holiday focused on appreciating everything you have — both in a tangible and intangible sense. The act of being thankful for our food and other possessions can help contribute to minimizing waste. Studies have shown that food waste increases more than 25% during the time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, making Thanksgiving a great time to focus…
Now that it’s almost Halloween, our Compost Crew team is gearing up for a few weeks of heavy compost buckets full of pumpkin scraps! If you’re planning on carving a pumpkin or making a fresh pumpkin pie this season, don’t let the pumpkin go to waste when you’re done with it. In the United States alone, more than one billion…
By: Kristie Blumer, Organic Solutions Sr. Manager It’s undeniable: the use of kitchen caddies and kitchen caddy liners has helped so many families give food scrap recycling a try for the first time. For that reason alone, they definitely deserve a place in the community composting sphere. The real question, however, is whether or not liners really make a substantial…
By: Ben Parry, CEO Food waste collection is not an easy business, and it’s even tougher amidst a pandemic, tight labor market, and a shaky supply chain. The economic disruptions during the past couple years, from COVID to the Suez Canal debacle, ripple through businesses in ways you may not expect. Certainly COVID has impacted our business in a number…
By: Thomas Fazio, Organics Solutions Manager If you’re composting with Compost Crew, you know your food scraps are being collected and transformed into nutrient-rich soil amendment. But where does that process take place? In years past, Compost Crew brought 100% of our residential customers’ food scraps to commercial facilities in the DMV. Many of our routes continue to go to…