General Food Waste Composting FAQs

What is compost?

Compost is decomposed organic matter (from things once living, i.e. grass clippings, food scraps, leaves, etc.) that is recycled down to become a soil amendment. Compost is rich in nutrients and is great in gardens, farming, and landscaping. 

How does composting work?

Composting speeds up the natural decay of organic matter by providing the ideal conditions for decomposition. Composting can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months depending on the conditions. The key to effective composting is to create an environment of warm temperatures, nutrients, moisture, and oxygen. A balance of “greens” (nitrogen rich material, typically food waste) and “browns” (carbon rich material, typically yard waste) are also important. When all these aspects come together, the organic matter breaks down and in 6-12 weeks it turns to nutrient-rich compost for soil!

What are some good stats I can use to make a case for composting?

Composting is beneficial to our environment, society, and economy for several reasons. Food waste is a 165 billion dollars a year issue in the United States. Up to 71% of what goes in our landfills could be composted! Also in the United States, 1 in 8 households and 1 in 6 childhoods are food insecure, while 40% of food produced goes to waste. If landfill food waste were a nation, it would have the third largest carbon footprint. Only China and the United States emit more greenhouse gases. 20% of methane emissions could be eliminated by composting. Every 46 pounds of food waste diverted from the landfill by GoZERO takes a full day of driving emissions out of the atmosphere. 

Our go to sources for stats are Refed.com, Compostfoundation.org/compost-story, and for the tough to convince who may crack if humor is used  – check out John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight bit on food waste from a couple years back.

How do I get my organization on board and familiar with how to compost?

Oftentimes the educational piece is the hardest part of getting started composting. For many, compost is a new idea. We can offer tips, tricks, and educational pieces. This can usually be done via phone and email.

For a fee, we can provide onsite presentations in order to help, but we typically find standing up an onsite green team and/or compost captain is best because onsite personnel are able to be onsite with othersi2qing out the finer points is usually easier once the program is started.

Where can I compost?

You can compost in your backyard! There are many products available out there to allow you to do this. If you don’t have the space, we at GoZERO have many composting options for home, work, and school. Please reach out! We’re here to help! Give us a call at 844-467-0874 or shoot us an email at service@gozero.org. We will be excited to answer questions and help you get started! 

General GoZERO FAQs

What does GoZERO do?

GoZERO provides food waste compost courier services to K-12 schools, universities, offices, manufacturing facilities, grocers, restaurants, community drop-offs, and events.

Our typical service involves providing a watertight 64 gallon rollout carts with a hinged lids and wheels, lined with compostable liners, at your location and then routinely servicing them, emptying and cleaning them onsite rather than swapping full carts for empty carts.

We also provide residential and industrial scale services.

Is there GoZERO service in my area?

We currently serve the Toledo, Columbus, Dayton, and Cincinnati areas and all points in between, all of Western and Central Ohio. If you live outside that area, give us a call, we’re always looking for more neighbors.

Where does the material go?

All compostable material that is picked up is delivered to an Ohio EPA licensed food waste composting facility where it is composted into a rich soil amendment full of organic matter, nutrients, and probiotics for soil building and health plants. The family farm’s compost production operation, where the majority of what we collect is composted, is located near Wauseon, 35 minutes west of Toledo, Ohio, and another compost farm is in the works 35 minutes Northwest of Columbus, Ohio. We also haul material to other licensed facilities when efficiencies and logistics make sense, and eventually the goal is to host a network of compost farms distributed closer to where food waste is being generated as demand allows.

What happens to the material after it finishes composting?

After material has fully composted it can then be sold to local individuals, landscapers, and farmers. We typically sell it by the cubic yard and can deliver, but we also can provide bagged product.

What can be composted?

This is a great question and our most frequently asked one! Here is a good starting point:

What GoZERO Accepts Because we have our own composting facility, we can take meat, dairy, certified compostable plastics, paper, paper towels, bones, coffee filters, wood and paper stir sticks, greasy pizza boxes, etc. If you still have questions, please ask.

What about compostable cups, service wear, trash bags and more?

This can be a bit tricky. Just because it is marked “compostable” does not always mean it is. When in doubt, ask. We have suppliers whose products we know, such as our liners, will compost. We’re happy to share those with you. Please be aware that “biodegradable” usually does not mean compostable. We ask that you first see if the products are BPI Certified, and then share the product with us so we can approve.

Will I know how much we are composting?

A perk to our service to you is we provide you with data every time we service your facility. We love data! Every time we stop at your facility, our drivers will timestamp when they are there, take pictures, record the carts serviced, liners changed and get an estimated weight and volume on your compost. Once that truck has tipped, we can get a fairly accurate weight! We provide you all that data in a shareable spreadsheet so you know your positive impact on the environment!

Can someone from your business come out to our location to answer questions and help us get going?

Yes, for a fee, we can come help, but we typically find standing up an in-house green team and/or compost captain is best because onsite personnel are able to be present more routinely and be part of the composting process. It may not start off flawless, but working out the finer points is usually easier once the program is started. Our team can answer all questions and help your green team and/or compost captain via email and over the phone at no additional change. 

What do you do if there’s contamination?

Non-compostable items (i.e. contamination) do get into the composting process from time to time. The best defense is a good offense with upfront, ongoing, friendly, affiliative, and never punitive communication. When contamination does get into the till, having provided equipment inhouse like trash grabbers and setting expectations that it’s everyone’s job to keep compostables contamination free, is typically the best approach.

Mistakes happen. If you see an item with the compostables that shouldn’t be there, the best time to get it out of there is always right away. Only you can prevent trashy compost, and tools like trash grabbers reduce the ick factor. Pairing training, equipment, and an explanation why it matters typically helps people take ownership and help keep compostables contamination free.

We do find that oftentimes employees mistakenly think recycling is composting and will throw recyclable items in the compostable material. During the Pilot Program (4-6 week period we monitor your cart numbers for accuracy) we also monitor and take pictures of the material before it goes into our truck and when it’s unloaded looking for contamination. If contamination is found, the first thing we do is share with you pictures and other notes so that it’s possible to objectively address the issue and help coach onsite on a “we can’t do it without you” basis.

If after a while we continue to see a large volume of contamination and our operators are having to constantly go through your material (Not fun for them!) we will continue to reach out to you. There does come a point where in very rare instances it does become necessary to draw a line where if contamination remains an issue we need help covering the cost of decontaminating/sorting or to scale back a program so that inhouse sources of contamination are eliminated (eg. reduce or eliminate the number of composting receptacles accessible to the front-of-house general public and focus more or exclusively on back-of-house kitchen compostables where a smaller number of trained people can participate in the program). 

Our goal is to be long suffering and work with people on contamination issues before chainring fees or scaling a program back. If it ever comes to a point where either of those options become possibilities we work hard to make sure there are no surprises and everyone feels like every option has been exhausted before moving in that direction. 

Can I purchase the compost?

Yes! We typically sell our compost in bulk, and we deliver! Bagged compost and gardening blends are also available. Because we already are driving to locations to collect compostables we are usually able to offer better rates to food waste courier customers.

Free compost is not part of our routine food waste courier service because so many customers don’t typically want or need the compost. It’s more cost effective to keep food waste to composting disposal and finished compost sales separate.

Commercial Services (Routine & Special Events) FAQs

What do the carts look like?

Our carts are watertight 64 gallon “rollout carts,” similar to what you may use to take your household trash out to the curb with a hinged lid and set of wheels. While not totally airtight, we’ve found they do a great job of containing compostable material such that wildlife and odors rarely present themselves, much less become issues. They are 42 inches tall and just less than 2 feet deep by 2 feet wide. They are branded and bright green so it’s as clear as possible that they’re not just another trash can.

What time of day are the bins serviced?

Our drivers typically work between 7p - 7a, late into the night and in the early morning hours. We want to ensure we are not in the way of school drop-off, buses, employee traffic, business patrons, etc. Our service is built on being able to access carts during off hours on a no contact basis. Things like on site security, gates or specific entry procedures can make it difficult to provide services so the earlier we can learn about your location and the more detail we can get, the better we are able to prepare to provide services

Will the carts always have a liner?

Our typical approach is to always provide a liner. On rare occasions one goes missing, but with our onboard washing system we are usually always able to get carts cleaned up if something gets into a cart without a liner.

Do the carts have a lock?

No. We find there is typically no need for the additional security. Very consistently neither people nor animals tamper with the carts. Especially when compostables are tied off in a compostable bag in addition to being in the enclosed cart, even insects seem not to know what’s there.

What about wildlife and odors (i.e. “vectors”)?

Food waste can be aromatic, and insects can be an issue in the Midwest’s Summer months. However, this is an easy fix. Rarely are rodents ever an issue or a worry because our carts are watertight and enclosed, nearly air tight, and our trucks are equipped to wash carts when temperatures are above freezing. 

Certified compostable bags are an additional expense, but we cannot recommend enough that all compostable material be bagged in house in compostable liners, pulled, tied off and placed in our carts outside. We can help you find compostable liner distributors. In your break room, dining room, or kitchen areas, keep a receptacle just for compost, ensure it is lined and at the end of the day it is an easy clean up. Please remember that our bins have a liner placed in them. 

In the summer months, our drivers use vinegar and wash carts to also help discourage any issues arising. The more consistently compostables are bagged in a compostable bag before reaching our carts, the more likely there will never be a hint of an issue.

How often are the carts serviced?

Carts are serviced weekly, every other week, in rare low volume low risk occasions every four weeks, and if a situation calls for as much more than once per week services are available.

How many carts do we need?

It’s just part of the job, helping would-be composters figure out how much service volume is needed. Typically 2,000 meals served means you could fill one bin of compostable material. If you are using compostable serviceware, that number goes down to 700 meals. 

We definitely don’t want you paying for more service than you need. So we start new locations out with an introductory usage based program pilot where we work with you to estimate how many carts you will need and then for the first 4-6 weeks we monitor your usage data. If we find we overestimated the number of bins we thought you would need, we will credit you for unused carts and pull those carts at the end of the introductory pilot. At any time carts can be requested added or removed to meet your needs.

What is the cost?

Service fees are based on a per service visit and per cart basis. Very low volume service starts at $103 per month. We can create estimates which are based on expected volume of compostables or available budget. Read more about Service Level Estimating & Setup Prep.

Are there any ways to save money on services?

Yes, the easiest way to save money is to ensure you are getting the most out of your services. Did you know we accept paper towels? Do you use paper towels in your restroom? Compost them! Fill your carts with all the compostable material you possibly can to get most bang for your buck!

Cost sharing is also common. Find a couple neighbors who want to compost with you. There are efficiencies that come when we’re able to service more carts at one location.

If you have a neighborhood or staff base that might like to bring their compostables from home we can help you setup a neighborhood food waste drop-off program or a bring your compostabels to work program. Depending on how these are set up they can help to offset commercial composting costs.

If saving money is central to your interest in composting, it may be appropriate to shift your thinking toward approaching a composting program as a topline value add opportunity rather than a bottomline cost reduction strategy. It’s hard to compete with the landfill on a dollar for dollar basis. 

Composting typically increases waste disposal costs about 15% or $.25 per meal served. However, the halo effect that results from operationally putting your money where your mouth is as it relates to social, environmental, and economic care is a sure bet. If the additional expense can be budgeted as a public relations engagement cost, it may likely be the most effective dollars spent in that category, and what’s the value of doing the “right” thing?

GoZERO is a non-profit, and our prices reflect the cost of providing services with an eye toward making sure we’ll be around tomorrow in order to keep doing the good work. If we could do it for free we would, and our hope is that in time we’ll be able to establish greater efficiencies and pass those savings on to our partners in mainstreaming food waste composting, our customers.

How do I ask more questions or get started setting up services?

Give us a call at 844-467-0874 or shoot us an email at service@gozero.org. We will be excited to answer questions and help you get started! 

Routine Commercial Services

Can I pause services?

Yes, our services can be paused. Also carts and visits can be added or removed on a fixed or ongoing basis. Please make sure to read our terms of service here

Can I buy my own carts?

As long as carts fit our specifications, you can purchase your own carts. Service charges remain the same.

Special Event Services

How do event services work?

We work with you in order to know how many carts you will need and how you will get compostablable into those carts as part of your event. We schedule a time to deliver carts before your event and a time to service and collect carts after.

In some areas we have partners who can place and collect carts for greater efficiencies before and after servicing.

When are the carts serviced?

Bins are serviced after your event and the soonest we have a truck in your area. 

How do we ensure event patrons will understand how to compost and use the bins?

Oftentimes the educational piece to bringing compost to your event can be the hardest and trickiest. For many, compost is a new idea. We’d love to offer tips and educational pieces of information. This is best done over a phone conversation. We highly recommend educating volunteers for your event. You will probably need signage for the compost bins, so please plan on that. For added fees, we can come to a pre-event meeting to help, but we feel we can help prepare the in-house green team to educate staff and those that will be a part of the compost process. 

Residential Services FAQs

What residential options do you have?

GoZERO offers two kinds of residential services, curbside and drop-off. At this writing we’ve not found a community who’s been ready to take on the challenge of organizing a curbside program. However, the number of food waste compost drop-off stations we serve is growing.

Drop-off stations work like a recycling center for food waste where individuals bring their compostables to a central location in their community for later transport to a licensed composting facility.

Drop-off stations are typically municipally sponsored or member supported. Member supported stations are typically hosted by a commercial composter in order to help offset the cost of commercial composting.

To learn more about these programs call us at 844-467-0874 or shoot us an email at service@gozero.org. To find a station near you check out gozero.org/stations

Industrial Scale Services FAQs 

What industrial scale options do you have?

We broker, transport, and receive palletized and open top loads of compostable materials. We offer depackaging capabilities with glass packaging being just about the only thing we can’t receive. See our “What can be composted?” question above for more.

To learn more about these programs call us at 844-467-0874 or shoot us an email at service@gozero.org.