The Martlet

Compost is a glorious thing. What could be more satisfying than watching your moldy old table scraps mush into usable, fertile soil? However, for students who often don’t have yards, or a compostfriendly landlord, creating that compost can be a difficult reality.

Luckily, several community organizations have popped in Victoria to rescue you from your composting woes, including Community Composting, reFUSE and Pedal to Petal.

Community Composting, founded five years ago, has doubled their clientele every year, and has expanded to pick up compost as far as Metchosin and the tip of the Saanich peninsula.

“We’re like a blue box program, but for green waste,” said Matt Mepham co-owner of Community Composting.

Community Composting participants leave out a green cart with their compostable kitchen and yard waste, which is picked up monthly. ReFUSE and Pedal to Petal offer similar services, but Pedal to Petal is unique, doing its weekly or asneeded pick-ups via bicycle to keep the operation carbon neutral.

Mepham said composting is important because it “reduces waste going into the landfill, which is the main buzz right now.” Another benefit of community composting, he says, is that it returns the soil to Victoria. Community Composting gives each participant a bag of soil monthly. Pedal to Petal puts soil towards local food and edible landscape initiatives.

Mepham said his company is constantly adapting to serve different locations and situations as they arise.

“We do apartment buildings, condos, we do banks and lots of schools, coffee shops, we do lots of varied stuff,” he said. “We actually come and get the cart from wherever it is.”

Community Composting offers two cart sizes, and also sells under the sink bins. ReFUSE has three bin sizes, including a gargantuan 360 litre cart, and Pedal to Petal uses 5 litre bins, or you can use your own container.

Mepham said that for students where cost-effective options are important, sharing is a great way to community compost. Roommates, upper and lower suite occupants, and even apartment residents can share a cart.

“The condominiums, it works out to about $1 a month each,” he said. “Talking to roommates and sharing is key. I wouldn’t expect students to take it on all themselves — that’s an expensive venture. But if there’s four people in a house then it’s cheap.”

Subscriptions to Community Composting run from $20.50 to $22.55 a month, depending on subscription length. Pedal to Petal charges $5 per 5 litre pick-up, and reFUSE charges $15 to $25 monthly.For more information on Community Composting, or to sign up for compost pick-up online, visit communitycomposting.ca or call 250-884-7645.

For more information on reFUSE visit refuse.ca, and for Pedal to Petal check out pedaltopetal.blogspot.com