Local nonprofit Waste-Free Dayton opened its first community compost station this past weekend.
Dayton officials and residents came to the Feb. 10 kick-off and ribbon cutting. The community compost station for the public to drop off food waste is located at Pink Moon Goods in the Historic Huffman District.
Waste-Free Dayton was founded in 2020. Since then, the organization has held multiple community events such as litter cleanups, sustainable coffee chats, and presentations at local businesses and schools on how to reduce food waste.
Natalie Warrick is the co-director and founder of Waste-Free Dayton. She points out that they aren't the only public compost station in town.
“We want to be able to kind of take some walls down, meaning I want it to be easier for people to compost,” she said.
This compost station is meant to broaden the possibilities, she said.
“It's really important for people to find what works best for them, and even what gets them excited to be sustainable,” Warrick said.
Dayton City Commissioner Matt Joseph and sustainability manager Meg Maloney also attended the opening.
Maloney said she was excited to see Waste-Free Dayton taking this initiative.
“A lot of our carbon emissions in the city are tied to food waste, but it's a pretty easy thing to just sort out," she said. "But we didn't have the resources or the teams to educate people in our community about how to do that."
The opening of the nonprofit's first community composting station was possible with the help of a grant received this past September, Warrick said.
Kathleen Tandy owns of the store Pink Moon Goods, which hosts the community composting station. She said she was happy to join forces with Waste-Free Dayton.
“I love to dispel myths about composting that a lot of people have, like thinking that it has to be some really complicated, labor intensive thing,” Tandy said.
Go Zero — the composting company Waste-Free Dayton is working with — will track how many pounds of compostable waste is collected on a regular basis.
The composting station is free for the public to use. To find out more information about what can be composted, visit Waste-Free Dayton’s website.
