Compost Crew surpasses 7,000 customers in 2021

Compost Crew announced its results for 2021, continuing its growth trajectory.  In the most recent fiscal year, Compost Crew expanded by 50% for the second year in a row.

“As Compost Crew strives to make composting more mainstream in the region, we were delighted to see a big jump in our commercial composting business,” said Ben Parry, CEO of Compost Crew. “With 700,000 tons of food waste generated in the area each year, our work is far from done.”

In 2021, Compost Crew surpassed 7,000 commercial and residential customers. This reflects an increase of more than 1,600 additional homes in the Maryland, District of Columbia and Northern Virginia area since the end of 2020.

Compost Crew’s commercial pick-up service also saw record growth in 2021, more than doubling the number of organizations serviced. Among the new customers are: Elite Spice, Greenheart, and Children’s National Hospital. In particular, schools began composting with Compost Crew at an unprecedented rate; organizations like Prince William County Public Schools, Prince George’s County Public Schools, Capitol Hill Day School and Holton-Arms School all joined the company’s roster.

“We are thrilled to be working with Compost Crew!” said the Greenheart team. “Not only does this partnership allow us to easily and safely compost, but together we can educate more customers on the importance of composting as part of a sustainable lifestyle.”

In all, Compost Crew diverted over 3,750 tons of food from landfills and incinerators in 2021. Compost Crew’s impact was recognized through several prestigious awards. Compost Crew was named the Organics Diversion Program of the Year by the US Composting Council, and the Green Business Innovator of the Year by the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce. In addition, Compost Crew CEO, Ben Parry, was named to the Waste 360 40 Under 40 list to recognize his contributions to the zero waste industry.

To help improve accessibility to composting across the region, Compost Crew launched a community food scrap drop off program with two foundational locations at True Respite Brewery in Derwood and at the Montgomery Farm Womens’ Community Market in Bethesda.  These drop off locations allow local residents to drop off their organic scraps on their own schedule for a low monthly rate.

Compost Crew partnered with several additional local governments to bring composting to their residents.  For instance, the company partnered with the City of Baltimore to introduce 5 food scrap drop off locations.

Facilitating accessibility to composting also requires an increase in composting infrastructure. Compost Crew purchased its first roll-off truck to be able to offer roll-off services to clients. Compost Crew also tripled the capacity of its first Compost Outpost™ at One Acre Farm in 2021 while developing new Compost Outposts with Butler’s Orchard and ECO City Farms that will begin operations in 2022. The company introduced a Composting Fellowship program open to individuals in high school or older with the goal of increasing educational opportunities to learn about on-farm composting. Compost Crew had 11 Fellows in its inaugural class, and four of these fellows went on to pass the Maryland Compost Facility Operators exam.

Compost Crew continues to support compost advocacy efforts at the state and local levels. In 2021, Compost Crew CEO Ben Parry spoke at several events for the Montgomery County Food Council, and had an opinion editorial published in the DC Line with a focus on the need for organics recycling legislation in the region.

About Compost Crew

Compost Crew Inc., A Benefit Corporation is the leading organics recycling company in the DMV. The company provides simple and convenient composting solutions to thousands of businesses, organizations and residential customers throughout Maryland, Northern Virginia and Washington, D.C.