Community Hero January 2026: Bootstrap Compost

Each month, we will highlight community heroes that are making a difference in their communities and working to make their local environments cleaner and healthier. This month, we are taking a look at Bootstrap Compost in MA!

Bootstrap Compost is a residential and commercial food scrap collection service who launched in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood in 2011 but now services the Greater Boston, Rhode Island and the mid-Hudson Valley. Since their founding, they have created a decentralized network of 11 processing sites in three states — from large commercial facilities to small homesteads eager for clean feedstocks. By leveraging the expertise of their processing partners (who are geographically diverse but identical in their need for quality feedstocks), Bootstrap can focus on hauling efficiencies, customer service and community engagement. The Biobag team connected with Andy Brooks, founder of Bootstrap Compost, to tell us more about the organization. Read their responses below.

What led you to start your composting operation?

Back in 2011, I was feeling restless and hungry to bring something fun to resource recovery in Boston. I was particularly attracted to composting’s low barrier to entry and its relative immediacy of delivering results. I put up fliers around Jamaica Plain on January 1, 2011 and the rest is history. Bootstrap was a natural name for the business; melding my own interest in doing something for myself and the community lifting itself up at the same time. 

Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.

Equipping our buckets, Toters and cans with Biobags allows us to offer the cleanest service possible while mitigating cleaning. Compostable bags allow us to collect, spot clean and keep it moving.