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 Triad Compost Service in NC!
Triad Compost Service is was established in 2011 and provides food waste collection for residents and businesses throughout the North Carolina Triad. Biobag Associate spoke to Rachel with Triad Compost service about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.
What led you to start your composting operation?
The owners of Triad Compost Service were eager to dive into sustainable agriculture, but first needed some nutrient-rich compost to revive the clay soils of the Southeast. The solution? Compost that could be made from food waste! So, they bought an old truck, teamed up with a few local restaurants, and started collecting kitchen scraps. Before long, local universities, hospitals, grocery stores, even manufacturing plants with cafés all wanted to recycle their food waste too. The couple scaled to meet demand and had themselves a brimming composting business.
Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?
Triad Compost Service (TCS) is based in Mocksville, NC, proudly serving several counties including Davie, Forsyth, and Guilford Counties—affectionately known as the Triad. (Hence, our name!)
TCS specializes in food waste hauling and composting for residential and commercial customers as well as large and small special events.
As an industrial composter, TCS is able to handle not just food scraps, but also certified compostable items like BioBags - woohoo! - giving customers greater flexibility in what they can divert from the landfill and reinvest into local food systems through compost applied to farm, home and community gardens.
Stay connected with Triad Compost Service through our LinkTree , Facebook and Instagram.
How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?
The volume collected by TCS varies seasonally but on average around 10 tons of food waste is collected weekly.
Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.
These donations (finished product to local community gardens) are made possible, in part, by TCS’s residential customers who generously choose to donate their portion of finished compost back to the community. It’s a beautiful example of how small, individual choices can collectively make a positive impact.
For the past 6 years, TCS has provided a community compost drop site at Cobblestone Farmers Market in Winston-Salem. What started with just a couple of carts has grown into a thriving effort—market patrons now fill four to five commercial-sized carts each week with food scraps!
It’s been a special community partnership—connecting farmers, patrons, and local financial supporters in a shared effort to reduce waste and build healthy soil.
