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 Go Green OC in MD!
Go Green OC is a composting service based in Ocean City, Maryland with unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability is at the heart of their mission, and their primary focus is on achieving zero waste goals, particularly through innovative composting initiatives. Biobag Associate spoke to Josh Chamberlain, Founder, Go Green OC, about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.
What led you to start your composting operation?
Go Green OC was started to find alternative ways to waste incineration by creating a sustainable circular economy. Our goal is to make Ocean City the first zero waste resort town in the United States.
Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?
We serve the Worcester County, Maryland area specifically Ocean City, Maryland. People can reach out to us via Instagram or our website. We reach 30k people monthly on Instagram and 99% of our volunteers come from social media.
How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?
At the peak of our season, we are ingesting around 10,000 pounds of food waste. The program runs from April to November (seasonal town).
2018 - 1900 pounds
2019 - did fundraising
2020 - 12,190 pounds
2021 - 80,000+ pounds
2022 - on track for around 200,000 pounds
We could see a total accumulation of around 300k pounds
Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.
We have 12 locations participating with us today with over 30 on a waitlist. We are up from 1 volunteer to nearly 8. We started the first pizza box collection receptacle for composting in Ocean City. We also converted the largest motorcycle rally on the east coast to zero waste (OC Bikefest) by introducing recycling - and this year...COMPOSTING!
We are doing a HUGE zero waste event in Ocean City, MD. It's called Bikefest. Our volunteers assist with recycling and composting efforts. It's the largest Motorcycle Rally on the east coast. This year, we are introducing composting to the event.
https://happeningnext.com/event/oc-bikefest-2022-september-14-18-ocean-city-maryland-eid4sntm98sk21
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