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 Green Box in WI!
Green Box is a composting service based in Sun Prairie, WI that makes it simple, easy, and clean to divert your food waste from the landfill. We swap out your bucket every other week and compost the contents, so your food waste becomes soil - not methane. Biobag Associate spoke to Esai Ponce with Green Box about the organization. Their interview is transcribed below.
What led you to start your composting operation?
Ben grew up in a family that interacted with soil intimately. They prided themselves on their large vegetable garden, and composted the scraps from their plates, turning them into nutrients for next year's garden. He knew this natural cycle from practice, and wondered if there wasn't a way to make it accessible to people with less time and space.
In 2017, after working at a green home builder and a sustainable seafood company, he discovered a composting company's van making its rounds. He resolved to learn more about the industry, with an eye to helping his hometown of Madison access this important service. In 2021, he founded Green Box.
Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?
Madison Area residents, they can sign up online!
Sign up on our website. Get your GREEN BOX bucket delivered within 2 weeks. Upon signing up, you will be notified of your first service date. On this date, you will receive your first bucket, and be charged for your first month (4 weeks) of service. Place your food scraps in your GREEN BOX bucket diverting them from the landfill!
Our team swaps out your GREEN BOX bucket during our route, leaving you a fresh, clean bucket. You get a fresh, clean bucket every time! Our team provides reliable composting service so you don't have to worry about where your food scraps are going
How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?
6 tons/week.
Feel free to add any additional information about your operation as you see fit.
Before we amended the zoning codes for our warehouse to be a composting business it was a doggy day care; we sometimes still get furry visitors ~2 years later! We are somewhat unique in that our operations take place in-vessel and indoors to maintain our agreement with the city of Sun Prairie.
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