.jpg)
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!
.jpg)
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.
Who do you serve and how can people get in touch with you if they want to start composting?
We serve around 3,100 homes, 150 schools, tons of restaurants, loads of corporations, 1 hospital and many events throughout Greater Boston, Rhode Island, and the mid-Hudson Valley of New York (our newest service area). People can learn more at bootstrapcompost.com.
How much organic material do you typically take in on a weekly basis?
We’re collecting between 65,000 and 70,000 pounds of material per week.
.png)
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.
.jpg)
