Detroit – Every Monday, local entrepreneur Ricky Blanding steers his Ford Ranger through a carefully mapped route, stopping at homes and eateries to collect buckets of food scraps. The service, offered by his company Scrap Soils, provides a convenient alternative to backyard composting or city drop‑off sites for residents who lack curbside pickup.
Helping Detroit cut landfill methane
Food waste such as coffee grounds, eggshells, carrot tops and stale bread generates methane when it decomposes in landfills. By diverting this waste to composting, Scrap Soils reduces greenhouse‑gas emissions and creates a nutrient‑rich soil amendment for urban gardeners and farms.
Emily Cassidy, research associate at Project Drawdown, explained that composting not only pulls methane out of the climate equation but also returns valuable nutrients to the soil, boosting local food production.
Local participation and pricing
Since its 2020 launch, Scrap Soils has signed up more than 70 Detroit homes and businesses. Home pickups start at $15 per month, while commercial customers pay $60 or more depending on volume. The Grand Porter restaurant in the Southwest neighborhood is one such client, regularly contributing egg shells, bread scraps and vegetable peels.
“It doesn’t take any extra effort,” said the restaurant’s executive chef, noting that the waste would have been bagged anyway – now it simply goes into a green bin for pickup.
From truck to farm
After a nine‑hour, 100‑mile weekly route, Blanding delivers the collected material to Sanctuary Farms, Scrap Soils’ composting partner. There, the organic matter is transformed into a rich soil additive that is sold to gardeners and urban farms.
“Food waste has not only become the problem, but it’s also the solution to many climate‑change issues,” Blanding said.
Growth plans and challenges
The company aims to acquire a larger truck and its own composting facility, currently fundraising to meet a state matching‑grant requirement. Skeptics question whether a small team can make a sizable impact, but Blanding stresses the importance of education and community engagement.
“The role of a hauler is very important, and education around composting is also very important,” he said.
Citywide momentum
Detroit’s climate strategy targets a 100% reduction in municipal greenhouse‑gas emissions by 2050, including a three‑year plan to divert 15% of waste from landfills. The city launched its first municipal food‑scrap drop‑off site last year, partnering with Scrap Soils for outreach.
Director of sustainability Tepfirah Rushdan highlighted composting as an easy entry point for residents to support the city’s sustainability goals.
Other independent composting programs are expanding in Denver, Nashville, Atlanta and North Carolina, indicating a growing national movement toward food‑waste diversion.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
