We often don’t think twice about discarding a rotting banana peel or soggy paper towel. But within these objects lies a great potential often ignored.
Consisting of nothing more than discarded brown, green and food waste, compost has the power to rejuvenate the environment and put an end to our wasteful food system. It’s something many in the area strive to bring awareness to and show the incredible possibilities composting offers.
One is Bruno Welsh. The creator of Compost RVA, Welsh provides both residential and commercial composting options around Richmond. Locals and businesses can sign up to receive anywhere from one to three 5-gallon buckets (or large rolling bins for commercial enterprises) to throw their food waste into. Compost RVA then picks up these buckets at scheduled times and transports them to composting facilities where the debris rests for a few months before being delivered back as compost to residents or community gardens, orchards and farm spaces.
“It’s seeing the actual outcome instead of contributing to landfills,” says Welsh. “You see the end results with that.”

The opportunity is something numerous Richmonders and businesses, like Blanchard’s Coffee Roasting Company and Cobra Burger, are taking advantage of. “It has been growing over the past few years,” says Welsh. “I’m probably getting, in the last few months, about a ton to a ton and a half a week.”
Founded in 2013, Welsh originally visited regional elementary schools to teach kids about the wonders of compost and give them tools to try the process at home. It eventually progressed into more of a volunteer and educational-based venture and has since evolved into a local movement.
RVA Create Space has been Compost RVA’s main headquarters although that will likely change soon with operations primarily being out of four area satellite locations: Sankofa Community Garden, Trinity Family Life Center, Northside CSA and Biggs Road Community Garden. This year, there are additional plans to start working in a space at Bensley Agrihood.

To create its lush, healthy compost, Compost RVA utilizes a variety of techniques ranging from vermiculture (made with the assistance of worms) to Korean natural farming methods which helps ferment waste. “It kicks in certain bacteria to help the process align,” says Welsh. “It’s not just composting on the top but on the bottom – there’s no stagnance.”
Within these piles hides an assortment of materials, like mulch, coconut coir, wood shavings, vegetable peels, coffee grounds and sometimes meat and bones depending on the batch. Black soldier fly larvae are often incorporated to support the process. It all encourages different compost profiles for specific needs.

But Compost RVA isn’t the only one trying to spread an appreciation for compost. Terra Firma Compost Company is on a mission too.
The company began offering the public compost in 2017 after Drew Larkin, owner of Terra Firma Landscaping, noticed a growing interest.
“There was great demand for a clean, plant-based, chemical-free compost in the Richmond area as many people were growing organically and didn’t want the bagged stuff from the home improvement stores,” says Alison Larkin, the company’s spokesperson.
The family-owned business produces plant-based compost for small backyard or tent growers formed with gathered landscaping debris and natural waste from the Larkins’ organic herb farm, like leaves, pruned branches and deadheaded flowers. They meticulously monitor the materials ensuring items, like manure and diseased plants, aren’t mixed in.

The waste rests in their composting field where it’s observed for a few months and occasionally mixed with a tractor to spread the extreme heat that naturally generates within so any weed seeds and pathogens are destroyed. The compost is then left for about a year to finish.
“Finishing is an often overlooked part of the process,” says Larkin. “During this phase, fungi begin to dominate, humic acids form, bugs and worms colonize and the compost comes to life!”
Terra Firma also has specialty compost options, like earthworm or poultry manure (taken from their small chicken farm), plus a food waste collection service around Richmond – a compost made with the help of their feathery friends.
“Collected food waste is transported to our Hanover farm for composting by chickens,” says Larkin. “Chickens are natural foragers and will scratch and turn the food waste in customized bins.”

What these chickens leave behind is then mixed with carbon materials (like straw or wood chips). “This is a great way to deal with food waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill,” she says. “It makes a whole lot of chickens very happy and we can return the finished product to the earth.”
Those who use this service can accumulate credits for each bucket exchanged. These go toward earning compost, worm castings, growing blends and other eco-friendly items.
“Many of our subscribers live in Fan apartments and don’t have use for soil amendments,” says Larkin. “So we added other farm items to the store, including earth-conscious, local and handmade gifts as well as fresh eggs and produce from our farm.”
While it might seem that composting is simply throwing coffee grounds or vegetable peels into a bin and abandoning them for a bit, there’s much more to it – something that might surprise some when they attempt composting themselves.
“One of the things I tell people when doing compost is eventually it becomes something you can see, feel and smell,” says Welsh who also teaches composting classes. “When done right, you absolutely taste what you’re creating, not just physically, but the smell is there where after a while you’ll know this is done or needs to sit.”
The weather can be compost’s biggest foe. If it’s too hot or wet, the decomposition process can slow down and eventually affect the volume produced. Composters also need to check that piles reach high internal temperatures (about 160℉) to eliminate harmful bacteria.
It’s an intricate science but the results are well worth it. Compost holds a plethora of benefits like invigorating gardens, revamping poor soil, controlling erosion and significantly reducing landfill waste.
An average of 92 billion pounds of food is thrown away each year in the United States with about 24% of landfill waste being food items. Imagine what could be accomplished if the system was transformed.
“If we take food waste out of conventional waste streams, there will be less landfills and less dumpsters,” says Welsh. “Instead of food waste mummifying in landfills, it’s being turned back into something the soil can digest, that plants can then digest, that then we can digest. It closes the loop system.”
Apart from this, compost has the potential to creatively aid communities. For instance, schools could install gardens and small-scale composting sites that not only teach students important agricultural and science lessons, but also provide fresh food for the community and create a unique monetary avenue for these institutions that could sell the compost.
“There’s a tremendous amount of intellectual energy that we literally throw into landfills,” says Welsh. “There are so many applications we can use for food waste that we get rid of unfortunately in the United States. It could benefit so many different factors of society.”