When one Redditor found out that their HOA banned composting, they decided to outsource their food waste recycling to a local company called Common Good Compost — and it's already helped them improve the health of their garden.
The original poster shared their hack on r/ZeroWaste, writing, "Found a local company that offers a composting service! My HOA doesn't allow us to have our own compost pile, so I'm excited to have found this option."
The company, Common Good Compost LLC in Northern Colorado, provides sealed buckets for kitchen scraps. The poster shares a photo of a green bucket with a tight lid, the company's logo, and a label that reads "Food Waste." When the bucket is full, the service takes it back to add the food to their compost piles.
🗣️ If you compost your food scraps, what's your primary motivation?
🔘 Improving my garden's soil 🌱
🔘 Saving money on fertilizer 💰
🔘 Helping the planet 🌎
🔘 I don't compost 🚫
🗳️ Click your choice to see results and speak your mind
"They even pick it up in an electric car!" the poster says. "Every spring we also get a free bag of compost to use in our garden!"
Food waste is a frequent topic of discussion in the r/ZeroWaste community, and one of the go-to solutions is composting: allowing organic food scraps to break down naturally in a bin or pile to create rich fertilizer.
This fertilizer can be used to grow more food or just give grass and flowers a boost. Composting is also an environmentally conscious choice since it keeps trash out of landfills and puts nutrients back into the soil.
However, some homeowners — and HOAs — have concerns about the odor or the appearance of a compost pile. Having a local company do the hard work and return finished compost is a win for everyone. Plus, having the compost pile elsewhere saves space in the yard.
This isn't the only time an HOA has fought against eco-friendly choices. One couple had to change their state's laws to defend their lawn full of native flowers, and another Redditor recently complained that their HOA was preventing solar panel installation for south-facing homes.
Other commenters in the composting thread are eager to get in on this deal. "Because of this post, I found a local option also!" writes one user, while another says they're already part of the program.
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