Finally found a way to get my neighbor to join our community compost drop-off

I've been running this little neighborhood compost drop-off for about 6 months and had one neighbor who would just never bring her scraps. Turns out she thought she had to walk 3 blocks to the bin... so I swapped her old bucket for a smaller countertop one that fits in her grocery bag. Now she brings it every Tuesday without fail. Has anyone else figured out a simple barrier that was holding someone back from participating?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_young2mo ago

The "old bucket too big" thing is so real... I had a neighbor who kept saying she'd "get around to it" and I finally realized her car was in the shop for like a month and she didn't want to carry a giant bucket on the bus. So I just left a collapsible fabric tote on her porch with a note and now she drops off her scraps every week on her way to the laundromat. Sometimes it's not about the compost itself, it's just the logistics of getting the stuff there.

rowan7251mo ago

That's exactly it. I had a buddy who wanted to get into composting but lived on the third floor of an apartment building with no elevator. His folks had chickens so he wanted to give them his scraps but carrying a heavy sloshy bucket down three flights of stairs every couple days just wasn't happening. Bought him a small stainless steel countertop bin with a charcoal filter so it doesn't smell and he just empties it into his trunk when he visits his parents on Sundays. He said the smell was what really got him before because he didn't want his car to stink like old banana peels. Sometimes you just need to remove that ONE annoying thing and suddenly people are all in.

jesse_fisher2mo ago

Found a lady down the street who kept saying she'd start but never did. Tracked her down and found out she was embarrassed because her container didn't have a lid and she was afraid stuff would spill in her car. Just gave her an old plastic takeout container with a snap-on lid and she's been coming ever since.