Providence Expands Effort to Compost Food Scrap

Michael Bradlee, hub manager of the compost operation at Frey Florist on Providence’s West Side, uses a powered auger to aerate compost bins. The hub diverts an estimated 1,000 to 1,500 pounds of food scrap from the landfill monthly. (Kevin Proft/ecoRI News)

By Kevin Proft

Providence Composts! was piloted in 2013 with two composting hubs — West Broadway Neighborhood Association/Meader Street Farm on Federal Hill and Frey Florist on Smith Hill. The West Elmwood Housing Development Corporation hub was added the following year, with food scrap being composted at the Sankofa Initiative’s Parade Street Community Farm.

Compost buckets are obtained by residents at neighborhood hubs. Program participants fill their buckets with kitchen scraps, then return them to the hub where they receive clean replacements. The food scrap is composted by a hub manager, either at the drop-off location, or at an urban farm or community garden. Each hub can manage between 25 and 40 households. Participation is free.