St. Louis Composting is a Silver Sustaining Partner of IFSC, and the company participates in both the IFSC social equity and market development committees. They also support the We Compost program in the southwest IL region.
St. Louis Composting, which has been in business since 1992, is the parent company to Total Organics Recycling, which has been in business since 2014. Total Organics Recycling is the lead commercial organics collection in the St. Louis metro region collecting over 300 tons weekly from nearly 350 customers.
According to Rachel Greathouse, Sustainability Coordinator for Total Organics Recycling, “Education is a fundamental core to the Total Organics Recycling mission, as it is for IFSC. In the Midwest, awareness of composting is growing from the work we are all doing collaboratively. If customers seek our services, they are generally aware that compost is overall “good” or may have company initiatives that encourage zero waste practices. In order to create a culture of composting, education is the core because it creates passion behind choosing to do the right thing rather than an obligation. On our website, we recognize companies that choose to compost with us as well, much like the “We Compost” program. Compost often is done “behind the scenes” so we provide window clings for businesses to hang up to let employees and customers know they compost.
Total Organics Recycling provides customized composting programs for a wide range of businesses and organizations, both large and small. In addition to organics pick-up, they educate staff at client organizations on every facet of the program, focusing on what is compostable and what is considered contamination. This includes a segment on what should be recycled, but not into the organic waste stream, such as aluminum cans, recyclable plastics, the items most people are familiar with when it comes to recycling. These specific instructions are custom-tailored to each organization, along with providing general guidelines and support to put specific organizational recycling goals in context. This includes not only the physical process but the benefits as well.
With regard to the importance of food scrap composting, Greathouse said, “Food scrap recycling is one piece of the puzzle to reverse climate change. It’s not the complete solution, but without it, zero waste initiatives will not be achieved. Furthermore, Illinois and the Midwest are the heart of farming. Incorporating compost into our farmland improves our soil conditions and food quality, as well as other environmental benefits (clean air, water). Our largest compost facility is in Illinois so we are committed to making composting a part of the cultural norm.”
Total Organics Recycling also offers depackaging services for packaged food companies.
IFSC appreciates the contributions of St. Louis Composting and Total Organics Recycling to our collective efforts to expand food scrap composting in Illinois. We look forward to continued collaboration in the future.
Contact St. Louis Composting
Phone: 618-233-2007 (General Belleville, IL line; you may also reach Rachel Greathouse at 636-625-6206
Email: info@stlcompost.com or rgreathouse@stlcompost.com
Websites: https://www.stlcompost.com/; https://www.totalorganicsrecycling.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stlcomposting; https://www.facebook.com/TotalOrganicsRecycling/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/STLComposting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stlcomposting/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/st-louis-composting/; https://www.linkedin.com/company/total-organics-recycling/
