The Merc Co+op is excited to partner with Food Cycle KC to offer our shoppers an opportunity to compost their food scraps and more!
Sign up for service at the store, or any one of Food Cycle KC’s swap locations, fill your bucket with food scraps and compostable items. Then bring it back to the store to trade it out for a clean, empty bucket.
When
Thursdays from 4 - 7 p.m. at the KCK location
Saturdays from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. at the Lawrence location starting November 19th!
What is composting?
"Composting is the natural process of recycling organic matter like leaves and food scraps into a valuable fertilizer that can enrich soil and plants. Anything that grows decomposes eventually; composting speeds up the process by providing an ideal environment for bacteria, fungi, and other decomposing organisms to do their work. The resulting decomposed matter, which often ends up looking like fertile garden soil, is called compost." (from the Natural Resource Defense Council, NDRC)
Why compost?
It's estimated about 30% of what we throw away in the United States is food. Food waste has a big impact on the environment. To oversimplify the problem, organic matter can't turn into compost in a landfill because of all of the inorganic matter that's also in a landfill, like plastics. If you're interested, here's some more information on that.
Composting allows us to divert waste from landfills and turn it into something practical for our yards. Compost is full of nutrients, improves soil health and structure, and more. There are lots of ways to reduce waste! Only buy what you need, and use everything you've got! You can learn more and get inspiration from organizations like Love Food Hate Waste, or Food Waste Feast.
About Food Cycle KC
Food Cycle KC LLC, based in Shawnee, KS, serves the Kansas side of the KC metro area. Local schools, businesses and organizations work with us to collect commercial food waste. We also provide homes and apartments with convenient valet-style weekly pick-up of food waste – something we call curbside composting.
“Why collect food waste? We believe that no one should go hungry, and no food should go to waste. Our solution? Complete the Food Cycle. We collect uneaten food waste, compost it on our farm in Johnson County, and distribute it to Kansas area community and school gardens, urban farms, and members of Food Cycle KC, like you!”
Check out their website for the complete list of items you can compost, FAQs, and more.
For residents around the KC metro, Food Cycle KC also offers a curbside pick up service! Two other local composting companies - Compost Collective KC and KC Can Compost also have swap services.