Creating a Composting Community: Live & Learn January 2026
If you missed our January Live & Learn, check out the article below or view the presentation here!
Thank you to Luis Chen of Wormies for the content of this article and an inspiring presentation!
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Every day, valuable resources leave our community in garbage trucks.
Food scraps, coffee grounds, yard trimmings, and other organic materials are routinely sent to landfills, where they generate methane emissions and contribute little to the health of our local environment. Yet these same materials contain nutrients and organic matter that could be returned to the soil, helping build healthier landscapes, stronger gardens, and more resilient ecosystems.
In Michigan, an estimated 40% of food is wasted. While food waste is often viewed as a disposal problem, it is equally a resource management problem. When organic materials are sent to landfills, communities lose an opportunity to recover nutrients, improve soil health, and support local environmental goals.
This is where composting comes in.
At its core, composting is the natural process of transforming organic materials into a stable, nutrient-rich soil amendment. With the help of oxygen, moisture, and microorganisms, materials such as food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and plant trimmings break down into compost—a valuable resource that can be used to enrich soils and support plant growth.
While composting is often promoted as a way to reduce waste, its greatest benefits may be found beneath our feet.
Healthy soil is far more than dirt. It is a living ecosystem filled with bacteria, fungi, insects, and other organisms that work together to cycle nutrients and support plant life. Scientists often refer to this network as the "soil food web." Compost helps strengthen this living system by providing organic matter and supporting the biological activity that healthy soils depend upon.
The benefits extend well beyond gardens. Compost improves soil structure, increases water retention, reduces erosion, supports beneficial soil organisms, and can even help suppress certain plant diseases. It is used in landscaping projects, agricultural operations, wetland restoration efforts, and environmental remediation projects across the country.
In many ways, composting represents a shift in how we think about waste. Rather than viewing food scraps and yard materials as something to be discarded, composting recognizes them as resources that can continue contributing value long after their original purpose has been served.
Building a composting community means creating systems that keep these resources cycling locally. It means finding ways for households, businesses, institutions, and community organizations to divert organic materials from landfills and return them to productive use. It also means supporting local efforts that make composting more accessible and convenient for residents.
Fortunately, there are several ways for Rockford residents to participate. Some households choose to compost in their own backyards, while others utilize curbside collection services such as Wormies. Residents can also collect organic materials at home and bring them to the Food Scrap Drop Off located at the 10 Mile North Kent Recycling & Waste Center. Each option helps keep valuable materials out of the landfill and contributes to a healthier local ecosystem.
As communities across the country look for practical solutions to reduce waste and build resilience, composting continues to stand out as one of the simplest and most effective actions available. Every banana peel, pile of leaves, and coffee ground diverted from the landfill is a small step toward healthier soils, reduced emissions, and a stronger local circular economy.
Building a composting community isn't about a single compost bin or collection program. It's about recognizing that what we throw away still has value—and working together to keep those resources cycling through our community for generations to come.