Community Compost Network Now Accepting Applications!

Farm Philly announced today the launching of the fourth round of applications to join the Community Compost Network. Currently located at 22 sites across the city, the Community Compost Network is set to expand with 5-8 additional new sites across Philadelphia as part of the Parks & Rec’s efforts to further enhance sustainability and climate action.

Since its inception in 2019, the Community Compost Network has been supporting communities with free three-bin compost systems, expertly crafted in partnership with PowerCorpsPHL. Participants also gain access to comprehensive educational materials and hands-on and virtual training sessions facilitated by Farm Philly and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, ensuring effective management of small-scale neighborhood composting operations that are community-led.

The network is open to publicly accessible spaces, including but not limited to community gardens, urban farms, places of worship, schools, recreation centers, public parks, and other neighborhood civic groups. This year Farm Philly will prioritize neighborhoods that are not adjacent to existing Community Compost Network sites to ensure equitable distribution of resources across the city.

Once accepted into the network, sites will receive all the necessary supplies including thermometers, wheelbarrows, shovels, and more to run a successful compost operation, completely free of charge. Farm Philly seeks enthusiastic partners interested in collaborating with residents to provide a valuable public resource to their neighborhoods.

“Again and again, I am impressed by the commitment of our volunteers who join this program and bring this incredible opportunity to their neighbors. There’s a lot of excitement in Philly about composting and it’s great to be able to continue offering the chance to join this program,” according to Andrew Kirkpatrick, the Urban Greening Coordinator who manages the program for Farm Philly.

To qualify for participation, applicants must be willing to accept food scraps at their site and/or from their local neighborhood and assemble a dedicated team of volunteers committed to expanding this grassroots network. Each site will determine how they want to manage members and accept and process food waste on-site.

The benefits of community-scale composting are multifaceted, including:

• Waste Reduction: Diverting organic waste from landfills helps mitigate the release of methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.
• Soil Enrichment: Community-generated compost enriches soil quality and can be utilized in parks, gardens, and tree plantings, benefiting the entire community.
• Street Cleanliness: By reducing garbage on city streets, community composting contributes to neighborhood cleanliness.
• Citywide Impact: Participation in the program directly supports Philadelphia’s objectives of reducing litter and increasing recycling rates.

The application period runs from March 2^nd through March 27^th. Applications are available online. Successful applicants can expect to be notified by Farm Philly in late April.