What exactly do we collect?

We collect egg shells and used coffee grounds, two small but mighty kitchen scraps! Egg shells are loaded with calcium, which helps plants build strong cell walls, and coffee grounds are packed with nitrogen, giving gardens that leafy, green boost they crave. No meat, dairy, or mystery leftovers, please, just the good stuff!

Why just coffee grounds and egg shells?

Besides being easy to store, these scraps are compost superheroes. Egg shells slowly release calcium over time (kind of like a slow-drip vitamin for your soil), and coffee grounds help jumpstart compost microbes like bacteria and fungi. Bonus: worms love coffee grounds, and happy worms = healthy soil!

Who can donate scraps?

We work with local restaurants, cafés, and coffee shops in Vancouver, WA who want to turn their everyday waste into something awesome. If you're brewing coffee or cracking eggs, you're invited!

How does pickup work?

Think of it like a little treasure hunt for gardeners! Once the coffee grounds and egg shells are set aside, anyone from the community can come by the restaurant and pick them up free of charge!

We’ll provide the restaurant with a labeled bin and compostable bags to keep things tidy. When there’s a bag ready, gardeners can grab it, take it home, and give their soil some love.

It’s simple:

• Restaurants set scraps aside.

• Gardeners swing by and scoop them up.

• Less waste, happier plants, everyone wins!

If you’re a restaurant, you just need a small space to store the filled bags until someone picks them up. If you’re a gardener, keep an eye out for locations listed on our info page, then grab what you need!

Is there a cost?

Nope! It’s completely free for restaurants and gardeners. We’re just a scrappy, community powered project trying to make dirt rich (literally).

I’m a gardener—how do I get scraps?

If you’re local and your plants are hungry, head over to the Partners page to see participating restaurtants. It’s like curbside compost treasure hunting. Just drop by or contact one of the partner restaurants to see if they have any scraps to grab that day.

How Can I help?

We’re always looking for compost champions! Whether you want to help with pickups, spread the word, or nerd out about soil health, we’d love to have you. Reach out on the contact page!

Can households donate too?

Right now, we’re working with businesses first to keep things simple. But stay tuned, our goal is to grow a system that everyone in the community can plug into!