Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

About Composting

Composting is a natural process by which organic waste, such as food scraps and plain paper/cardboard products, are broken down into a nutrient-dense material, which looks, feels, and smells very much like soil, but is far richer in organic matter.

“Composting” and “organics recycling” are two interchangeable terms often used to describe the same process, which converts would-be organic waste into a value-added product (such as what is known as “finished compost”).

Accordingly, the composting we do at Greener Bay Compost could be considered organics recycling, or organics upcycling, depending on how it is viewed.

Composting has many benefits, including:

  1. Reducing our daily waste by upwards of 30% or more
  2. Making us feel good, because it’s helping us turn what would otherwise become soggy, smelly trash in our trash bins into a product that will eventually end up back in our gardens, flower beds, and agricultural farm lands instead
  3. Making us aware of just how much waste (specifically, food waste) we create every day, which can lead to us changing our shopping/buying habits in a way that saves us money and time
  4. Saving us money, potentially, on other things, like trash bags and cleaning supplies, as well as time spent taking our trash bins to the curb each week or having to clean said trash bins
  5. Saving our communities money, by keeping compostable waste out of waste disposal plants and landfills (which, for those who don’t know, are very expensive to own and operate)
  6. Lowering production costs for farmers
  7. Reducing methane, which is a “greenhouse gas” produced by the anaerobic (oxygen-starved) breakdown of materials in landfills
  8. Sequestering carbon in our environment, similar to what trees do for us (which means taking carbon out of the air and putting it back into the ground)
  9. Providing plants better nutrition and aiding in their growth, via the final product of the composting process, known as “finished compost,” when it is mixed into or layered on top of a plants normal soil
  10. Reducing plant mortality rates
  11. Reducing the need for inorganic/chemical fertilizers
  12. Improving overall soil quality, through the addition of nutrients and various types of organisms, including bacteria and fungi
  13. Increasing soil moisture, which helps conserve water
  14. Increasing groundwater quality, through better natural water filtration
  15. Preventing soil erosion
  16. Assisting in storm water management

Technically, yes, but legally-speaking, no. As such, we call it a “soil amendment,” rather than fertilizer.

Because compost is often produced with a wide variety of materials, as is ours, it is impossible for a compost producer, like us, to guarantee a specific NPK ratio (that is, the ratio of the three big, in-demand fertilizers available—nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium—too each other) when it comes to the compost they produce.

Accordingly, compost cannot be marketed as fertilizer. Having said that, if compost is applied to one’s gardens, flower beds, or lawn, it will most certainly fertilize such things, as compost is easily one of the best and most natural sources of nutrition for plants of all kinds, even if its nutrient profile cannot be pinned down in terms of exact numbers.

Possibly, but only if the composting process isn’t managed appropriately.

At Greener Bay Compost, we utilize a process known as “hot composting,” in accordance with relevant Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) guidelines and best practices, which breaks down organic waste with the help of “aerobic” bacteria (which need oxygen to survive, as opposed to “anaerobic” bacteria, which thrive in low- or no-oxygen environments).

This process ensures that our compost piles produce little to no methane (a smelly greenhouse gas that is 20x more potent than carbon dioxide), even when the waste inside of them hasn’t yet broken down completely.

To further reduce the chances of our piles omitting “offensive odors,” as well as to help control their moisture content, we cover them with tarps.

By the time our compost has aged for several months, it will have become what is known as “finished compost,” which actually has a sweet, “earthy” smell to it, or what some call the smell of “clean dirt.”

Yes, compost, can attract rats, rodents, and other pests, and likely will, if the composting process is not managed properly, especially if food waste makes up a large portion of the feedstock going into the compost.

This is why we highly recommend composting with us versus attempting to compost in your own backyard, especially if you live in a city with strict ordinances regarding rat harborage and prevention (which, by the way, most cities, including Green Bay and De Pere, do have), because we do not believe it is worth the risk of Municipal fines and reinspection fees for most households to produce the small amount of compost the average household can produce with the amount of waste they alone produce each year.

About Our Compost Pickup Services

We currently serve Residential households and Businesses/Organizations located in the following Municipalities in the Greater Green Bay area with our Residential Compost Pickup Service and Commercial Compost Pickup Service:

  • Green Bay
  • De Pere
  • Allouez
  • Ashwaubenon
  • Bellevue
  • Hobart
  • Howard
  • Lawrence
  • Ledgeview
  • Rockland
  • Suamico

As of April 2024, we will also be serving Residential households located in the following Municipalities in the Fox Cities area with our Residential Compost Pickup Service:

  • Appleton
  • Neenah
  • Menasha
  • Kaukauna
  • Buchanan/Darboy
  • Combined Locks
  • Fox Crossing
  • Grand Chute
  • Greenville
  • Harrison
  • Kimberly
  • Little Chute
  • Wrightstown
  1. We provide you with individually-numbered, five gallon buckets (with lids) branded with our logo (complete with compostable liners and wood shavings inside, to help absorb moisture and control odor)
  2. You place any food scraps and organics we consider acceptable (fruit and vegetable scraps, cooked/cured meat, solid and soft dairy items, and so much more!) inside our buckets
  3. We retrieve your full/semi-full buckets once a week, every other week, or every four weeks (depending upon which of our services you sign up for), on a schedule, in exchange for new, clean buckets
  4. We weigh the contents of your buckets (to keep track of the amount of material we divert from our local landfills, as well as to administer our Waste Reduction Rewards Program) and screen them, by hand, for contaminants/non-compostable materials
  5. We do all the composting for you (at our compost facility in the Town of Lessor)
  6. Assuming you are a residential subscriber of ours, you earn high-quality, finished compost from us through our various Rewards Programs, for use with your backyard garden, lawn, houseplants, etc.

For more detailed information on how our Services work, please visit www.GBCompost.com/Services.

No. We currently only offer Compost Pickup Services, which entail us picking up food scraps and associated organics from residential households and businesses/organizations on a schedule.

Our Compost Pickup Services can save you money in several ways and have the potential to “cancel out” the entire cost of our services:

  1. They can help you cut down the amount of trash your household or business/organization produces by upwards of 50% or more, which may enable you to save money on trash bags, trips to your local waste transfer station/landfill, dumpster rental, and/or trash hauling services, etc.
  2. They can make you acutely aware of the amount and type of food your household or business/organization wastes each week, which may enable you to make changes to your food buying and food preparation/preservation habits, which can save you potentially significant amounts of money on food.
  3. Assuming you become a Residential Compost Pickup Service subscriber of ours, our services can help you earn (through our various Rewards Programs) more high-quality compost than most people are capable of producing in their own backyard, which can save you significant amounts of money on inferior products commonly found online/at most local stores.
  4. Assuming you earn some of our 1/4″ screened, premium compost from us, and you make proper use of it, you may very well find that you grow some of the healthiest, happiest plants you’ve ever grown, and, assuming you grow your own food, some of the biggest and best harvests you’ve ever experienced, which can save you potentially significant amounts of money on groceries.

Yes, we provide our Compost Pickup Services year-round (including through our harsh Wisconsin winters).

If you are an individual or a family (rather than a business, school, or some other type of organization), you will want consider our Residential Compost Pickup Services.

Our Residential Compost Pickup Service is ideal for homeowners and/or those living in single-family households or duplexes.

If you are a business, which can be served with five gallon buckets, you will want to consider our Commercial Compost Pickup Service.

PLEASE NOTE: All of our plans are very flexible, in that you can “Add a Bucket” for how ever many months you need the extra bucket(s), and then subtract the buckets if/when you determine you no longer need the extra bucket(s).

As long as you have a private door (whether it is a front door or a garage door, preferably individually numbered) that leads directly from your duplex, apartment unit, townhouse, condominium, etc. outside, and as long as your landlord/property manager has no issue with us performing Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups outside your private door, then yes, we can serve your location.

Please contact us before signing up with us, if you are unsure of whether we can service your location.

Yes, we serve Businesses/Organizations (including, but not limited to, restaurants, coffee shops/cafés, bakeries, retail stores, offices, and hospitals) with our Commercial Compost Pickup Service.

Currently, we serve some of the biggest and best businesses in the Green Bay metropolitan area, including Bellin Hospital and Bellin Psychiatric Center, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital, Kavarna Café & Roastery, Glass Nickel Pizza of Green Bay, Pepperboy Pizza, and Riverside Pizzeria of Green Bay, and we would love to serve your business as well!

Please note: We currently over serve Businesses/Organizations that are willing and able to be served with our five gallon buckets.

We can serve schools, with our Commercial Compost Pickup Service,  if they are able to be served with five gallon buckets.

Not yet, but this is something we are looking into offering in the very near future. We are particularly interested in providing composting services to weddings and large, banquet-style events.

Currently, we perform our Residential Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups exclusively on Sundays, starting at 8:00 AM Central Standard Time (CST) and continuing until we’ve completed all of our scheduled Bucket Swaps/Compost Buckets for any particular week.*

We perform our Commercial Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups exclusively on Tuesdays, between the hours of 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST).*

* These days and times are subject to change.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to the ever-changing nature of our subscriber count and the evolution of our Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup routes, we cannot guarantee that Bucket Swap/Compost Pickups will be completed at any particular time of day, or at the same time of day each week.

Shortly after signing up with us, a new subscriber can expect to be contacted by us via email, with information as to when they can expect to receive their first bucket (or buckets), which will generally be on the Sunday or Tuesday immediately following their sign-up date.

Yes. Unless you Contact Us to cancel your Compost Pickup Services prior to any particular renewal date, your plan will automatically renew every month and the most recent credit or debit card you used with us will be automatically billed, at whatever price we are charging for our Services at the time.

Yes, and you can do so by Contacting Us to let us know of your desire to cancel, in which case we make arrangements with you for your final Compost Pickup and for you to return any of our buckets and/or lids in your possession to us.

Please note, however, that canceling our Services does not, in and of itself, entitle you to a refund, prorated or otherwise, of any funds you may have paid to us.  Whether or not you will be entitled to a refund from us will depend upon several factors, including, but not limited to, whether you’ve returned all of our property to us and how many Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups we have performed for you since your last renewal date.

For more details on our Refunds policy, please see our Terms of Service.

Possibly.

Canceling our Services does not, in and of itself, entitle you to a refund, prorated or otherwise, of any funds you may have paid to us.  Whether or not you will be entitled to a refund from us will depend upon several factors, including, but not limited to, whether you’ve returned all of our property to us and how many Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups we have performed for you since your last renewal date.

For more details on our Refunds policy, please see our Terms of Service.

If our property, whether a bucket or lid, or both, is lost, stolen, or irreparably damaged while in the possession of a subscriber, the subscriber will be charged/invoiced for the replacement cost of this property.

For a new bucket, a subscriber will be charged/invoiced for $15.00.

For a new lid, a subscriber will be charged/invoiced for $5.00.

If an invoice for replacement property is not paid by a subscriber within 30 days of our emailing it to a subscriber, the subscriber may be subject to involuntary termination of their Services, as well as other financial and legal consequences, as per our Terms of Service.

Unequivocally, no.

Because our buckets and lids are our property, and not that of our subscribers, all subscribers whose Services with us are canceled are required, per our Terms of Service, to return any of our property still in their possession to us, by no later than their final Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup day, or our next-scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup day, whichever comes first.

If a subscriber whose Services with us have been canceled fails to return our property to us in a timely fashion, the subscriber may experience legal and financial consequences, in accordance with our Terms of Service.

Before we answer this question, please note that we do have an Email Reminder service available to all Residential Compost Pickup Service subscribers, to help them remember to put their buckets outside for us on their scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup days.

You can sign up for our Email Reminder List:

  • Immediately after subscribing to our Residential Compost Pickup Service, by entering your email into the sign-up form embedded into the page our website takes you to when your payment to us is successful.
  • At any time, by entering your email into the sign-up form embedded into our Events pages.
  • At any time, by Contacting Us to request that we manually add you to our Email Reminder List.

Once you’re signed up for Email Reminders, you will receive an email from us the day before each scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup, with a reminder to place your outside for us by no later than 8:00M AM (CST) the following day.

If we arrive at your residence to perform a scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup and find no bucket(s) placed outside for us, we may (but are not required to) send you a text message or email (or both) and/or call you, as a courtesy, in an attempt to have you bring your bucket outside for us.

Should we text or email you, we will allow two to three minutes for a response. If we receive no response, we will move on to the next stop on our route. Similarly, if we call you and you do not answer, or if we are sent to your voicemail, we will move on to the next stop on our route.

If your Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup is missed in a situation as described above, you may Contact Us to make arrangements for what we refer to as a “Make-Up Swap.”

If you prefer to not make arrangements for a “Make-Up Swap,” you will need to wait for us to perform a Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup for you on your next scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup day.

PLEASE NOTE: Subscribers who miss their scheduled Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups, through no fault of Greener Bay Compost’s, are not eligible for any refunds, prorated or otherwise, relative to said Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups.

If you know, in advance, that you will be unable to place your bucket outside for us on any of your scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup days, for whatever reason, we kindly request that you Contact Us as soon as possible to:

  1. Make us aware of this situation, so we may save ourselves the time, trouble, and expense of visiting your residence, when it is not necessary for us to do so (which helps make our routes more efficient and our costs low for all of our subscribers).
  2. If necessary, make arrangements for us to perform what we refer to as an “Early Swap” or a “Late Swap” for you, free of charge, in a well-lit, public location in west Green Bay of our choosing, on a date and a time agreed upon by you and Greener Bay Compost (so you do not need to go more than two weeks, or much more than two weeks, without a Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup being performed for you).

If you would not like to have an “Early Swap” or “Late Swap” performed for you, please be aware that you will need to wait until your next scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup day for us to perform a Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup for you.

PLEASE NOTE: Subscribers who miss their scheduled Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups, through no fault of Greener Bay Compost’s, are not eligible for any refunds, prorated or otherwise, relative to said Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups.

Effective 4/3/2023, we do not accept any materials provided to us outside of our buckets with the exception of pizza boxes. Please see the following webpage for more information on this policy: https://www.gbcompost.com/2023/03/31/ban-on-materials-provided-to-us-outside-of-our-buckets-with-the-exception-of-pizza-boxes-to-take-effect-monday-april-3rd-2023/

Options for subscribers with more waste than can fit in their bucket(s)

Should any Residential subscriber have more organic waste they would like to provide us than what they can reasonably fit inside our buckets (and should they wish to receive weight-based credit for said waste), they can:

Similarly, should any Commercial subscriber have more organic waste they would like to provide us than what they can reasonably fit inside our buckets (and should they wish to receive weight-based credit for said waste), they can Contact Us to discuss adding extra buckets to their plan.

Please note: There is no limit to how many Special, One-Time Swaps a Residential subscriber can purchase or number of extra buckets a Residential or Commercial subscriber can subscribe for with us.

Options for subscribers who do not wish to pay for us to take their excess organic waste

If a subscriber does not wish to pay for a Special, One-Time Swap, upgrade their service with us, or subscribe for more buckets with us (all of which, it should be noted, support us/help us stay in business/grow and expand), they have a few other options when it comes to what they can do with their excess organic waste:

Assuming the excess waste is considered yard waste by the subscribers Municipality, the subscriber may be able to take said waste to their local yard waste site, free of charge (please note that most Municipalities consider garden waste/refuse to be yard waste).

Assuming the excess waste is food waste, the subscriber may save the waste for a later bucket by freezing it (such as in a gallon-sized freezer bag), or, if absolutely necessary, dispose of it in the trash (although this is something we do not support doing, for obvious reasons)

Please note: It has been illegal in the State of Wisconsin, since 1993, to dispose of yard waste in the trash. For more information, visit https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/287/II/07#:~:text=Beginning%20on%20January%203%2C%201993%2C%20no%20person%20may,waste%20facility%20in%20this%20state.%20%283%29%20Waste%20tires.

If you have any questions or concerns about the above, you may contact us using any of the contact methods available at www.GBCompost.com/Contact.

Absolutely, yes.

We use BioBag® bags, which are Certified Compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute (and meet the US Standard ASTM D6400 and the European Standard EN 13432 standard specifications for solid material biodegradation).

These bags are made from plants, vegetable oils, and compostable polymers and have also been verified by the Non-GMO Project. Accordingly, they are 100% safe for us to compost, alongside the rest of the materials we accept.

If you are interested in buying some of these bags for yourself, possibly for use in a kitchen-top compost bin, you can find them online.

No, because we do not produce our own wood shavings/sawdust.

For subscribers who are concerned about excess moisture or “offensive odors” emanating from their Greener Bay Compost buckets, it should be noted that any of the high-carbon materials found on the Acceptable side of our List of Acceptable and Not Acceptable Materials (such as Fall leaves and the specific plain/matte paper items we accept) can be very effective at absorbing moisture and controlling odor.

Payment and Billing

Because our Compost Pickup Services are monthly, subscription-based services, which necessitates us receiving timely payments from our subscribers each month, we only accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club credit or debit card payments, via our secure, Stripe-based payment system for said Services.

With regard to any invoices we may issue relative to compost purchases, we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club credit or debit card payments, or direct bank account transfers (ACH payments), via our secure, Stripe-based payment system, as well as checks, money orders, and electronic payments made through PayPal or Zelle from reputable retailers that purchase our compost for resale.

We do not currently accept payment in the form of cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin), precious metals, or from other electronic payment services, including, but not necessarily limited to, Apple Pay, Cash App, Facebook Messenger, Google Pay, or Venmo at this time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Yes, any time you make a payment to us, you should receive an emailed invoice/receipt from our secure payment processor, Stripe, reflecting the products or services you’ve paid for as well as the amount you’ve paid us.

If, for whatever you reason, you do not receive the invoice/receipt you should, or if you would like a copy provided to you, you may request a copy of any invoice/receipt by Contacting Us. You may use our Manage My Subscription page to download copies without needing to contact us, if you so desire.

Please note: If you use our Manage My Subscription page, you will need to enter the email you provided to us when you made your purchase with us and will then receive an email, which will provide you with a security code that you must enter to access your subscription information.

When you enter the code, you will be taken to a subscription self-management page where you can download the document(s) of your choice.

If you have any trouble using our subscription self-management option, please Contact Us.

Yes. If you need to update/change the number, or the expiration date and/or CVC code, of the credit or debit card you used to sign up for any of our Compost Pickup Services, you can do so by visiting our Manage My Subscription page.

Please note: You should never provide credit or debit card information to us (or anyone else, for that matter), via email, voicemail, or text message, as these communication methods are not secure.

If you have any trouble using our subscription self-management option, please Contact Us.

About the Materials we Accept (and Don't Accept)

Please see our list of Acceptable and Not Acceptable Materials for Inclusion in our Buckets, a physical copy of which is provided to all new subscribers inside their first bucket.

Please note that this list is subject to change at any time, but that we will also contact all subscribers, via email, to advise of any changes made to it.

No. We only accept materials from our Residential and Commercial Compost Pickup Service subscribers, with rare exception.

As per our list of Acceptable and Not Acceptable Materials, we only accept products labeled or referred to as “compostable” if they are clearly and individually labeled as BPI or TUV Certified Compostable.

The logos or icons to look for on compostable products should look something like the below:

To search for BPI-Certified Compostable products by company or product name, visit: BPIWorld.org/Find-Certified-Products

To search for TUV-Certified Compostable products by company or product name, visit: TUV-at.be/Green-Marks/Certified-Products

The reason for this policy is that not all products labeled as “compostable” are actually compostable, let alone in in our compost piles, and many companies can, and do, try to take advantage of environmentally-conscious, albeit naive, consumers, by claiming their products are compostable when, in reality, they’re not.

When companies engage in this behavior, it is what is now as “greenwashing,” which Investopedia defines as “the process of conveying a false impression or providing misleading information about how a company’s products are more environmentally sound. Greenwashing is considered an unsubstantiated claim to deceive consumers into believing that a company’s products are environmentally friendly.”

Because greenwashing exists, and because our goal is to produce the cleanest, highest-quality compost in as little time as possible, we will not accept any products labeled or referred to as “‘compostable” without independent, third-party verification, such as from BPI or TUV, that the products are, in fact, compostable.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause anyone, but our compost quality and business reputation is the most important thing to us.

Yes, assuming you are a subscriber of ours and can fit them in your Greener Bay Compost bucket(s).

For a complete list of materials, we accept, please view our List of Acceptable and Not Acceptable Materials.

Also, please note that most Municipalities, including those in the areas we serve, have yard waste sites where materials like lawn grass and lawn mower clippings, leaves, brush, and branches may be disposed of, free of charge:

Please note: It has been illegal in the State of Wisconsin, since 1993, to dispose of yard waste in the trash. For more information, visit https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/287/II/07#:~:text=Beginning%20on%20January%203%2C%201993%2C%20no%20person%20may,waste%20facility%20in%20this%20state.%20%283%29%20Waste%20tires.

No. We do not accept lawn grass or lawn mower clippings because the risk of herbicide/weed-killer contamination in these materials is unacceptably high, and unlike many compost producers (including most Municipalities that produce compost from yard waste they collect), we are very concerned about the quality of the compost we produce.

Also, please note that most Municipalities, including those in the areas we serve, have yard waste sites where materials like lawn grass and lawn mower clippings, leaves, brush, and branches may be disposed of, free of charge:

Please note: It has been illegal in the State of Wisconsin, since 1993, to dispose of yard waste in the trash. For more information, visit https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/287/II/07#:~:text=Beginning%20on%20January%203%2C%201993%2C%20no%20person%20may,waste%20facility%20in%20this%20state.%20%283%29%20Waste%20tires.

About our Products

Yes, we sell1/4″ screened, premium compost (which is suitable for use with lawns, gardens, houseplants, agriculture, golf courses, athletic fields, construction projects, landscaping, etc.) in Gallon and  Cubic Foot sized bags. If you are interested in purchasing compost from us, or from our retail partners, visit www.GBCompost.com/Compost.

PLEASE NOTE: Compost requests are handled in the order in which they are received, and no preference or priority is given to any would-be buyer based on their Greener Bay Compost subscriber status. Having said that, subscribers to any of our Compost Pickup Services should be aware that they (and their employees, in the case of our Commercial Compost Pickup Service subscribers) are entitled to a special discount on any compost they wish to purchase from us (but not on any Personal Delivery charges that may apply).

We do not currently sell our compost “by the truckload” or “by the cubic yard,” however, we do offer “multi-bag” and “bulk” discounts on our regularly-priced Cubic Foot and Gallon bags of compost, as well as a special compost discount to our Residential and Commercial Compost Pickup Service subscribers, if they are purchased directly from us through www.GBCompost.com/Compost.

Before we answer this question, please know that compost is not soil, but rather a soil amendment, meaning it is something to be added to existing soil or to create a custom soil blend, not to be used alone as a growing medium.

Having said that, how much compost one needs to buy depends entirely upon what one plans to use the compost for and/or how much square footage needs to be covered with the compost.

For example, if one’s goal is to apply a 2″ top-dressing of compost to an existing garden bed, then one will need 0.116 cubic feet of compost per square foot. Accordingly, if one wants to apply said top-dressing to a 4′ x 4′ garden bed, which is 32 square feet, then one would need 1.856 cubic feet of compost to do so.

Someone attempting to do as described above would need to buy (2) of our (1) Cubic  Foot Bags of compost to achieve their desired results, and would still have a little compost left over when finished, for supplementing their garden with through the growing season. If someone wanted to only do a 1″ top-dressing, in the above-mentioned scenario (as opposed to a 2″ top-dressing), then one could afford to get away with buying as little as (1) of our (1) Cubic Foot Bags of our compost.

Having said that, if one wants to do more than simply top-dress a garden bed or perhaps some potted plants, then one may need to buy a much more substantial amount of compost.

If you have any questions about how much compost you may need from us to cover your personal project, please Contact Us for assistance.

Yes.

To amend soil: Work 1–2 inches of compost into the top 3–5 inches of soil.

For growing vegetables: Give your vegetable garden plenty of compost in the fall. Spread several inches of compost on top of the existing bed, then till it into the soil in the springtime. Put a handful of compost in each hole when you’re planting. Once plants begin to grow quickly, you can add a half-inch layer of compost around the base of the plants. Provide “heavy feeder” plants such as tomatoes, corn, and squash with 1/2 inch of compost monthly—this will result in great produce!

For growing flowers: In the spring, loosen the top few inches of annual and perennial beds and mix in a 1-inch layer of compost. Or in the fall, apply a 1-inch layer of compost as a mulch to protect plant roots from freezing and conserve moisture.

For replenishing soil in potted plants and window boxes: Even the best potting soil gets depleted of its nutrients as plants grow. To replenish nutrients, add an inch of compost to potted plants and window boxes twice a year. Or, make your own potting soil using two parts compost to one part sand or perlite.

Yes. Unlike many Compost Pickup Service providers, which outsource their composting to local farms or commercial/industrial compost facilities, Greener Bay Compost is a full-service company company, which means we not only pick up compostable materials from our subscribers, but compost it ourselves.

No, because the compostable bucket liners we use, which we do, of course, compost, as well as certain types of paper and cardboard we accept for composting, do not meet USDA criteria for “organic inputs”/are not certified for use in organic farming. As such, anyone considering the purchase of our compost for use in a MOSA/USDA-certified-organic farming operation should understand that the use of compost may void their operation’s organic certification.

Having said that, we would like to note that just because another company’s compost is certified organic (whether through an organization such as MOSA, or directly through the USDA) does not necessarily make it a better or more high-quality product than ours.

Compost quality not only has to do with the materials that go into the compost, but the way in which the compost is produced.

Much of what passes as or is sold as “compost” at big box stores, such as Home Depot, Lowes, and Menards, or even at small or local landscape and supply stores or nurseries, is not so much compost as it is mulch (in that is often made up of very large chunks of non-composted wood), and is often filled with inorganic debris and contaminants, including plastic, glass, and metal, judging from many of the 1 and 2-star reviews such products have received online.

Additionally, much of the “compost” sold by small, local compost operations or landscape companies is unfinished, in that it has not been allowed to age long enough to ensure that most of the weed seeds in it have been rendered nonviable and that all the organic materials that went into it have been provided enough time to break down completely. Such compost may contain higher amounts of nitrogen than finished compost should and could damage plants.

Here at Greener Bay Compost, despite our product does being certified organic, we take great pride in eliminating contaminants from our feedstock and screening our finished product to filter out contaminants (and large chunks of wood) that may make it through the composting process, but in producing the highest-quality compost possible. in general.

For a list of the materials we accept from our subscribers (as well as a list of the ones we don’t), please see our list of Acceptable and Not Acceptable Materials for Inclusion in our Buckets.

Rest assured, when you receive compost from us, it would be compost that any member of our team would be proud to apply to their own gardens.

We produce all of our compost at our food-waste-focused compost facility, located in the Town of Lessor (Shawano County, Wisconsin), which is the only facility of its kind in the Green Bay metropolitan area.

Under optimal conditions (and weather permitting), our composting process can take as little as 13-14 weeks.

Because we operate in Wisconsin, however, which is well-known for its harsh winters, and because all of our composting is performed outdoors, our process, from start to finish, can take upwards of six months or more to produce a batch of what we would consider finished compost (that is, high-quality, saleable compost, which is ready for use in gardens, flower beds, and agricultural operations).

Miscellaneous

We were founded in July 2021.

We are not currently hiring, nor do we have any plans to do so, until and unless it becomes absolutely necessary for us to do so. Similarly, we are not currently accepting volunteers. That, however, may change in the near future, and when/if it does, this website will be updated to reflect this and we will also make an appropriate announcement regarding this via social media.

We are currently a two-person operation, and while the work we do is very labor-intensive and time-consuming, we still find it to be manageable, at least for the time being. Should that situation change, however (and we are sure it will, at some point soon), we will consider all available options for bringing in the help we need, including, but not necessarily limited to, hiring employees or engaging volunteers.

PLEASE NOTE: When/if we engage with volunteers, which is something we would do long before we could consider hiring paid employees, we would require all volunteers to sign a waiver of Greener Bay Compost’s liability, legal or otherwise, before we would allow them to work for/with us, as a means of protecting ourselves.

Yes, we are!

You can follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/GBCompost and/or on Instagram at Instagram.com/GreenerBayCompost.

Generally speaking, we do not allow visits to our compost site by anyone who with a definite need to be there, for legal reasons, however, we may give a tour of compost site to parties seriously interested in doing business with us.

Please Contact Us at www.GBCompost.com/Contact if you are interested in doing a tour of our compost site for the purpose of facilitating business with us.