This post is intended to advise all of our Residential Compost Pickup Service subscribers (in both the Green Bay and Fox Cities areas) as to how we handle situations where subscribers miss Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups (i.e.: do not set their buckets out for us on their regularly-scheduled Swap/Pickup days, as expected).

The first thing to know is that Greener Bay Compost buckets must be set out for us, on a subscriber’s front porch/step/patio, near their garage door, or at the end of a walkway leading to their driveway, in a location visible from the street (i.e.: not hidden behind a bush, inside a garage, behind a fence, etc.) by no later than 8:00 AM, on regularly-scheduled Swap/Pickup days.

Buckets should never be set at the end of a driveway, at the curb/on a terrace, or beside a mailbox, as setting buckets there significantly increases the risk of bucket loss/theft, snow plow damage, etc.

It is perfectly acceptable for our subscribers to set their buckets out for us the day/night prior to their scheduled Swaps/Pickups, if they feel that doing so will aid them in not missing their Swaps/Pickups. That said, we do not recommend leaving buckets outside permanently or for extended periods of time, as doing so may attract wildlife (which may chew/destroy our buckets and/or their lids), negatively affect the life of our buckets (due to continuous exposure to extreme temperatures, for example), and increase the risk of bucket theft and/or unauthorized use of our buckets by neighbors/passersby/non-subscribers.

If a subscriber knows in advance that they will be unable to set their buckets out for us on scheduled Swap/Pickup days (due to, say, being out-of-town/on vacation), subscribers may request to perform, free of any extra charge, what we call Early/Late Bucket Swaps, self-service style, in west Green Bay (at a safe, convenient location of our choosing), by visiting www.GBCompost.com/Missed-Swap.

If subscribers do not require an Early/Late Swap, but would prefer that we simply Skip a particular scheduled Swap, they may request a Simple Skip, also at www.GBCompost.com/Missed-Swap, which will reserve their right to perform a free-of-charge, self-service style Late Swap on a later date, should they require one.

(PLEASE NOTE: We do not offer refunds for skipping Swaps, or for missed Swaps of any kind.)

If we arrive at a subscriber’s residence to perform a regularly-scheduled Bucket Swap/Compost Pickup to find no bucket(s) set out for us, we will take a time- and date-stamped photo of the area(s) where we would normally expect a bucket to have been set out for us, to document the fact that a Swap has been missed, and move on to our next stop. Subscribers will not receive notice (written or otherwise) that they have missed their Swap.

(PLEASE NOTE: While we may, on occasion, and as a courtesy to our subscribers, send a text message to subscribers who have not set their buckets out for us, to request that they do so, and while we may, at our discretion, wait for a short time for a subscriber to do so, we are not required, per our Terms of Service, which all subscribers agree to when they sign up with us, to do so.

Additionally, we will never enter any subscriber’s garage, home, or fenced-in area to retrieve our bucket(s), without a subscriber’s expressed, written consent, as doing so poses an unacceptably high risk of legal liability to our small, family-run business. Furthermore, we reserve the right to refuse to enter any spaces we determine to be unsafe or high-risk.)

It is our subscribers’ responsibility to ensure that their buckets are set out for us on their regularly-scheduled Swap/Pickup days, or to make alternate arrangements with us (such as through the aforementioned Early/Late Swap options), for in the event that they are unable to do so.

While we do offer the option of receiving Reminder Emails from us, on the days prior to scheduled Bucket Swaps/Compost Pickups, to all of our Residential subscribers, to assist them in remembering to set buckets out for us, we highly recommend that subscribers set up their own reminder systems as a backup to our reminders (to include marking scheduled Swap/Pickup days on physical or digital calendars, creating alerts on their smartphones, placing sticky notes/reminders on their refrigerators or front doors, etc.), and that subscribers not rely solely on our Reminders to help them remember their Swap/Pickup days.

If a subscriber misses a regularly Swap/Pickup, without requesting a Simple Skip or an Early/Late Swap prior to missing said Swap/Pickup, a subscriber’s only recourse, should they still require a Swap/Pickup (and assuming they are unwilling or unable to wait another two to four weeks for their next scheduled Swap/Pickup day), will be to request, at www.GBCompost.com/Missed-Swap, what we call a Make-Up Swap, which is the same as a Late Swap, but carries a one-time $15.00 charge per Swap.

As a small business, with a compost facility at least 20 miles from nearly all our subscribers, the aforementioned Missed Swap options represent the best we can do to provide flexibility to our subscribers, who we know have, like us, very busy schedules, and who we know, like us, are human, and thus fallible.

We thank all of our subscribers for their understanding, patience, and flexibility, as we continue to perform our one-of-a-kind work for the dozens of communities we serve, and we look forward to continuing to serve you, your children, and your children’s children in the years (and hopefully decades) ahead.

Anyone with questions about this post or its contents may contact us using any of the contact methods available at www.GBCompost.com/Contact.

Until next time, best wishes and happy composting!

Cory Groshek
Founder & CEO
Greener Bay Compost
www.GBCompost.com