A Greener Future with Greener Bay Compost
by Braedon Richlen
Part of New Leaf Foods’ mission is to build a thriving local food system in a clean environment. Because of the many benefits of composting and the opportunity for people to be able to take part in it from their very doorstep, New Leaf Foods is pleased to interview Cory Groshek from Greener Bay Compost about what the business offers the Green Bay area.
Greener Bay Compost is a composting business that serves the Green Bay area. Started by resident Cory Groshek in 2021, the business focuses on creating a healthier, more sustainable future by offering services and products to encourage composting. Shortly after buying his first house in Green Bay in 2015, Groshek started working on his gardens and needed soil. He encountered one big issue: the soil frequently found in stores is too expensive and it isn’t very effective at promoting plant growth.
After deciding to not give into the purchase, Groshek’s wife suggested composting. The pair started to use compost barrels, but they didn’t work that well and turned out to be more hassle than it was worth. After trying different composting methods, they began to use open-air piles covered by tarp. Groshek commented, “Within just a few months, we had some really great finished compost, which is commonly referred to as soil, but is actually a nutrient-rich and mineral-rich soil amendment that helps with water retention.”
There are many benefits of using local compost instead of store-bought soils, composts and fertilizers. Instead of putting it in the landfill where it can produce greenhouse gasses, Greener Bay’s compost is sold year-round, is contaminant-free, can be used indoors or outdoors, was made from your neighbor’s food scraps, and it’s healthier for the environment. Groshek explains, “[a store-bought soil]...is like a quick hit fertilizer. This is more like a slow release capsule. It's not going to work out with those store-bought fertilizers.” He then adds, “Compost actually improves the quality of any soil you add it to not just from once, but for years after adding it.”
By May, 2021, Groshek became so good at composting, he had it down to a science. “I thought, ‘Why don't I offer to do this for some other people?’ because not everybody likes to do this. It's labor intensive and time consuming, but I really like it,” Groshek recalled. After asking the community if they would have interest in a compost material collection service, Groshek started Greener Bay Compost, and residents and businesses began to subscribe to the service.
The process is pretty straightforward. Subscribers are given a 5-gallon bucket lined with a compostable bag to put your allowed compostable materials in. The bucket is usually placed by the front door, but it’s wherever the customer decides as long as it’s easily accessible. Greener Bay Compost then comes by every 2 or 4 weeks (depending on the plan) and swaps out the bucket with a new one. Groshek explains, “One thing people notice is we number these buckets. As we're going through the cleaning and screening process, we know exactly whose food waste we're dealing with. We can match the bucket to whoever gave us that material and we reward our subscribers for how much material they give us.”
Behind the scenes, after the bucket makes it to the compost facility, the contents are recorded and filtered for non-compostable material, weighed for customer leaderboards, and the bucket is cleaned. The contents then goes over pine shavings in windrows. They are then covered by tarp to prevent seeds from blowing into the compost, keeping weeds from growing. Each week, the rows are turned (per DNR standards) to give the microbes oxygen and the compost is watered if it becomes too dry. Finally, after 7-8 weeks of meticulously watching for contaminants and turning the compost, the compost is finished and the product is sifted into a small & grainy, dark, nutrient-rich compost. Anything that doesn’t pass through the sifter is then used to fill in holes in the fields, it’s re-composted, or it’s sold as a mulch.
Greener Bay Compost has been trying to partner with local municipalities like Green Bay and De Pere. Groshek has spoken to the sustainability councils for both cities and though Green Bay was not interested in a public-private partnership, members from the De Pere sustainability council requested $10,000 from the budget for subsidizing costs for subscribers. The final decision is coming this month on whether this will be approved or not. “When it comes down to actually putting boots on the ground or putting their money where their mouth is, a lot of [sustainability commissions] fail… De Pere is acting like a real leader in sustainability by doing this,” Groshek stated.
More than 200 Green Bay residents are Greener Bay Compost subscribers, but businesses also play a huge role in the business’ composting efforts. Bellin Hospital has helped divert over 10,000 pounds of material with Greener Bay Compost, and Glass Nickel Pizza Co. originally approached Groshek to be the first business subscribed to the commercial service. Kavarna Coffee is also a subscriber. Groshek hopes that other businesses will take part in the composting efforts in the future because, “...the more people utilize compost services or even compost themselves, the Green Bay area, or even the world, would be a much more sustainable place.”
Be sure to check out Greener Bay Compost’s Website, Facebook, and Instagram for more information on services and products, and stay updated!
