Every Monday, Ricky Blanding navigates a carefully planned route through Detroit in his pickup truck, collecting food scraps from homes and restaurants to transport them to a composting site. As CEO of Scrap Soils, a food waste collection service he co-founded in 2020, Blanding is part of a growing nationwide movement aimed at reducing food waste and expanding access to composting services, particularly for urban residents who lack municipal curbside pickup or convenient drop-off locations.
Food waste is a significant contributor to methane emissions in landfills, a potent greenhouse gas with a strong short-term impact on climate change. Composting food scraps such as coffee grounds, eggshells, and vegetable trimmings not only mitigates methane emissions but also produces nutrient-rich soil that supports urban farming and gardening. Emily Cassidy, a research associate at the climate solutions nonprofit Project Drawdown, notes composting’s dual benefit of reducing methane and replenishing soil nutrients, calling methane reduction “like pulling the emergency brake on climate change.”
In Michigan, food waste generates millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, underscoring the state and city’s interest in waste diversion strategies. Scrap Soils currently serves over 70 homes and businesses in Detroit, offering weekly pickups starting at $15 per month for residences and $60 or more for commercial customers, depending on waste volume.
One commercial client, Grand Porter restaurant in Detroit’s Southwest neighborhood, uses the service to dispose of egg shells, bread scraps, tomato tops, and other organic refuse. Executive chef Lou Hammer said the process requires little extra effort, noting food destined for disposal simply goes into a designated green bag instead of the regular trash.
After completing his extensive route covering more than 100 miles, Blanding delivers the collected scraps to Sanctuary Farms, a composting partner in Detroit. There, the food waste is transformed into a soil additive available for purchase. Looking ahead, Scrap Soils plans to acquire a larger truck along with its own composting property and equipment, bolstered by fundraising efforts to secure a state matching grant.
Despite its potential, Scrap Soils faces challenges including public awareness, customer acquisition, and educating participants on proper composting—such as removing stickers from produce before disposal. Blanding emphasizes the importance of both haulers’ roles and ongoing education to scaling up this small but growing effort.
Similar independent programs are emerging in other U.S. cities, including Denver, Nashville, Atlanta, and several North Carolina cities. While hundreds of municipalities offer food waste collection or drop-off services, these remain limited compared to the thousands of overall waste management programs, illustrating considerable room for expansion. A 2023 report identified around 400 municipally supported residential food waste collection programs nationwide, with 230 offering curbside pickup.
Composting features prominently in many cities’ climate action plans. Detroit aims to reduce municipal greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050. To support this goal, the city has launched a municipal food scrap drop-off site and plans to expand access through additional drop-off locations and composting at municipal buildings. Scrap Soils contributed to a citywide educational campaign to increase participation.
“Composting, recycling, those are really easy entryways into sustainability for people,” said Tepfirah Rushdan, Detroit’s director of sustainability. As the city adapts its waste systems, she expressed optimism about growing public engagement in environmental initiatives.