Born in Bridgeport, the Park City Compost Initiative (PCCI) is leading the way in solving a local environmental and economic situation: How to turn a household ‘waste’ into a net benefit for our neighbors – while part of a larger movement in composting food scraps.

​Our process is pretty simple: give us your food scraps and we will turn them into a soil amendment, better known as compost. Each pound of food scraps not burned in the local incinerator of which 30%+ is food scraps results in less air pollution (Asthma); better soil for residents, parks, schools, and more; reduced fossil fuels involved in handling municipal waste; and community savings through lower tipping fees (the costs associated with waste disposal) – all good reasons for supporting PCCI.

The Hartford area is facing the closure of its trash-to-energy plant this summer, and tipping fees statewide are over $100/ton – far beyond the current contract Bridgeport has for $67/ton. PCCI can help address those costs as we look to expand our program.

Why compost in Bridgeport? Multiple benefits are possible through this program:

• The soil in Bridgeport’s yards, parks, and public lands has fared poorly over the years, and using this compost would help repair that damage.
• Aerobic composting of food scraps is a natural process – when done correctly. Many residents already compost in their back yards, some well some not so much. When done right the temperature of the compost pile reaches up to 150 degrees,  yielding an earthy smell and discouraging any kind of rodent and insect concern.
• Improving soil health is important to enhance garden and yard productivity as a reward for local food initiatives. Compost not only provides nutrients for gardens but also helps restore the biological balance of the soil.
• Like recycling other materials, the process of diverting and composting food scraps is important to reduce the environmental and financial costs of everyday life – a benefit for all.
• Food scraps are high in moisture and therefore heavy by volume, which leads to higher transport costs and less efficient incineration of other solid waste. Reducing the number of food residuals in the waste stream allows incinerators to operate more efficiently, lowering air pollution and the potential need to haul up to 750,000 tons to states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and beyond.
• Local job production: as the program ramps up, PCCI will need more employees and is committed to the returning citizen population.

This is why we created the Park City Compost Initiative (PCCI). As volunteers, we have been collecting food waste from residential and some commercial sites for over 2 years. We have successfully diverted more than 14 tons of food scraps and delivered over 15 cubic yards of nutrient-dense compost, a majority of which has been donated.

​Why does it matter?

The advantage of a larger, professionally operated composting program is that it can divert as much as 30% of the tonnage from the waste stream and farm this into a highly useful and biologically valuable soil amendment to improve gardens, lawns, and parks with minimal smell and at a much lower cost than incineration or shipping away to distant landfills.

We need YOUR help to make this happen!

We need your help to get the word out and expand our operations and outreach, and yes, your financial support. Raising awareness, adding educational programs, and increasing public engagement in the process of solving the problems of NOT diverting food scraps from our solid waste stream are key components of this campaign. Sustainable CT will match our first $7,500 of donations, giving us at least $15,000 to fund our education and awareness programs in all facets of the composting process.

Here are some ways you can help in addition to donating: 

• SHARE our Patronicity link with your friends and family: https://www.patronicity.com/parkcitycompost
• FOLLOW and SHARE us on Facebook / Instagram / Youtube. 

• Become an ambassador and help us with fundraising by contacting us at parkcitycompost@outlook.com.

• VOLUNTEER to help get the word out, collect food scraps, and even work at our operation!

Our Vision

The ultimate goals of PCCI are to strongly and positively impact the City of Bridgeport’s environmental, environmental justice, social and budgetary costs of current waste disposal processes.

• Reduced aesthetic impacts from food waste mixed into the solid waste system (smells, spills of liquid waste residue in roadways from the household collection, and bulk transportation emissions)
• Improve air quality as fewer noxious fumes would come out of the solid waste collection and disposal (incineration) process, important health and emotional/political step forward for a community that has long suffered from environmental justice concerns, including dangerously high levels of asthma. 
• To inculcate habits of composting among young people by integrating schools into this project. Kids would bring this attitude and commitment home, much as has been done to reduce smoking.
• Economically, PCCI will be able to grow jobs, and municipalities like Bridgeport will also see a budgetary benefit in the form of reduced “tipping fees”, thus lowering overall municipal expenditures.
• Bridgeport can and will be regarded as a socially and environmentally responsible community through this leadership and its impact on the environment, budgets, and health of our citizens and environment.

Want to join us on this journey?

- DONATE now! Anything helps and we are so grateful!!!

- FOLLOW US on our social media, and join our newsletter! 

We couldn't do this without you and we are so grateful.