Food scrap composting for Jefferson County
Join today and keep your food out of the landfill!
Our Food Scrap Compost Service
Our residential service includes:
Five convenient drop-off locations in PT
Accepting ALL food waste, including meat, bones, and dairy
Affordable sliding-scale pricing
Compost dividend every 6 months (1.5 cu ft bag)
Five convenient drop-off locations in Port Townsend:
Port Townsend Food Co-op
Jefferson County Fairgrounds
Quimper Grange
Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
14th and Cleveland St
Candace makes composting look easy… because it is!
Questions about
our services?
Check out this handy FAQ page:
Our Mission
Return To Earth is dedicated to capturing local food waste, educating about waste reduction, and creating compost that benefits our local community and the Earth.
Who We Are
We’re curious decomposers, big fans of the little critters in the soil, and hopeful change-makers!
Return To Earth is a grassroots nonprofit based in Port Townsend, WA that is working to close the organic recycling loop and build community along the way.
We’re a project of StrongerTowns and work closely with our community partners such as Community Wellness Project, Jefferson County Public Works, and Chimacum School District.
Education and Community Projects
Return To Earth started a compost program at the Chimacum Elementary School in partnership with Community Wellness Project with funding from Washington’s Department of Ecology.
The program includes in-class lessons about food waste and waste reduction as well as a pick-up service that diverts food waste from the cafeteria.
We’re collecting 75-100 pounds of food waste per day which goes to our facility for composting. The finished compost will be returned to the school garden where students will use it for food production.
Follow our story and growth through our newsletter and social media.
We’ve built an off-grid, small scale compost facility at the Jefferson County Transfer Station that can compost food scraps for about 500 households every week. Using a method called aerated static piles (ASP), we transform food scraps into high quality compost in about four months.
ASP composting is a hyper-efficient and odor-controlled method that uses forced air (via blowers and pipes below piles) rather than physical turning to maintain aerobic conditions perfect for thermophilic activity.
This facility, with its limited capacity, will be testing the feasibility of a larger facility that could meet the composting needs of Jefferson County.
Our Compost Facility
Despite the fact fact that we charge for our services, managing organic waste at a small scale isn’t exactly a big money maker (and it takes a lot to get started). This is a community supported project. We rely on grants, earned revenue, local lenders, and donations to make ends meet and grow our capacity to provide broader services. A thriving local organic recycling system is a community asset and takes community investment and support. That’s why we decided to be a nonprofit and why we need your support!
Your donation will help us pay for facility expansions and equipment, as well our ability to provide a free pick-up and education service to the Chimacum School District.
Thanks so much for supporting our composting efforts!