Most public composters within the City of Guelph attached to urban gardens, are not used properly.

The standard black plastic models cost ~$100 & tend to be filled with non-decomposing twigs and garbage. Even where better wooden slat structures have been built which could enable growers to easily rotate the bins and have a steady supply of compost, we often observe these overflowing with garden debris. Nobody is able to get any compost out of these.

Our project would design & implement a basic composting system appropriate for urban community gardens. We would make use of discarded pallets; we would assemble them on each of the City’s community gardens currently under cultivation; we would create and put in place very clear easy-to-follow signage that instructs about proper composting; we would source and organize collection of useful compost “ingredients” from local small businesses; we would give workshops at each of the City’s community gardens to folks who are renting plots.

This project is a sub-initiative of the "Food from Home = Food for Home" project, a 3-year initiative supported by the City of Guelph's "Our Food Future" programme, which integrates newcomers into urban food-growing and increases the amount of culturally-significant fresh food grown within the City.