Go Green OC, a local non-profit organization dedicated to zero waste goals in Ocean City, Maryland recently launched the second phase of their city-wide Compost Program. With a new fundraiser live on GoFundMe.com, Go Green OC hopes to expand composting efforts. “If we are able to raise more than a few thousand dollars we will be able to have other restaurants participate that have been waiting in the queue”, said Garvey Heiderman, Director of Compost Operations for Go Green OC.
For 2019, Go Green OC aims to divert over ten thousand pounds of food waste to a local farm in Berlin, Maryland. Last year, The Hobbit restaurant moved nearly two-thousand pounds in just two weeks. The food waste will be used as a data collection tool and presented to the city at the end of the year in order to open discussion for financial support.
“This is a program operated by an Ocean City business owner who understands the logistics to make our program successful” explained Josh Chamberlain, founder of Go Green OC. “It’s been a positive experience working with everyone from our farmer to the consultants.” Go Green OC received consultation from Brenda Platt, the Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Veterans Compost, and Craig Coker.
The Town of Ocean City benefits from this program in several ways. The amount of waste removed from trash pickup saves the town money in tipping fees. Compost can be used to improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay and limit the amount of pesticides. Also, the program minimizes the need for multiple weekly trash pickups at the Hobbit, thus spending less of the town’s resources.
If the program is expanded and the town is encouraged to send its waste to the county landfill again, it will bring a significant amount of money back to the local economy or Worcester County, as well as cut down on emissions from trucks that currently bring the waste up to PA. With the help of donors, we can take that first step of many to ensure the success of our compost program.
About Go Green OC
Go Green OC is a grassroots organization dedicated to promoting the goals of zero waste by education, program implementation, and cross-community collaboration. Specifically in the areas of recycling, composting, and zero-waste.