Over the past few weeks, word has gotten out that Little Green Bucket is at risk of going out of business as early as November 15th, 2024. I’m writing this post to share the backstory, the challenges and opportunities ahead, and my hopes for the future of Little Green Bucket. [This post has been edited repeatedly since publication, to reflect our evolving needs as we make sense of this crisis and the available options.]
The situation
For the past six years, the food waste Little Green Bucket collects from you has been going to a private 3rd party compost facility in the South Valley. Starting November 15th, that facility will be overhauling their operational model to accommodate new corporate clients and out-of state haulers, and they will no longer allow us to dump and wash our equipment at their site.
In theory, they’d still take the material, but we’d have to bring it in larger containers (like dumpsters or a trash truck). However, whether we contract with an independent hauler or purchase new equipment to do it ourselves, this change would be prohibitively expensive… and that’s before factoring in their 114% price increase. In total, these changes would eat up over 60% of our current commercial revenue, which would be a complete catastrophe.
What does this mean for us? We can’t haul to that facility any more.
With limited local alternatives, our only viable path forward is to start our own compost facility, which is both an enormous challenge and an exciting opportunity. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, but if we can land on our feet our future is still bright as ever.
Our core needs
To rescue community composting in Albuquerque, we’ll need to address two critical needs:
- A new home for Little Green Bucket (ideally zoned for agriculture or manufacturing)
- Immediate need: 1-3 acres on a 1-3 year lease
- Long term need: 5-20 acres with a gentle path to ownership (lease-to-own or seller financing preferred).
- Capital to turn that new home into an operational compost facility
- This could take many forms. Investments, loans, prepaid memberships, crowdfunding, grants, and/or matching pledges. It’s too early to talk specifics, and we need to survive the winter first, but we’re putting the word out now in hopes of generating funding ideas from the community.
Some smaller needs
We’ve had friends and supporters coming out of the woodwork the past few weeks, and we have some stopgaps in place to help us get through this initial transition. But we’re expecting a challenging winter, and there are a few things that would really help us weather the storm:
- Farmers or landowners interested in receiving loads of food waste for on-site composting. (Details TBD, but we can provide labor, expertise, and regulatory compliance).
- 500 sq ft of outdoor storage to hold full trash cans during snow interruptions.
Will we make it?
I really don’t know.
I’m immensely proud of the business we’ve built over the past six years. What started in my carport with 36 buckets and a pickup truck has grown into an oft-thriving small business with 10 employees slinging hundreds of buckets and thousands of pounds of food waste every day. I’m honored and so very grateful to lead a team that is majority LGBTQ and majority gender non-conforming, and who have found in my silly little compost company a place to do meaningful green collar work while living out the fullest expression of themselves. And I’m endlessly amazed by how much our community seems to love us, too.
So despite the many struggles we’re facing now, or that we’ve endured over the past two years, I’m optimistic. If we can stay afloat long enough to get our first pile of compost to market, I think our best days are ahead of us!