Dead things
becoming
alive again.
We pick up your kitchen scraps — avocado pits, coffee grounds, apple cores — and return finished black soil to your neighborhood. The loop closes quietly, every week.
18,400
lbs diverted this year
340
households served
7
neighborhoods active
140°F
peak pile temperature
Spring
Returning
What you give
becomes what grows.
Every Tuesday morning, we collect your bin from the doorstep. Avocado pits, egg shells, coffee grounds, wilted greens — all of it. No sorting required.
Six to eight weeks later, that same organic matter — transformed by heat, microbes, and time — comes back to you as finished compost, ready to press into a raised bed or scatter around your apartment herbs.
Place your bin at the door by 7 AM on pickup day
We swap it for a clean, empty bin — no waiting
Your scraps join a neighborhood windrow, turning weekly
Finished compost returned each spring and autumn
The pile is
alive at 140°F.
In summer, the windrow reaches thermophilic temperatures — hot enough to eliminate pathogens, weed seeds, and the memory of last year's mistakes. This is not passive rot. It is vigorous digestion.
Billions of microorganisms — bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes — are doing the work your kitchen bin started. We turn the pile every five days to feed them oxygen.
Peak temperature
140–160°F
kills pathogens in 3 days
C:N ratio
25–30:1
ideal decomposition rate
Moisture target
50–60%
wrung sponge consistency
Time to finish
8–12 wks
in active windrow
Pile Temp
140°F
Summer
Digesting
"A bucket of apple cores and pumpkin guts on a porch step is not waste — it is the beginning of next year's tomatoes."
Autumn
Gathering
What goes in
the bucket.
Autumn is the season of abundance and generosity. Your kitchen is producing its richest scraps — pumpkin guts, apple cores, the last of the summer herbs. All of it belongs in the bin.
We accept
Fruit scraps
apple cores, peach pits, citrus rinds
Avocado pits & skins
yes, the whole thing
Coffee grounds & filters
paper filters too
Eggshells
rinse first if possible
Wilted herbs & greens
stems, roots, all of it
Pumpkins & gourds
cut into halves first
Please keep out
Beneath frost,
the work continues.
The pile does not sleep in winter. Below the frozen crust, psychrophilic microbes continue breaking down carbon and nitrogen. Decomposition slows but never stops.
We insulate the windrows with straw and continue weekly pickups through December. Your coffee grounds in January become April's soil amendment.
Cross-section: Winter windrow
Winter
Resting
Learn what the soil
already knows.
A 24-page field journal covering the full composting year — what to collect, when to expect returns, and how to use finished compost in small-space gardens.
The Seasonal
Composting
Guide
Loam · 2026 Edition
24 pages · Free download
Download the guide
Enter your email and zip code. We'll send the guide instantly — and quietly check if Loam serves your area.
Ready to start composting?
$18/month. Weekly pickup. Clean bin swap. Finished compost returned each season.
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