Common Rot Is a Subscription Based Compost Service

Sawyer Fox wanted to make a change in his Long Beach, CA community, so he launched Common Rot, a composting subscription service. Every weekend, Common Rot picks up organic waste from residents and businesses and donates the compost to the Growing Experience, an urban farm that grows organic fruits and veggies for underserved communities.

"The goal is to get the majority of businesses on board as possible because they are creating the most waste," he said.

Fox works a full-time job, but on the weekends, he picks up compost bins from Long Beach residents and businesses, such as Berlin Bistro.

"As a coffee house, we have an enormous waste in coffee beans alone," said Kersten Kansteiner, owner of Berlin Bistro. "We had to double our pickup because we have so much waste that would've just gone into our trashcan otherwise."

Fox said he works out a price with small businesses to match their needs. Typically, a weekly curbside pickup will cost residents or businesses between $30 and $40.

It gets even better.

Each week, Fox drops off the hundreds of pounds of organic waste, at no cost, to The Growing Experience in North Long Beach. The urban farm uses the compost to make nutrient-rich, fertile soil, which is used to plant crops, which go right back into the Long Beach community.

"We grow fruits and veggies so that we can serve the local community and people that might not have access to organic fruits and veggies," said Allison Slay of The Growing Experience. "Without this, we wouldn't be able to grow what we do here."

Fox hopes that Common Rot is the catalyst for change in the City of Long Beach.For more information about Common Rot, visit their website