Founding Member Spotlight

Bennett Compost

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Bennett Compost makes composting easy and accessible for all Philadelphians by picking up food waste from businesses’ and individuals’ doorsteps (often on bike) and transforming it into nutrient-rich, all-natural compost. Through a unique partnership with Philadelphia’s Department of Parks and Recreation, they have been able to expand their composting operations in the city and blazed the path to secure the first urban composting permit issued by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection.

Why did you become a founding member?

Because Nic Esposito is a good salesman. Ha! In all seriousness, during his time with the City of Philadelphia, Nic paved the way for the partnership that we currently have with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation and the composting permit that now exists for urban scale composting in Pennsylvania. Even after he left, he was dedicated to the mission of seeing the program succeed. When he approached us with the idea he and Sam had for Circular Philadelphia, we were all in.

What does a circular economy mean to your organization?

What we do (composting!) is inherently circular but we strive to go beyond that baseline. At Bennett Compost a circular economy means designing systems to perform our services in a way that uses minimal natural resources and maximizes our employee retention.

How is your organization practicing circularity?

Bennett Compost continues to prioritize and grow the bicycle portion of our collection business, making the environmental footprint of what we do as small as possible. We also believe that by investing in our workforce through providing benefits, paying a living wage and prioritizing our staff’s needs, we are helping those individuals to take on circular practices in their own lives. People first need to feel secure about where their food is coming from before they can think about composting it.

How can others advance the circular economy?

Lead by example. Remember you have power in every one of your purchases – or your choice to not purchase something. Your kids are watching. Your neighbors see how much or how little trash you put out on the curb each week. Little changes can go a long way.