Just One Acre: Closing the loops with the #whitepallet project

We live in an area where construction is BOOMING! 
Every time we look around, we see an old building going down with a new one coming up right behind it.  The Just 1 Acre project is working to include the community close the loops and building our community.

The issue...
Thousands of pounds of organic compostable mass that is fed into the trash cycle daily.  The goal is to get that mass, compost it, and put it to work in gardens to grow food rather than wrapped in plastic and buried in landfill.

The Just One Acre Project did something very simple.  We went and talked to business owners in the area and got them to pledge to help.  Businesses like Moonbird Coffee and Xocolatl jumped at the chance to get involved.  Compost stations are being set up in Chamblee and Doraville Georgia.  The Chamblee Library volunteered to be a place where people can pick up buckets. People can go to Chamblee Library, check out a bucket, fill it with kitchen scraps, and exchange it at any number of #whitepallet locations in the area for a nice clean bucket to start all over again.  Or they can text or email and we can come and get it.

From there, we take it to nearby compost sites where people have donated a small area of space allowing us to compost on their property.

We are realizing that we need to get the community more involved in these efforts.

We recruited students at the local High School to take it on as a project both for the betterment of our planet and as a study of business. Our students are focusing on how to make it more convenient and how to incentivize people to do it.  Thanks to our sponsors, we are able to offer all kinds of perks to encourage them to participate.  This way, we can focus on outcomes and outputs.  All of this compost is heading to local school gardens.

We are seeing that many people want to help but cannot afford to or do not see the value in it.  Pay compost companies present an interesting model where people pay for pickups.  Even though it is a relatively minimal amount, companies leave a lot of people out of the loop as people cannot justify the cost.  The work of neo-permaculture is making it a permanent and sustainable.

If we make composting a community effort then we think we can get a lot more done.  Being a part of systems like this, give people a sense of ownership in their community and by making it an overt system, we are able to make it a part of their daily routine with the goal of creating a permanent fixture in our communities.

If we can meet people half way....
If we can get a community to engage...
If we can make it easier...
IF we can meet them half-way...
We we'll see how it goes...
We are up to 4 tons so far.  How far can we go?

Would like to help?
The Life Cooperative is always looking for volunteers, for new places and ways to interact in the community.  Contact us at life@thelifecooperative.org and see what we are doing at www.thelifecooperative.org