Austin's Compost Pedallers Pick Up Your Food Scraps by Bike

Composting is mandatory in a growing number of cities and states across the U.S. BioCycle magazine estimates that roughly 200 communities now offer curbside pickup for organic waste. While many of these operations use gas-guzzling trucks to transport compost, an Austin startup is cutting emissions out of the process completely—with bikes.

For $4 a week, Compost Pedallers will pick up food scraps from your home by bike and drop the waste off at local farms and gardens. Since launching in December 2012, the company has covered most of central Austin, signed up about 600 members (including households and small businesses), and diverted more than 500,000 pounds of organic waste from landfills. Now, with the support of Indiegogo donors, they’re investing in a new fleet of e-bikes to bring that total to 1 million pounds.