Compost Queen is a Public Benefit Corporation in Fort Collins Colorado. We value the environment and our community over our bottom line in order to help our residents reduce their carbon footprint, lower the amount of organic materials going to the landfill, and increase soil biodiversity by offering finished compost back to the customer to use in their own space.
It all started in 2016 with our first serious gardening season in Northern Colorado. We wanted to close down our small plot at the end of the season and use the nutrients left in the plant to help build the soil, but we had no idea what we were doing.
After a deep dive online, we settled on a few books and a rotary tumbler. Two years later, we still didn’t have the results we wanted. We looked for a local solution and were surprised to find a lack of any food scrap composters in Larimer County.
So birthed an idea – we could compost for the people, and return it to them. Think Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) meets waste management – and so Compost Queen was born in September of 2018.
At Compost Queen, we are dedicated to fostering a sustainable and regenerative future by empowering individuals and communities to embrace the transformative potential of composting. As a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), our mission is to champion environmental stewardship through accessible and innovative composting solutions. We are committed to reducing organic waste, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, enriching soil health, and creating a circular community.
Our purpose extends beyond profit, as we prioritize the well-being of our planet and its inhabitants. Compost Queen aims to educate, inspire, and provide practical tools for individuals, businesses, and municipalities to adopt composting practices seamlessly into their daily lives. By promoting circular economy principles, we strive to create a lasting impact on waste reduction and promote the cultivation of nutrient-rich soils for a more resilient and sustainable future.
At the heart of our mission is a commitment to transparency, accountability, and positive community engagement. Compost Queen envisions a world where composting is an integral part of the societal fabric, contributing to the restoration of ecosystems and fostering a deep connection between people and the environment.
Join us on our journey towards a greener, more sustainable planet, as we, the Compost Queen PBC, lead the charge in redefining waste as a valuable resource and cultivating a legacy of environmental harmony.
The short and sweet of it? We compost for you.
You fill our green bucket. We pick up your food scraps by emptying and cleaning the bucket on each service visit.
We even provide personalized climate impact reports for our curbside customers. We do all the hard and dirty work!
Twice a year you will receive an invitation to collect finished compost for your own use.
Each bucket and cart is visually inspected on the spot to ensure no contamination goes into our waste stream. We’ll send you a picture of anything we find so you can be on the look out next time.
Your food scraps travel along with others to our local farm sites. These small scale, local facilities help us reduce our carbon footprint by creating decentralized composting hubs instead of distant mega-facilities. Farming partners get the benefit of managed material input and finished compost access.
Scraps are chopped up and added to our active input piles and logged in our management system.
The secret sauce to good compost? Size and recipe. We build large scale piles, mix them with carbon inputs like leaves and landscaping browns, add water, and turn accordingly to create the perfect aerobic environment for microbes and fungi. Our premier facility at Back Gate Farm uses a Sustainable Generations Covered Aerated Static Pile system, the same as the largest composter in our state – A1 Organics.
Piles are managed through finishing and curing, and a sample is sent for finished testing.
Compost Queen PBC is helping the world stay a little greener and healthier by recycling food scraps from residential households and commercial businesses and turning it into nutrient rich compost. The finished compost is then returned to the customer to be used in their garden or landscaping, encouraging customers to put nutrients and biodiversity back into the soil and increase water retention rates to aid in decreasing overall water usage for local gardens and landscaping. Doing this also helps decrease the amount of organic material going into the local landfill decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
All compost service includes two annual compost giveback events, where members can learn how we operate, drop off leaves and take home up to a foot of compost. The curbside service reports include the weight of food scraps, measured in pounds, diverted from the landfill and your overall climate impact.
Our dedicated team makes our mission possible. We strive to build a sustainable business model that provides a living wage for Fort Collins. Without the dedication of these individuals, all of our diversion wouldn’t be possible. We affectionately call them the Royal Court, and every team member gets to pick their title after 90 days.
Interested in working with us? We’re always looking for dedicated team members who want to get their hands dirty. Check out our careers page for open listings.
Composting in Northern Colorado is underserved, and Compost Queen is here to help!
We currently operate in the greater Fort Collins area. To find out if your home or business is within the service area for curbside pickup, click the Service Area button to find maps. If Compost Queen is not yet serving your area, be sure to let us know and join the waitlist for expanded services!
We also have several convenient drop-off locations in Northern Colorado.
Compost Queen PBC is the passion project of Jamie Blanchard-Poling (also known as the Queen), a long time environmental steward and nature lover. Inspired by her passion for renewable energy and zero waste, Jamie started Compost Queen to provide Northern Colorado with an achievable alternative to home composting.
It all started with a wheelbarrow, clipboard, and highlighter in September of 2018. Under Jamie’s leadership, Compost Queen has grown into a thriving business with a small fleet of vehicles and tractors, several employees, dedicated farm partners, and growing base of supportive customers.
The Queen’s journey as a small business owner showcases her determination to make a difference and addressing a pressing issue: organic waste and its impact on our planet. Through her work, Jamie continues to inspire and encourage others to join the movement for a greener and healthier planet.
Jamie is a USCC Certified Compost Operations Manager (CCOM), NoCo 40 Under 40, and has earned the award of Small Compost Manufacturer of the Year in 2022. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Colorado Composting Council.
To learn more about Jamie, check out one of her Compost 101 courses or ask about compost consulting services.
Serving Northern Colorado’s need for food waste recycling is our goal. We were honored to be featured in the Fort Collins Small Business Appreciation event in 2024, highlighting circular economies here in the City.
Check out the video from the FC Media team, featuring Compost Queen and Tellus Outdoor Gear.
