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Veteran Compost

@veteran_compost

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We make awesome compost and soil blends from food scraps we collect. Made by hand, backed by science. Let’s grow together!

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What you see in the background is 23,000 pounds of cloves, which drives our point home:

Our yard is the end of the line, and the food that winds up here has no other place to go. It can’t be eaten by humans or animals - only the microbes in our compost piles.

And that’s something to celebrate.

Instead of going to a landfill, these cloves will become rich garden compost for our community.

That’s a win for everyone, including the planet.

Learn more about our options for commercial jobs and our depack options via link in bio: ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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9 days ago

PPNA has partnered with @veteran_compost since 2021 to provide community compost to our neighborhood. In that time, we have diverted 162,000 pounds - or 81 tons - of food waste from landfills!

The bins at E. Baltimore and N. Kenwood are available to anyone who wants to drop off food waste, at any time of the day or night.

Composting provides a myriad of benefits to the health and sustainability of our community, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions and healthier soil that produces more nutritious food.

Please visit the link in our bio to learn more and provide a one-time or recurring tax-deductible donation to support this initiative! 🌱
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Desde 2021, PPNA colabora con @veteran_compost para ofrecer un servicio de compostaje comunitario en nuestro vecindario. ¡En este tiempo, hemos desviado de los vertederos 162.000 libras (es decir, 81 toneladas) de residuos alimentarios!

Los contenedores situados en la intersección de E. Baltimore y N. Kenwood están a disposición de cualquier persona que desee depositar sus residuos alimentarios, a cualquier hora del día o de la noche.

El compostaje aporta numerosos beneficios a la salud y la sostenibilidad de nuestra comunidad, tales como la reducción de las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y la obtención de un suelo más sano que produce alimentos más nutritivos.

¡Visita el enlace de nuestra biografía para obtener más información y realizar una donación —única o recurrente y deducible de impuestos— para apoyar esta iniciativa! 🌱 by @veteran_compost

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2 months ago

We get it: 🤔 When people hear that we’re composting butter popcorn flavoring or beer, the first reaction is usually something like: *wait, you’re putting junk food in compost that grows vegetables?*

Fair question. Here’s why it works:

There’s a science and an art to processing large quantities of de-packed #foodwaste into #compost. When we receive material, doesn’t just get dumped into a pile.

It gets carefully metered into our windrows at specific ratios, blended with carbon-rich material like wood chips or straw, and managed for moisture and temperature.

That balance is everything. Too much of any one input and the pile gets anaerobic, smelly, and slow. Get it right, and you’ve got a thriving microbial ecosystem doing exactly what nature designed it to do.

And here’s the part that really matters for the skeptics: by the time composting is done, there is no beer or butter popcorn flavoring.

Microbes, bacteria, fungi, actinomycetes, have broken that material down to its molecular building blocks: Nitrogen. Carbon. Phosphorus. Calcium.

What started as a yellow powder is now just elemental nutrition, indistinguishable from anything else in the finished compost. Plants don’t know the difference between a nitrogen molecule that came from food versus a grass clipping - they just absorb what’s available.

We manage this process every single day with attention to feedstock ratios, carbon-to-nitrogen balance, temperature logs, and curing time. The end product gets tested, meets standards, and grows things beautifully, because good compost is good compost, regardless of what went into the front end of the process.

So the next time you hear that we’re composting “processed food,” know that we’re not just throwing trash in a pile. We’re doing the work to transform it into something that closes the loop and puts nutrients back in the ground, where they belong.

Learn more about our composts and blends for growing your own food this summer via link in bio! ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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3 months ago

Fall vibes at the yard 🍂🍁 Here are some of our favorite things to compost in fall:

🍂 Leaves! You should leave as many as you can for your yard’s critters to overwinter in, then send the rest out way.

🧑‍🌾 Garden cleanup! Remember: leave the roots and cut at the soil for all veggie garden annuals, except tomatoes (those should come up by the roots). Leave flower, grass and reed stems over winter to provide habitat for overwintering critters.

🎃 Pumpkins and gourds! No spray paint or enamels, remove all water-based acrylics before composting.

🦃 Thanksgiving leftovers! We can take everything, including meat and bones. Opt for BPI-certified disposable items for a #zerowaste celebration.

💐 Living decor, like tiny pumpkins and gourds, corn stalks, and cut and dried arrangements.

There’s so much you can #compost, and no better time to start. Learn more and get your first month FREE! ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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5 days ago

We keep food waste out of landfills, and transform them into the best compost you’ll ever use. That includes:

♻️ Commercial composting for manufacturers and distributors

♻️ Composting for businesses, institutions, and retailers of all sizes

♻️ Composting for busy households like yours, who want to do the right thing, but don’t have the space or time to compost correctly at home.

We’re a proudly veteran-owned and run company, and take pride in bringing the same excellence to this business as we did to serving our country:

We’ll be there when we say we will, every time, and leave you with freshly washed buckets and containers after each pickup. No exceptions.

Learn more and start composting with us: ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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6 days ago

Chickens and composting just go together: 🐓💚 Our chickens love to wander the piles, scratching, eating bugs, and leaving nitrogen-rich fertilizer behind.

This helps keep the insect load balanced, and enriches the final compost.

Plus, our team gets fresh eggs to take home!

#Foodwaste isn’t trash - it’s unrealized potential. We unlock that potential with composting, transforming “trash” into valuable resources for the community: compost, eggs, and jobs for veterans and military family members.

Learn more about our mission and start composting with us! ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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7 days ago

While supplies last: 🚨 these bags are perfect as overwinter garden bed covers to prevent erosion, and can be secured using landscaping staples. Pickup from our Aberdeen location during business hours: M-F, 9a-4p.

Between the 23k pounds of cloves this week and 24k pounds of ground cinnamon the other week, the yard (almost) smells like pumpkin spice. 🎃☕️

We keep the invisible food waste you never see out of landfills: food that didn’t pass inspection or isn’t safe to eat, in large quantities, from manufacturers, grocers, and even transport companies, to name just a few.

We recycle the food waste, and make sure that packaging is upcycled, recycled, or disposed of in the most ethical way available.

Food waste is inevitable. Food in landfills is not. Learn more about our options for commercial composting, including depack and compost options: ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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10 days ago

Painted pumpkins are trash 🚫🙅 Creep it green this year with traditional, carved #jackolantern pumpkins. Here’s why:

🎃 Carved pumpkins are safest for composting since you’re not adding anything, just subtracting.

🎃 When you carve a pumpkin rather than painting, you have the option to save the seeds inside and roast them for a delicious, seasonal snack! Don’t forget to put your pulp and scrapings in your compost bucket.

🎃 Carved pumpkins are easy to smash and break down quickly in our piles. The more surface area, the better it will compost.

Over a billion pounds of pumpkins wind up in landfills every year after #halloween. Yours don’t have to. Start composting with us, or contact us for large pickup requests: ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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10 days ago

We will never landfill your depack and compost jobs: 🚫 Our team removes material by hand from glass jars, canned goods, plastic packets, tiny bottles - you name it, we’ve done it.

Organic material is slowly mixed into our compost piles and transformed into rich, garden-ready soil. The Amish have dibs on our big glass jars. Material like aluminum is properly recycled, and plastic is carefully separated for disposal.

Don’t be fooled by greenwashed alternatives 📜 Certificate of destruction provided for each job. Learn more and get a quote ➡️ @veteran_compost by @veteran_compost

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19 days ago

Painted pumpkins are trash. 🎨👎 Keep things traditional this year: hand your kid a big knife, and teach them the joy of pumpkin carving.

Don’t forget to add your pulp and scrapings to your compost bucket! And, come November, you can compost your #jackolanterns, as well. (Add to your bucket, or call us for big pickups).

Learn more about our weekly composting pickups and try a month FREE: ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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12 days ago

Cut out the middle man: 🚫 save your seeds this year!

This is about more than dollars and cents - it’s about common sense (and science):

When you save the seeds that have thrived best in the ecosystem of your yard, you’re making your garden stronger, season after season.

Here’s how to save your seeds this year:

💐 For flowers - allow flowers to dry out in a low-humidity space; once dry, gently twist the flowers to release the seeds over a container.

🍅 For vedge and fruit* - remove the seeds, wash them thoroughly and remove any pulp, then allow to air dry in a spot with plenty of ventilation on a permeable surface like a screen.

*For tomatoes, cucumbers, tomatillos and ground cherries specifically, remove seeds and rinse, then let sit a day or two in water in a closed jar. When you see little bubbles, they’re ready to rinse, dry and store away for winter.

Once completely dry, store in a paper envelope for next year. BE SURE to store seeds that need to be cold stratified in an unheated garage, or in your fridge.

Leave your #seedkeeping questions in the comments! taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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12 days ago

Crypto’s so 2025 🎃 we’re playing the pumpkins market this year, and our gourd-folio has never been stronger:

We’re long on jack-o’-lanterns, bullish on pie scraps, and fully invested in the post-Halloween pumpkin correction.

When your porch décor takes its annual dive in value, skip the landfill. We’ll collect your pumpkins and turn them into compost, giving every squash one last chance to make a healthy return.

Consider it sustainable wealth management for your gourds. ♻️

Not composting with us yet? Learn more about our weekly pickups for busy households like yours, and get your first month FREE! ➡️ @veteran_compost taken in Veteran Compost by @veteran_compost

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16 days ago