Erlene Howard

President

Collective Resource Compost Cooperative

Whew! It's hot! Do you want an easy, actionable way to combat climate change and positively affect your loved ones’ futures? Diverting your food scraps from a landfill through composting, or food scrap recycling, reduces the amount of the greenhouse gas methane heating up our summer. Also, composting enables the nutrients in your food waste to become a natural fertilizer to regenerate the soil. There are various ways your building can compost food waste. Join us for lunch, and get all your questions answered.

Erlene Howard was inspired to start a food scrap recycling service when she realized more people would participate if composting were more convenient. Her first "pickups" started with three customers using her Toyota Camry for collection. Collective Resource Compost’s customer base has grown to over 3000 residential and nearly 300 commercial customers. Using five cargo vans and four trucks, the company collects pre- and post-consumer food scraps each week in an area extending to over 60 communities encompassing Chicago’s entire north side and near south and southwest side neighborhoods.

Composting food waste is proven to reduce air-polluting methane gas, which causes not only the temperature to rise but also debilitating respiratory problems. In 2022, Illinois ranked eighth in the country with the most methane emissions from landfills. 

We can change this. For ourselves. For our offspring. For our legacy. Isn't it about time we tried?

Register Today!