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Compost-A-Thon - May 2-8, 2021
A Local Event Hosted During International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)
Compost-A-Thon is our local event in honor of the International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), recognized by the Composting Research and Education Foundation and the U.S. Composting Council and hosted May 2-8, 2021.
Registering for Compost-A-Thon simply means you agree to collect your food scraps during a one-week community food scrap collection effort and have your scraps be counted toward our grand total, end of the week, food scrap waste diversion tally.
You can deposit your food scraps at our designated, staffed, food scrap drop-off sites or you can drop them in your own backyard composting bin - and get some of your friends or community involved to bring food scraps to you.
This is a great time to try out food scrap separation and composting if you haven't tried composting yet. If you already compost, it's a great time to measure your impact and weigh, record and be counted as part of a bigger community education and action effort.
Impact
For 2021's Compost-A-Thon, we were able to:
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Compost 1109 pounds
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Across 100+ households
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All in the span of 1 week!
Thank you to everyone who joined us in creating a more sustainable community and our generous sponsors!
View our sponsors for 2021's Compost-A-Thon in the graphic above!
On Monday May 3 and Tuesday May 4th we dedicated our homepage to Visible Men Academy and Girls Inc Sarasota - Two organizations that are teaching the youth in their programs about composting. Each created videos below to share their progress with you!
Here's How it Works
1. Register to participate so we know how many deposits to plan for
2. Receive FAQs, instructions, videos and tools delivered to your email inbox
3. Collect appropriate food scraps during the May 2-8 designated collection week.
4. Deposit food scraps at your selected food scrap drop-off site at the end of the week
(organizational partners and businesses can arrange with us to have scraps picked up)
5. Scraps will be weighed and recorded, added to the grand total community tally.
6. Total impact will be shared, celebrated and prizes given away at the end of the week on a live virtual event, honoring our collective efforts
7. Enjoy virtual panel discussions, volunteer activity and educational posts throughout the week in honor of this years theme: Eat, Grow, COMPOST, Repeat
Mon., May 3 - GROW
Growing the Future: Youth Garden, Farm and Nature Education Programs
Find more info about the each panelist & organization below:
Sabrina Cummings
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast
Gary Patton
Girls Inc Sarasota
Carla Bristol
St. Pete Youth Farm
Tues., May 4 - EAT
Creative & Community-Engaged Programs for Reducing Wasted Food & Recovery Panel Discussion Video Below:
Find more info about the each panelist & organization below:
Weds., May 5 - COMPOST
Find more info about the each panelist & organization below:
Dr. Mike Parsons
Florida Gulf Coast University
Katie Virun
Lemur Conservation Foundation
Dr. Britt Faucette
Filtrexx Sustainable Technologies
Thur., May 6 - REPEAT
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Hands-On Learning Opportunities: Composting in Practice 5:30-7:30p.m. (in-person volunteer composting practice in action)
Fri., May 7
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Limited number of early-bird food-scrap deposit stations open
Sat., May 8
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Last day for food scrap collections and deposit - deposit scraps at your site (All food scrap deposit stations are open based on schedule)
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Virtual Event Closing - Celebrate Successes of This Collective Effort! 5-6p.m.
Panelist Schedule
Participating Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites for 2021
Want to host a pop-up drop-off site?
Email: info@sunshinecommunitycompost.org for details.
MASKS ARE A MUST FOR ALL DROP-OFF SITES
SARASOTA
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Arlington Park
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Gillespie Park
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WSLR/ Fogartyville (veganic option)
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Florida House/ Southface
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Orange Blossom Community Garden
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Sarasota IFAS/ Extension - Twin Lakes/Clark Rd
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North Water Tower Park
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The Bazaar on Lime
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Sarasota Farmers Market
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Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast (Osprey)
MANATEE
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Manatee Square Garden
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Operation Eco Vets (Manatee/SRQ border)
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Palma Sola Botanical Garden (pending)
PARTICIPATING GROUPS & ORGANIZATIONS (Not for public drop-off)
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Mote Marine
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CitySide Apartments
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Girls Inc.
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Leaf and Lentil
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The Center Anna Maria Island
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Visible Men Academy
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Manatee IFAS/Extension
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Village of the Arts
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The Haven
Contest Prize Selections
Contest posted on social media - place entries there
Facebook Instagram
You must be participating in the event in some capacity for your response to qualify for the contest prize (volunteers, hub-sites hosts, food scrap collectors, panel attendees & participants, etc.)
Home Composters - WE WANT YOU!
Home composters, you are encouraged to register to participate AND ask your friends, family and colleagues to contribute food scraps to your backyard compost bins as part of this effort. Simply indicate on the registration that you want to host a Home Composting Hub Site.
Any home composter that registers for the event and recruits atleast 2 other households to deposit their food scraps in your bin during the event will be entered into a raffle to receive a prize. Home composters that sign up to host will receive a scale on loan and a data sheet to easily report impact numbers back to us.
Individual household food scrap collection buckets for your friends and family can also be loaned. Prizes will also be awarded to the Home Composting Hub site that recruits the most additional deposits/individual households to drop-off compost at their compost station as part of the event. Email info@sunshinecommunitycompost.org and let us know you are interested and we'll get you signed up and send you the information.
There is so much to celebrate about composting and it's so easy to participate in this community-wide effort. Let's work together to have your contribution to healthy people and healthy planet be counted!
What Type of Materials Can I Collect for the CompostAThon?
Yes, Compost These:
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All fruit and veggie scraps
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Grain-based (rice, bread, oat, etc.)
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Used coffee grinds & tea
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Paper cardboard rolls
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Paper towels (unbleached optimal, used for wiping food/edible/non-toxic only)
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Crushed egg shells
No, Do Not Compost These:
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NO meat, fish, poultry, pork
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NO veggie/fruit stickers
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NO "compostable" plastics or to-go containers
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NO petroleum plastics
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No rubberbands, twist ties
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NO fats, oils, grease
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NO store-bought flowers
Schedule for the Event:
March 15 - Registration opens for participants, partners and sponsors
March 15 - May 2 - Registration continues - tell friends, family, work colleagues
April 24 - May 2 - Last week to sign-up & reminder emails to registered participants
May 2 - Compost-A-Thon Launch - Food scrap collection begins 12:01a.m. :)
May 3 - Virtual theme for day: GROW, Food scrap collection continues
May 4 - Virtual theme for day: EAT, Food scrap collection continues
May 5 - Virtual theme for day: COMPOST, Food scrap collection continues
May 6 - Virtual theme for day: REPEAT, Food scrap collection continues
May 7 - Last day to collect scraps, prepare for tomorrow's collective effort, early drop-off sites open
May 8 - Deposit scraps at your designated drop-off site or home compost hub site.
May 8 - Attend virtual event in afternoon announcing total food scrap diversion, number of participants, prizes, and partner highlights
Photos and activities from our past 2018 & 2019 CompostAThon events are below.
Compost-A-Thon is Manasota's largest, one-week, food-scrap-to-soil effort in honor of community building, soil creating, and fundraising to support the education and action initiatives of Sunshine Community Compost.
2019 Outcomes
1 Week: May 5-11, 2019
2,000 pounds of food scraps diverted from landfills
140+ households participating
15 distribution sites
2018 Outcomes
1 Week: May 6-12, 2018
1,300 pounds of food scraps diverted
from landfills
nearly 100 households participating
3 restaurants in partnership with the City
of Sarasota
Educational Booths
Family Friendly Activities
Guest Speakers & Demonstrations
2018 & 2019 Compost-A-Thon Sponsors
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