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Compost-A-Thon - May 2-8, 2021
A Local Event Hosted During International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW)
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!
Anna Chavez
Tampa Bay Network to End Hunger
Chef Daniel Graves
Trinity Cafe
Allie Wilson
Means Database
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.
How many people and partners can we get involved to divert precious food scrap resources from the landfill in just one week's time?
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Thank you for celebrating all things community, composting and soil regeneration while helping to raise funds for education, outreach, volunteer and work trade programs.
CompostAThon 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 CompostAThon 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.
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
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 Facebook live event, honoring our collective efforts
7. Enjoy virtual activities, events and educational posts throughout the week in honor of this years theme: Eat, Grow, COMPOST, Repeat
Confirmed Food Scrap Drop-Off Sites for Compost-A-Thon
Want to host a pop-up drop-off site?
Email: info@sunshinecommunitycompost.org and we'll share the details. It's easy!
MASKS ARE A MUST FOR ALL DROP-OFF SITES
SARASOTA
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WSLR/ Fogartyville (public)
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Operation Eco Vets (SRQ border) (public)
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Sarasota Farmers Market (public)
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Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast (public, in Osprey)
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The Bazaar on Lime (public)
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Arlington Park (public)
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North Water Tower Park (public)
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Gillespie Park (public)
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Sarasota IFAS/Ext (public)
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Orange Blossom Community Garden (public)
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Florida House/ Southface (TBD)
MANATEE
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Manatee Square Garden (public)
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Manatee IFAS/Extension (not public)
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Operation Eco Vets (Manatee border)
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Palma Sola Botanical Garden (TBD) (public)
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Village of the Arts (not public -Villagers only)
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
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Mote Marine
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CitySide Apartments
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The Haven
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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
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 at 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
Prizes will Be Available for Contests Throughout the Week!
These awareness building activities are happening alongside the week-long food scrap collections. Click on the bold event name for details and to register for a panel or activity
Sunday, May 2nd, 10-11 a.m. - Virtual Event Opening
Monday, May 3rd, 12-1p.m. - Growing the Future (virtual panel discussion)
Tuesday, May 4th, 12-1p.m. - Creative & Community-Engaged Programs for Reducing Wasted Food & Recovery (virtual panel discussion)
Wednesday, May 5th, 12-1p.m.- Solution-Oriented Composting Initiatives and Applications (virtual panel discussion)
Thursday, May 6th - Hands-On Learning Opportunities: Composting in Practice (in-person volunteer composting practice in action)
Saturday, May 8th - Virtual Event Closing - Celebrate Successes of This Collective Effort!
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
May 4 - Virtual theme for day: EAT
May 5 - Virtual theme for day: COMPOST
May 6 - Virtual theme for day: REPEAT
May 7 - Last day to collect scraps, prepare for tomorrow's collective composting effort
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, and Compost-A-Thon impact as well as 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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