What Compost Crew does

Compost Crew is a Rockville, Maryland-based benefit corporation that operates a residential and commercial food scrap collection and composting service across the Greater Washington D.C. (DMV) region. The company provides weekly curbside collection of all food scraps, including meat and dairy, to over 23,000 residents and businesses, and claims to have diverted 70,000 tons of food waste from landfills. Service is delivered through a self-serve customer portal for residential sign-ups ($32/month subscription with a first-month money-back guarantee), direct sales for commercial accounts with customized bin sizes and pickup frequencies, and municipal contracts that provide free or discounted service in jurisdictions such as Frederick, College Park, Edmonston, Glen Echo, and parts of Chevy Chase.

The company's underlying technology centers on its proprietary Compost Outpost® modular composting sites, which can be deployed on less than a quarter acre of land in under two months at farms, municipal properties, and nonprofit locations across the DMV (including One Acre Farm, Butler's Orchard, ECO City Farms, the City of Greenbelt, and Fairfax County). Compost is finished on-site and sold under the Farm Feast brand, while companion businesses include Key Compostables (certified compostable products e-commerce) and a merchandise and compost sales portal. Distribution is regional, with headquarters in Rockville, MD and processing capacity at a Utica Bridge Farms facility in Frederick, MD expanded through the July 2024 merger with Key City Compost.

Compost Crew makes money primarily through recurring residential subscriptions and commercial service contracts, supplemented by one-time sales of finished compost, compostable products, event zero-waste services, and branded merchandise. Growth has been supported by Maryland's food residuals diversion law and DC's waste diversion mandates, which create direct demand pull from regulated generators. The company raised $5.5 million in Series A funding in April 2022 led by Lattice Impact Capital, became a certified public benefit corporation in early 2022, merged with Key City Compost in July 2024, and announced a partnership with Mill in October 2025 to integrate additional food-recycling technology into the DMV service stack.

Name

Compost Crew

Legal name

Compost Crew, Inc., A Benefit Corporation

Website

https://compostcrew.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Compost Crew operates a food scrap collection and composting service across the Washington DC metro area, serving over 23,000 residential, commercial, and municipal customers through subscription curbside collection and a distributed network of proprietary Compost Outpost® modular composting sites.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Waste Recycling and Composting Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Compost Manufacturing (325315)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Organics (Food/Yard) Collection (Residential & Commercial) (EUAIAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Composting Facility Operations (Windrow, ASP, In-Vessel) (BPALAEAB), Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI), Organics Collection & Processing (Composting/Anaerobic Digestion) (IMAIAFAF), Compost & Compost Blends (AFABADAE)

Keywords

• Food scrap collection
• Curbside composting services
• Organic waste recycling
• Commercial composting
• Compostable products

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Residential Composting Subscription: Weekly curbside food scrap collection service for residential customers at $32/month with pay-as-you-go subscription model. Revenue is recurring on a monthly basis.
2. Commercial Composting Services: Weekly collection services for businesses and organizations with various bin sizes and collection frequency options tailored to customer needs.
3. Compost Sales (Farm Feast): Sale of finished compost under the Farm Feast brand in 5lb bags, 1cft bags, and bulk cubic yard quantities. Compost is made from food scraps sourced from customers.
4. Compostable Products (Key Compostables): Sale of certified compostable products including liners, single-use items through the Key Compostables brand.
5. Event Services: Zero-waste event services including product delivery, organic collection, and educational support for events.
6. Merchandise Sales: Sale of Compost Crew merchandise including stickers, water bottles, clothing, and apparel through the customer portal.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Compost Crew provides weekly curbside collection of food scraps from households, businesses, and municipalities across the Greater Washington (DMV) area, transporting the material to its proprietary Compost Outpost modular composting sites and partner farms. In addition to collection services, the company sells finished compost under its Farm Feast brand and certified compostable products through its Key Compostables brand, operating a distributed organics recycling platform that returns nutrient-rich soil to local farms and customers.

Product overview

Compost Crew is a benefit corporation offering a comprehensive food scrap recycling and composting platform across the Greater Washington DC area. The core offering consists of residential and commercial curbside collection services, supplemented by local government municipal programs, events composting, and community drop-off sites. The product portfolio includes proprietary finished compost brands (Farm Feast), compostable products (Key Compostables), modular composting infrastructure (Compost Outpost), and customer self-service tools (Customer Portal, Public Shop). The company operates a distributed composting network using both its own Compost Outpost sites and partnerships with commercial composting facilities, returning finished compost to customers and local farms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Composting Services Weekly curbside collection of food scraps from single-family homes, multi-unit residential buildings, communities, and HOAs throughout the Greater Washington Area. Service includes collection bins, kitchen caddies, and compostable liners, with subscription billing at $32/month.
• Commercial Composting Services Food scrap collection and composting for businesses, organizations, restaurants, hotels, schools, and offices across the DMV, with various bin sizes and collection frequency options customized to commercial waste volumes.
• Local Government Programs Municipal composting partnerships providing residential and municipal-building collection through city-sponsored programs, often with discounted or free service funded by participating jurisdictions.
• Events Composting Zero-waste event services including bin and liner delivery, organic collection, electronic signage, and educational staff support for events that need food scrap and BPI-certified compostable handling.
• Community Food Scrap Drop-Off Community drop-off locations across the DMV where residents can bring food scraps for composting as part of Compost Crew's distributed network.
• Key Compostables Certified compostable products including liners and compostable single-use items sold online via keycompostables.com and shipped directly to households, businesses, and event organizers.
• Farm Feast Compost Compost Crew's proprietary brand of finished compost made on Maryland farms, sold in 5 lb bags, 1 cft bags, and bulk cubic yards to farmers, landscapers, and community gardens.
• Compost Outpost Modular Composting Sites Modular composting sites developed by Compost Crew that can be rapidly deployed on less than a quarter acre of land in under two months, enabling distributed food scrap processing at farms, municipalities, schools, and corporate locations.
• Compost Crew Merchandise Shop Online store selling Compost Crew branded merchandise including stickers, water bottles, t-shirts, hoodies, and other promotional items.

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• MillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Partnership to launch new food recycling service combining Mill's food recycling technology with Compost Crew's collection and composting infrastructure in Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Washington D.C. The service aims to reduce methane emissions and promote sustainable agriculture.
• Key City CompostcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2024Compost Crew merged with Key City Compost, a company founded by Phil Westcott in 2017 based in Frederick, MD. The partnership expanded composting facility at Utica Bridge Farms in Frederick and developed a distribution network for compostable products, increasing regional presence in Frederick County and northern Montgomery County.
• One Acre FarmcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost location for the first Compost Outpost® built in summer 2020 at One Acre Farm in Dickerson, Maryland (northern Montgomery County).
• Butler's OrchardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner300-acre family farm in Germantown, MD hosting a Compost Outpost® added in 2022. Partnership provides guaranteed source of high-quality compost for farm crops.
• ECO City FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNon-profit multicultural urban teaching farm in Bladensburg, MD that partnered with Compost Crew to erect a modular composting site (Compost Outpost®) in 2022. Second location added in Hyattsville in 2025.
• Free State FarmscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Free State Farms and Prince William County for the Balls Ford Road Composting Facility, a public partnership providing commercial composting capacity for the region.
• Prince George's County / Maryland Environmental ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Prince George's County Organics Composting Facility owned by Prince George's County and operated by Maryland Environmental Services for commercial composting.
• City of GreenbeltminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the City of Greenbelt to build a Compost Outpost® in 2023, part of the city's Sustainable Maryland certified initiatives.
• Girls on the Run Montgomery CountyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with GOTR Montgomery County for zero-waste event services at their race days. Compost Crew employees attend races to answer composting questions and engage community.
• Neighborhood SunminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership to help Maryland and DC customers take additional steps toward sustainability, combining solar and composting services.
• Fairfax CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Fairfax County for Compost Outpost at I-66 Transfer Station collecting food scraps from the County's food scrap drop-off program and municipal buildings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CompostNow: Residential and commercial curbside food scrap collection subscription service with a similar pay-monthly model and regional operating model. Operates in the Southeast US and represents the closest comparable in business model and customer offering.
• Bootstrap Compost: Mid-Atlantic residential curbside composting pickup service with subscription-based pricing and event/community programs. Directly comparable due to overlapping service area (Baltimore/DC corridor) and subscription-driven GTM.
• Veteran Compost: Mid-Atlantic composting company offering residential and commercial food scrap collection with finished compost sales. Operates in the same geographic competitive set as Compost Crew and serves a similar customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Casella Waste Systems: Major regional solid waste and recycling hauler in the Northeast US with an expanding organics recycling division. Comparable as a larger, capital-rich incumbent offering competing organics collection and processing at scale.
• Waste Management: Largest North American waste and environmental services company with a growing organics recycling business serving commercial customers and municipalities. Competes with Compost Crew for commercial food scrap contracts and is the dominant incumbent in the sector.
• Republic Services: Major national waste and recycling company with an expanding organics processing platform and food waste diversion services for businesses and municipalities. Represents the largest category of competitor for mid-market commercial organics accounts.
• Recology: Employee-owned waste and composting company with deep expertise in organics collection, composting, and closed-loop compost distribution in the Western US. Comparable business model focus on organics and finished compost products.

Emerging players

• Atlas Organics: Regional organics recycler and compost manufacturer operating commercial composting facilities with food scrap collection services. Comparable in combining collection operations with industrial-scale compost production.
• Mill: Food recycling technology company that has partnered with Compost Crew; offers in-home food waste drying/grinding. Overlaps in the residential food waste reduction value chain and is both a partner and an emerging adjacent competitor.

Regional players

• Garbage to Garden: Maine-based residential and commercial curbside compost collection subscription service. Closely comparable subscription-based GTM and closed-loop compost model, though operating in a different geographic region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/compostcrew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/compost-crew
• Instagraminstagram.com/compostcrew
• Xx.com/_compostcrew

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Compost Crew