CERO Cooperative

What CERO Cooperative does

CERO Cooperative, Inc. is a worker-owned organic waste hauling and composting service operating from a warehouse facility in the South Boston / Dorchester / Roxbury area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 2013 and structured as a cooperative with employee ownership, the company collects approximately 8 million pounds of food waste annually from Metro Boston businesses and transports it to local family-owned farms (including partners such as Urban Farming Institute and The Food Project), where the material is processed into compost rather than sent to landfills. Customer segments span restaurants and food service, schools and universities, healthcare facilities, office buildings and corporate campuses, condos / hotels / apartments, events, and drop-off self-haul accounts, with a residential offering in development on a waiting list.

The core product is a recurring commercial composting pickup service that includes waste assessment, provision of clean totes (32–96 gallons), scheduled collection, bin cleaning and relining, multilingual staff training, and impact / compliance reporting tied to ESG and Massachusetts regulatory disclosure needs. CERO also operates a 24-hour drop-off service at its facility and sells finished compost and soil products through an online storefront with published soil analysis. Revenue is generated through subscription/recurring hauling fees set via quote-based pricing after a free assessment, plus transactional drop-off and end-product sales. The go-to-market is sales-led with direct consultation, supported by content marketing (multilingual signage and educational resources) and a referral network of 15+ community, cooperative, and impact partners (Boston Ujima Project, Cooperative Development Institute, Boston Impact Initiative, etc.). The business is certified as a minority- and woman-owned enterprise, which supports procurement preferences among ESG-driven institutional customers such as Northeastern University and Spaulding Hospital Cambridge.

Name

CERO Cooperative

Legal name

CERO Cooperative, Inc.

Website

https://cero.coop

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CERO Cooperative is a Boston-based worker-owned cooperative that provides recurring commercial food-waste collection and composting services, hauling approximately 8 million pounds annually from Metro Boston restaurants, schools, hospitals, and offices to local family-owned farms for processing into compost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Waste Management Services

NAICS

Waste Collection (56211), Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Collection (5621), Compost Manufacturing (325315)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Food Waste Programs & On-Site Solutions (Cafeterias, Grocers, Hospitality) (BPALAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organics (Food/Yard) Collection (Residential & Commercial) (EUAIAAAO), Organics Collection & Processing (Composting/Anaerobic Digestion) (IMAIAFAF), Compost Product Distribution, Retail & Landscape Supply (Bulk/Bagged) (BPALAEAI)

Keywords

• Commercial composting services
• Organic waste collection
• Food waste diversion
• Residential composting programs
• Compost and soil products

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Commercial Composting Collection Services: Recurring pickup service for commercial food waste. Clients receive regular collection, clean bins, staff training, and impact reporting. Revenue generated through scheduled service fees based on volume and pickup frequency.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CERO Cooperative operates a commercial organic waste collection and composting service for businesses in Metro Boston, providing scheduled pickups of food scraps in cleaned and re-lined totes, on-site staff training and signage, waste assessments, and environmental impact reporting. The company also offers a drop-off service for self-haul customers and sells finished compost and soil products derived from material delivered to local family-owned farms. A residential composting program is in development with a waiting list.

Product overview

CERO Cooperative offers a unified composting service platform that connects food waste generators (businesses and residents) with local family-owned farms for organic waste processing. The core offering consists of Commercial Composting Services for businesses across sectors (restaurants, schools, healthcare, offices, events), a Drop-Off Service for self-haul customers, and Residential Composting for households. All services include the provision of collection totes, scheduled pickups, cleaning, staff training, and environmental impact reporting. The company also sells finished compost and soil products derived from collected organic waste.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Composting Services Scheduled organic waste collection and composting services for commercial businesses including restaurants, schools, healthcare facilities, office buildings, and events. Includes waste assessment, right-sized totes, scheduled pickups, bin cleaning and relining, staff training and signage, and impact and diversion reporting.
• Drop-Off Composting Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Massachusetts generates enough food waste each year to fill 20 Fenway Parks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Boston Ujima ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development organization focused on economic justice. Partnership supports CERO's mission of community-based sustainable waste management and local food system strengthening.
• Cooperative Development InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional organization supporting cooperative business development. Helps advance CERO's cooperative business model and worker ownership structure.
• Institute for Local Self-RelianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational organization focused on local ownership and community self-reliance. Supports CERO's mission of keeping resources and economic value local.
• Center for Economic DemocracyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization working to advance economic democracy. Partnership aligns with CERO's worker-owned cooperative structure and community focus.
• Urban Farming InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal farming organization. Partnership enables CERO to direct collected food waste to urban farms as compost or animal feed, closing the local food loop.
• MASSCOSHminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMassachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health. Partnership supports workplace safety focus for worker-owned cooperative.
• Black Economic Council of MassachusettsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting Black-owned businesses in Massachusetts. Partnership aligns with CERO's minority-owned business certification and community mission.
• GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization working against waste incineration and for zero waste solutions. Alignment with CERO's composting and landfill diversion mission.
• The Food ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal agriculture organization. Partnership enables food waste to support local food production and farm operations.
• Boston Center for Community OwnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting community-owned businesses in Boston. Partnership supports CERO's cooperative business model.
• Greater New England Minority Supplier Development CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization supporting minority-owned businesses. Partnership aligns with CERO's minority- and woman-owned business certification.
• Boston Workers AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker rights organization. Partnership supports CERO's worker-owned cooperative values and mission to create living wage jobs.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Recology: Large West Coast-headquartered organics and recycling hauler with commercial composting programs. A scaled incumbent competitor with broader geography and resource base than CERO.
• Republic Services: National solid waste and recycling giant with organics/composting services across multiple states. Overlaps with CERO through commercial hauling contracts and has the resources to bundle organics into enterprise deals.
• Waste Management: Largest North American waste services company with commercial organics programs and anaerobic digestion facilities. A scaled alternative for commercial customers evaluating CERO.
• Casella Waste Systems: Major Northeast-focused solid waste and recycling company that acquired Black Earth Compost. Competes with CERO in commercial organics across New England with greater fleet and capital resources.

Emerging players

• Atlas Composting / Bidder's Organics: Small-scale commercial and residential organics collection services in the U.S. Comparable in niche, mission-driven positioning, and local-route economics to CERO.
• Peninsula Compost: Mid-Atlantic commercial and residential food waste collection and composting service. Similar mission-driven and subscription model to CERO, with comparable scale and customer mix.

Direct peers

• Veteran Compost: Mid-Atlantic commercial and residential food waste collection and composting service. Comparable in scale, mission-driven positioning, and route-based commercial organics service.
• Save That Stuff: Massachusetts-based recycling and organics hauler serving commercial clients with single-stream recycling, composting, and waste services. Directly competes with CERO for commercial organics accounts in the Boston market.
• Bootstrap Compost: New England-based commercial and residential organics collection service offering scheduled pickups, drop-off, and education. Closely comparable business model and customer segments to CERO.
• Black Earth Compost: New England-based commercial and residential food waste collection and composting service, now part of Casella Waste Systems. Direct competitor to CERO in commercial organics collection in Massachusetts, with similar customer verticals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors1 record

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CERO Cooperative