What EarthKeepers does

EarthKeepers was a Bloomington, Indiana-based for-profit food waste collection and composting service targeting residential households in Monroe County. Founded around 2018-2019 and operated under the trade names 'EarthKeepers' and 'EarthKeepers | Bloomington Compost,' the company ran curbside collection routes that gathered household food scraps and converted the organic material into soil-restoring compost via natural decomposition for redistribution to local farms and gardens.

The business model was subscription-based residential collection, with a community-led go-to-market anchored on the 'EarthKeepers Alliance' of recurring subscribers and supporters. Marketing was primarily community word-of-mouth, local earned media (notably The Herald Times), and the company's website, with no disclosed enterprise or commercial-kitchen contracts and no outside funding. The firm self-reported 11-50 employees and founder-owned status (Andrea and Ryan Conway), reporting cumulative community impact of over 1,000 tons of food waste diverted and thousands of yards of compost produced.

Operating status: the company ceased all collection services effective June 1, 2023, with the last collection on May 31, 2023. In the closure announcement, the founders cited three years of economic volatility, inflation compressing the subscriber base, rising interest rates making a planned second facility uneconomic, a Monroe County zoning change at the prospective second site, and rising contamination in collected materials as the operative factors. The firm has no evidence of institutional investors, parent companies, subsidiaries, patents, regulatory actions, or M&A activity.

Name

EarthKeepers

Website

https://earthkeeperscompost.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EarthKeepers was a Bloomington, Indiana-based residential curbside food scrap collection and composting subscription service serving Monroe County households, diverting over 1,000 tons of waste from landfills before ceasing operations in June 2023.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Composting & Organic Waste Management Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Curbside Organics Programs (Municipal/Franchise) (BPALAEAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Organics (Food/Yard) Collection (Residential & Commercial) (EUAIAAAO), Food Waste Reduction & Diversion Services (Donation, Animal Feed, Source Reduction Programs) (EUAIAEAH), Organics End-Market Services (Land Application, Soil Restoration, Erosion Control) (BPALAEAL)

Keywords

• Food waste collection
• Residential composting services
• Organic waste diversion
• Curbside compost pickup
• Community composting

Headquarters

HQ city

Bloomington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Food scrap collection subscription: Residential food waste collection service where customers subscribed for regular curbside pickup of food scraps, which were then composted and converted into soil-restoring compost for local farms and gardens in Monroe County.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

EarthKeepers operated a subscription-based food scrap collection service in Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana, picking up residential organic waste curbside and converting it through composting into soil-restoring compost distributed to local farms and gardens. The company ceased collection services on May 31, 2023 due to economic pressures and zoning constraints.

Product overview

EarthKeepers was a single-service composting company offering food waste collection and conversion into soil-restoring compost for Monroe County residents and businesses. The company operated as a unified service offering (collection + composting) and published an annual Benefit Report documenting community impact. The company ceased operations on June 1, 2023.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Food Waste Collection Services Subscription-based curbside pickup of household and commercial food scraps in Bloomington and Monroe County, Indiana; collected organic material was transported for composting. Service ended May 31, 2023.
• Compost Production Conversion of collected food scraps into nutrient-rich, soil-restoring compost delivered to local farms and gardens in Monroe County. The company reported producing thousands of yards of compost over its operational history.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved over 1,000 Tons of food waste from the landfill
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Center for Sustainable LivingminorOthersLocal resilience nonprofit in the Bloomington/Monroe County area. Referenced by EarthKeepers as a community organization supporters could volunteer for or financially support as alternative sustainability engagement.
• Sycamore Land TrustminorOthersLocal conservation nonprofit serving the Bloomington area. Referenced as one of several resilience organizations EarthKeepers suggested supporters could engage with following the company's closure.
• Peoples MarketminorOthersLocal market organization in the Bloomington community. Listed as an alternative sustainability-focused organization for EarthKeepers supporters to engage with after services ended.
• Bloomington Commission on SustainabilityminorOthersLocal government body focused on sustainability initiatives in Bloomington. Referenced as a volunteer or support opportunity for former EarthKeepers supporters.
• Monroe County Soil & Water Conservation DistrictminorOthersLocal government conservation district serving Monroe County. Referenced as an organization aligned with EarthKeepers' mission of soil health and conservation that supporters could continue to engage with.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Republic Services: Major US solid waste and recycling company with a growing organics recycling segment covering residential and commercial food waste collection. Comparable to EarthKeepers on the collection activity, but operates as a national incumbent across many waste streams rather than a niche organics specialist.
• Casella Waste Systems: Regional Northeast US solid waste, recycling, and resource solutions provider with established organics and composting services. Comparable to EarthKeepers in the Northeast US organics niche, but as a broader waste-and-recycling incumbent rather than a dedicated residential organics pickup service.
• Waste Management Inc. Largest North American solid waste and recycling hauler with an expanding organics collection offering (WM Organics). Operates at vastly greater scale than EarthKeepers and serves municipalities and large commercial accounts, but overlaps on residential and commercial food waste collection as part of a broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• CompostNow: Subscription-based residential curbside food scrap collection service operating in the Atlanta metro area. Closely comparable to EarthKeepers in model (curbside residential organics collection), customer type (households), and downstream activity (composting), though at larger geographic scale.
• Bootstrap Compost: Indianapolis-based residential curbside food scrap collection service offering subscription pickups for households. Closely comparable to EarthKeepers in geography (Indiana), scale (single-metro subscription service), and operating model (curbside residential organics collection).
• Veterans Compost: Residential and commercial compost collection service based in Maryland, operating a subscription curbside pickup model with conversion to finished compost. Directly comparable to EarthKeepers' integrated collection-plus-composting model serving households and small commercial generators.
• Compost Queens: NYC-based residential and commercial food scrap collection service providing subscription curbside pickups with material taken to composting facilities. Comparable to EarthKeepers on collection model and end-market orientation, though operating in a denser urban geography.

Emerging players

• Hungry Harvest: Mid-Atlantic food rescue and surplus-food distribution company addressing food waste through a different mechanism (rescue and redistribution vs. composting). Comparable to EarthKeepers in addressing food waste at the consumer end and serving the same climate-impact narrative, but with a different downstream value chain.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EarthKeepersCompost
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earthkeepers-compost

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 EarthKeepers