Compost Colorado

What Compost Colorado does

Compost Colorado (operating as CoCo) is a Denver-based environmental services company founded in 2018 that provides residential, commercial, and event composting services across the Denver Metro area. The company operates as the composting arm of 5280 Waste Solutions, a strategic operating parent. CoCo offers three core services: residential curbside pickup using 5-gallon buckets or 35-gallon carts on weekly or biweekly schedules; access to a network of 60+ 24/7 community drop-off locations across 13+ cities; and commercial composting for restaurants, offices, multifamily buildings, schools, HOAs, and event organizers using 65-gallon totes. The company is establishing The CoCo Complex in the Globeville neighborhood — described as Denver's first official compost processing facility — supported by the Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment and Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and Resiliency.

The company's underlying technology is deliberately low-tech and operational rather than digital: lighter sprinter vans (rather than heavy garbage trucks) for neighborhood-safe collection, right-sized bucket/cart containers that make contamination visible, and on-site processing into finished compost that returns to members via an annual Compost Dividend program (30 lbs delivered each spring for drop-off members; soil return for curbside members). The customer-facing technology stack is StopSuite (membership management and customer portal) integrated with Stripe (payments), with HubSpot and Google Analytics for marketing analytics. A community Ambassador Program recruits neighborhood advocates to host drop-off hubs, and a partnership with Nude Foods Market bundles zero-waste grocery delivery into curbside memberships. The company also sells finished compost soil by the yard and offers on-demand yard waste collection services.

The business model is primarily subscription-based residential ($19-$50/month depending on service tier and frequency) with quote-based commercial contracts, supplemented by per-unit yard waste fees (e.g., $20/tree, $6/leaf bag), soil sales ($180-$405 per yard), and merchandise. As of recent disclosure, CoCo serves 2,000+ homes and businesses and diverts over 50,000 pounds of organic waste from landfills weekly (over 2 million pounds annually). The company self-describes as a "cash strapped start up" with no disclosed venture or private equity funding and operates as an employee-owned public benefit structure.

Name

Compost Colorado

Legal name

Compost Colorado LLC

Website

https://compost-colorado.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Compost Colorado is a Denver-based environmental services company founded in 2018 that provides residential curbside pickup, 60+ community drop-off locations, and commercial composting services across the Denver Metro area, diverting over 2 million pounds of organic waste from landfills annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Composting and Organic Waste Management Services

NAICS

Solid Waste Collection (562111), Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Compost Manufacturing (325315)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Composting (Windrow, Aerated Static Pile, In-Vessel) (EUAIAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Residential Curbside Organics Programs (Municipal/Franchise) (BPALAEAF), Commercial Food Waste Programs & On-Site Solutions (Cafeterias, Grocers, Hospitality) (BPALAEAE), Organics Collection & Processing (Composting/Anaerobic Digestion) (IMAIAFAF)

Keywords

• Residential composting services
• Commercial waste collection
• Organic waste management
• Curbside compost pickup
• Soil recycling services

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Residential Subscription - Community Drop-Off: Monthly subscription for access to 60+ drop-off locations, bringing up to 5 gallons of food waste per week. Includes seasonal compost dividend (30 lbs delivered each spring) and free Christmas tree drop-off.
2. Residential Subscription - Curbside Pickup: Weekly or biweekly curbside pickup of 5-gallon bucket or 35-gallon cart. Includes yard waste on-demand service, Nude Foods delivery membership, compost/supplies delivery on route, and seasonal soil dividend.
3. On-Demand Yard Waste Collection: Per-service pricing for yard waste pickup including Christmas tree pickup ($20), leaf bag pickup ($6/bag), big leaf bag pickup ($5.75/bag), branch pickup ($174.99-$329.99). Available to anyone within service area.
4. Compost and Soil Sales: Sale of finished compost soil by the yard to anyone (1 yard $180, 2 yards $225, 3 yards $270, 4 yards $315, 6 yards $405). Member discounts available.
5. Commercial Composting Service: Custom-tailored commercial composting packages for restaurants, offices, multifamily buildings, schools, HOAs, and event services. Includes staff training, clean bins, and soil dividend. Pricing varies by customer needs.
6. Event Composting Services: Zero-waste event services including waste planning, zero-waste station setup, on-site staffing, post-event collection, and connections to reusable-ware providers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Compost Colorado provides subscription-based residential and commercial organic waste collection services across the Denver Metro area. Core services include weekly or biweekly curbside pickup using right-sized containers (5-gallon buckets or 35-gallon carts), 24/7 access to 60+ community drop-off locations, custom commercial composting for businesses and events, on-demand yard waste pickup, and sale of finished locally produced compost soil. Materials are processed at The CoCo Complex, a local composting facility in Denver's Globeville neighborhood.

Product overview

Compost Colorado is a residential and commercial composting service operating in the Denver Metro area. The company offers a unified platform of compost collection services centered around two core products: Curbside Pickup (weekly or biweekly collection using buckets or carts) and Community Drop-Off (access to 60+ 24/7 drop-off hubs). These core services are supplemented by Commercial Composting for businesses and Event Composting for zero-waste occasions. Additional offerings include On-Demand Yard Waste Collection, Nude Foods Delivery partnership (a zero-waste grocery service for curbside members), the Member Shop for eco-friendly products, the All Public Shop for non-members, Soil Delivery of finished compost, and the Ambassador Program for community mobilization. The company also operates The CoCo Complex, a local compost processing facility in the Globeville neighborhood. Founded in 2018 as the composting arm of 5280 Waste Solutions, the company diverts over 50,000 pounds from landfills weekly and has distributed over 500 cubic yards of compost since inception.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Curbside Pickup Service Weekly or biweekly curbside collection of food scraps using 5-gallon buckets or 35-gallon carts. Includes yard waste collection on demand, Nude Foods delivery membership, and annual compost dividend. Targets residential homes in the Denver Metro area.
• Community Drop-Off Service Subscription providing access to 60+ 24/7 drop-off locations across Denver Metro for depositing up to 5 gallons of food waste per week. Members receive a 4-digit code to unlock bins. Designed for apartment dwellers and residents without curbside access.
• Commercial Composting Service Custom-tailored weekly compost collection for businesses using 65-gallon totes, including staff training, onboarding, and spring soil dividend. Serves restaurants, offices, multifamily buildings, schools, HOAs, and municipalities.
• Event Composting Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2 million pounds of organic waste salvaged annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Nude Foods MarketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration to create easy climate solutions for Front Range residents. CoCo curbside members receive free Nude Foods delivery membership with exclusive access and no jar fees. Empty Nude Foods jars collected during compost pickup for circular economy.
• Colorado Dept. of Public Health and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupport for establishing Denver's first official compost facility. Collaboration on developing internal compost processing capacity for more resilient resource management.
• Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, and ResiliencycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClose collaboration with city government to establish Denver's first official compost facility and advance climate action goals.
• Denver Food RescueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on holistic resource management and zero-waste initiatives in Denver.
• Waste No More Task ForceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated to help roll out zero-waste and holistic resource management policies supporting the greater community.
• EcoCycleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on zero-waste and holistic resource management policy rollout.
• Good Business ColoradominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting policy initiatives at city and state level.
• Recycle ColoradominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting policy initiatives at city and state level.
• Colorado Composting CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember organization supporting policy initiatives and composting industry development.
• Globeville FirstminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal neighborhood organization collaborating on annual tree plantings and soil revitalization efforts. CoCo donated over 100 cubic yards of compost for tree growth.
• 5280 Waste SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoCo is the composting arm of 5280 Waste Solutions, the parent company providing resources and support to scale composting infrastructure.
• StopSuitecoreTechnology or IntegrationPlatform used for customer signup, membership management, online payments (via Stripe integration), and customer portal functionality.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Eco-Cycle: Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit recycling and composting organization and a listed CoCo collaborator. Operates organics programs within Colorado, making it the most geographically and policy-relevant regional peer — though it operates as a nonprofit rather than a commercial subscription business.

Broad incumbents

• Republic Services: National solid waste and recycling company with growing organics/composting service lines for commercial and municipal customers. Comparable as a broad incumbent that can leverage route density and tipping-fee economics to compete with independent composters like CoCo.
• Waste Management Inc. Largest North American waste hauler offering organics collection programs as part of its integrated solid-waste portfolio. Not a direct subscription competitor, but the canonical incumbent CoCo would face if Denver franchises its organics routes.
• Recology: Employee-owned West Coast waste hauler with significant organics and composting programs. Comparable as a mission-aligned, employee-owned broad incumbent that competes for municipal organics contracts CoCo also targets.

Direct peers

• Bootstrap Compost: NYC-based residential and commercial compost collection subscription service. Comparable on product offering (curbside bucket/cart pickup), customer base (urban dwellers and food businesses), and subscription pricing model, making it the most relevant direct peer for CoCo's residential arm.
• Black Earth Compost: Massachusetts-based residential curbside and commercial composting subscription service with integrated processing. Direct peer on subscription model, geographic exclusivity, and the dual offering of pickup services plus finished compost sales.
• CompostNow: Subscription-based residential and commercial composting pickup service operating across the Southeastern US. Closely comparable business model: recurring bucket/cart collection, drop-off sites, and commercial organics for restaurants and offices — same GTM shape as CoCo but at different geography and scale.
• Atlas Organics: Operates residential and commercial composting programs with a focus on organics processing infrastructure. Comparable because it combines collection services with owned processing facilities — the same vertical integration CoCo is pursuing with the CoCo Complex.
• Scraps: Residential composting pickup service in major US metros (NYC, Chicago) with subscription-based bucket collection. Directly comparable on residential GTM, bucket-based contamination-control model, and subscription pricing tiers.

Emerging players

• BlueEarth Compost: Smaller-scale regional compost collection and processing company focused on residential subscriptions and commercial food waste. Comparable as a smaller, emerging competitor in the same residential/commercial organics collection niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CompostColorado
• Instagraminstagram.com/compostcolorado
• Xx.com/compostcolorado
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/compost-colorado

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Compost Colorado