Composting the Big Apple, pledge if you’re in favor of it

At Harvest Power, we’re big believers in backyard composting. That’s one reason the site Kickstarter.com caught our eye.

We understand the challenges that face city-dwellers when it comes to composting. That’s all the more reason that a project like this could use some support.

It’s called Connecting the City to the Soil. According to Kickstarter:

New York City, on the whole, does not compost. The NYC Department of Sanitation points to density, collection costs, and lack of processing facilities as the stumbling blocks to city-wide municipal composting. As a result, the 29% of NYC waste stream that could be composted goes straight to the landfill. This means that all of the nutrients taken out of the soil will never again return to it.

So what’s the solution, you ask? That’s simple. Two wheels.

Kickstarter uses low-cost cargo bicycles to pick up organic food scraps from small and medium sized restaurants around the city and haul them back to farms for processing as compost and fertilizer.

It’s all about reducing waste and improving soil. Kickstarter is preparing to launch a pilot program to test their methods in August. To do so, though, they need everyone’s help. Pledge to support these efforts and you’ll get something in return.

• $15 – Kickstarter will pick up your compostables (they are limited to certain neighborhoods)
• $25 – Receive a free item from a participating restaurant
• $75 – Tour an urban farm and see the farming and composting plan in action.
• $150 – Visit an upstate composting farm to see the foodcycle at work
• $250 or more – Haul scraps for a day by bike and see what it’s like to connect the city to the soil.

If you’d like to help reach the goal, $6,000 for bicycles and start-up costs, visit the site at www.kickstarter.com. It’s only getting a green light if enough money is raised before Sept. 1. Recently the project also earned some ink in Earth911.com.

What are your thoughts on the project? Will you donate to the cause? Why or why not?

This post is brought to you by Harvest Power. Follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook.