I Wish You A Messy Composting

I moved to Los Angeles this year, thinking plastic-free and zero waste living would be so easy here. It hasn’t been easy. It definitely isn’t accessible and jumping out at you wherever you go.

I wanted to compost but I barely had space in my tiny patio area. I began my own small compost bin, but it wasn’t large enough for all my food scraps. I started to use the city’s green bins for my food scraps, but quickly had a mess on my hands. At the time, I did not know that the city of LA only collects yard waste and uneaten food for composting, no food scraps. So, there I was calling LA Sanitation for four weeks straight trying to get three green bins full of yard waste and rotting food emptied. 

I felt discouraged and hopeless. I had just started my zero waste journey, and I was comparing myself to seasoned zero wasters on Instagram. 

I wanted to be the best at something I hadn’t done before, in a city I hadn’t lived in before. And when you say that out loud, it seems crazy. I saw my struggles and conflicts as failure, instead of progress. The struggles are the good part, the stories that make you human and relatable and loveable. 

For most of my life, I have tried to be perfect, and I have always been disappointed, because there is no perfect, there is only progress. Beautiful, messy progress.

The moral of the story…just keep going. Keep trying. Keep swimming. We have more power as individuals than we think we do to make change. We may not see it in the moment, but change takes time. Progress takes time. 

Very recently, I found a great organization called LA Compost. I found it simply because I kept looking. This non-profit company collects food scraps and other compostable material from locals in the community, and composts it for you. They build compost bins and piles at hubs in local areas like schools and parks, educating the community about the beautiful science of composting. And now, not only do I have a place to compost my food scraps, but also, I have a place to volunteer where I can share one of my passions with people in my community and continue to learn about zero waste in my new city. Check them out at www.lacompost.org and come visit us at the two Farmers Market locations, Los Feliz and Atwater, for more information.

I would love to hear about your messy composting stories! Please share your struggles and successes in the comments.