GREEN BAY, Wis. — The number of solid waste municipal landfills has shrunk over the past two decades Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). 

 What You Need To Know
  • Greener Bay Compost is a norteastern Wisconsin residential and commerical compost pickup service

  • The company has diverted thousands of pounds of food scraps
     
  • Customers place food scraps into a company-provided five gallon bucket with lid to help absorb moisture and control odor

  • Greener Bay Compost said it wants to expand into Fox Valley area

A northeastern Wisconsin businessman is looking to maximize landfill space by finding another use for food waste. 

By hauling food waste in white buckets, Cory Groshek is helping to keep it out of Wisconsin’s solid waste municipal landfills. 

Groshek is the owner of Greener Bay Compost, a waste management service in Green Bay.

“We take people’s food scraps and associated organics, and we convert it into compost, which is a really wonderful soil amendment,” Groshek said.

Groshek is a backyard gardener, who originally started collecting food scraps to improve his soil quality. 

In 2021, Groshek turned his hobby into a company, collecting food waste from a mix of 16 residences and businesses. 

Now, Groshek said he drives to over 200 clients.

“Our goal really is to divert as much food scraps, organics and other compostable materials from our local landfills as possible,” Groshek said.

Lana Bianchi is a client of Greener Bay Compost. She owns Pepperboy Pizza. Bianchi’s been in business for five months.

In that short amount of time, Lana said she was surprised at how many scraps her business had tossed out.

“We have generated about 500 pounds of waste, just with our little bucket,” Bianchi said.

Bianchi said she’s pleased to know her food waste is being used to improve the environment. 

“It was just something we didn’t even think twice about and we’re happy to be a part of it,” Bianchi said.

Groshek takes the buckets filled with food waste to private land in northeastern Wisconsin to add to other composting piles. Groshek said he’s collected a lot of waste.

“We’ve diverted now over 154,000 pounds. So that’s over 70 tons of food scraps and associated organics just in the last two and a half years,” Groshek said.

The DNR reported in 2002 there were 39 municipal solid waste landfills. Over the years, seven of them have reached capacity and closed.

Groshek is looking to expand and collect food waste from other areas around Wisconsin such as the Fox Valley

“When I actually keep this material out of the landfill, I see it not just as helping myself and my neighbors do what I love to do, but also doing a great thing for the environment,” Groshek said.

Related Stories