Composting is great for the environment and your garden. But it can also be a daunting and time-consuming task–never mind how dirty the process gets when trying to separate food scraps in your kitchen.
Nicola and Ryan Lariccia have a solution. They’ll pick up your food scraps curbside and make sure they don’t end up in the landfill but are turned into nutrient-rich soil to give back to the earth.
Residents who sign up with Action Waste Solutions are supplied with a 5-gallon collection bucket lined with a compostable liner, and an airtight lid. They also receive a countertop bin with a compost guide attached and a 30-day supply of compostable liners. All customers have to do is collect their food scraps in the countertop bin, then place them in the 5-gallon bucket which needs to be placed outside on collection day.
“We give people an easier way to do it without dealing with a compost pile in their back yard and without a mess to deal with,” said Nicola Lariccia.” We’ve given them an opportunity to turn their waste into a resource rather than trash.”
The couple tapped into the curbside composting service after working in the construction industry for more than 15 years. The couple started their family business with dumpster rentals where the 70 % of the waste brought to a facility was recycled. As years went on, the couple thought that they could take their services a step further.
“As food recycling became a little bit more popular, we felt like this is something we can tap into,” said Lariccia.
Action Waste Solutions has customers throughout Fairfield county. There are just under 50 households in Easton that participate in the curbside service, but the number is increasing. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the company saw great interest in composting as people realized how beneficial it can be to the environment.
Sarah Seewald of Easton has been a customer since 2020.
“In a world of trash and waste removal, they are very modern. The way they use their social media is very up-to-date,” said Seewald. “They also are really good about picking up on time. They’re great. I never have to worry about it.”
Some 80% of food waste could be composted and recycled into organic soil that makes crops stronger and allows plants to remove C02 from the atmosphere.
“We’re a farming community. We don’t have our own dump here,” said Karen O’Brien, an Action Waste Solutions customer since 2021.
After signing up, each customer gets their own portal that allows them to track and measure their sustainability through statistics. Based on the personalized data, the portal shows how many trees could be saved or how many pounds of Co2 they’re saving from releasing into the air.
“It’s very individualized, very personalized, and a lot of people go into composting for the environmental impact and they make sure that their customers are aware of the impact they are having,” said Seewald.
Kaitlin Madden, an Easton resident likes the convenience of the service. “I like the service because it just makes composting easy and the price is very reasonable,” she said.
The Lariccias are happy to spread environmental wellness throughout the local community.
“Something as simple as separating our food waste from our general waste stream is something that we can all do for our environment,” said Lariccia.
To learn more about Action Waste Solution and their compositing service visit their website.
