Rust Belt Riders

04/30/2026

You may have heard about our new partnership with Euclid Ohio to bring neighborhood food scrap drop-off services to local residents.

This pilot is made possible with support from a Special Projects Grant through Cuyahoga Recycles Euclid residents can now collect their household food waste and drop it off at the Memorial Park Community Garden, creating a simple and accessible way to compost close to home.

Programs like this expand organic waste solutions across Northeast Ohio while keeping resources local. With a team of over 30 employees and 7 worker-owners, our work is rooted in the communities we serve and designed to meet each neighborhood's needs.

Curious what a program like this could look like in your municipality? Visit our Municipal Services webpage to learn more.
https://www.rustbeltriders.com/municipalcompost

04/27/2026

Did you know there is such a thing as International Compost Awareness Week!? https://compostfoundation.org/icaw-home/

International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) is the compost industry’s largest, most far-reaching education and awareness campaign, celebrated worldwide each year during the first full week of May. The mission is simple but powerful: bring people together to share the benefits of composting organics and using compost to build healthier soil. From the fall poster contest to thousands of events and activities during the week, ICAW inspires action at every level. Communities, schools, governments, and businesses host celebrations highlighting all types of composting, from small backyard efforts to large-scale commercial operations, showing that everyone can play a part in creating a more sustainable future.

We are one week away from International Compost Awareness Week. Get ready to celebrate May 3–9 by sharing your composting efforts, attending events, and helping spread the message about the importance of healthy soils. Composting is a simple action with a powerful impact.

You can share your ICAW updates with the Compost Research and Education Foundation by clicking here: https://compostfoundation.org/add-icaw-event/

04/25/2026

Support the pups! Grab a Pup-peroni slice @ Boom's Pizza Thursday, April 30th 4-9pm and 100% of the proceeds will benefit the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter! 🫶

From 4-9 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, Boom’s Pizza at the Van Aken District will host a one-day Pup-peroni Pie pop-up. Boom’s will donate 100% of the proceeds from every Pup-peroni Pie slice sold 🐶🍕 More details: https://l.cleveland.com/j75oyu

04/24/2026

The composting pilot program with Cleveland Heights is still open for sign ups!

Thanks to our partnership with Cleveland Heights residents can compost for FREE. This pilot program is for first-time composters ONLY.

👉 Learn more: https://buff.ly/EoP3gqD
👉 Sign up: https://buff.ly/yr6CQCE

Getting started with composting is easy!
Thanks to our partnership with Rust Belt Riders , Cleveland Heights residents can compost for FREE. This pilot program is for first-time composters ONLY.
👉 Learn more: https://buff.ly/EoP3gqD
👉 Sign up: https://buff.ly/yr6CQCE

01/14/2026

We love working with organizations like Hunger Network. They rescue food and we make sure none goes to the landfill!

🍏 Together, We Made a Huge Impact in 2025! This past year, we rescued 1,466,231 pounds of food, the equivalent of 1,221,859 meals to feed our neighbors in need, and in doing so, we prevented 2.5 MILLION pounds of CO₂ emissions from entering our atmosphere! 🌱

And we didn’t stop there! Through our longstanding partnership with Rust Belt Riders, we composted 5,997 pounds of inedible food, diverting it from landfills and making a dynamic difference by reducing 4,288 pounds of CO₂ emissions. ♻️

Every pound matters. Every action counts. And it’s all thanks to YOU; our incredible community of supporters, volunteers, and partners.

Let’s keep fighting hunger and protecting our planet, together.🌍

🍏 Learn more and join the movement: hungernetwork.org

01/14/2026

Rust Belt Riders is looking for a Commercial Sales Manager to help grow our impact across Northeast Ohio.
This role focuses on building relationships, coordinating onboarding, and helping businesses keep food scraps out of the landfill.

$20/hour
40 hours per week
Worker-owned cooperative
Mission driven, people powered

If you care about sustainability, community, and doing work that matters, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply here or scan the QR code:
rustbeltriders.com/employment-opportunities

RustBeltRiders FeedPeopleNotLandfills

01/13/2026

“So grateful for Shakers partnership with Rust Belt Riders! The weight of our garbage waste has PLUMMETED.

I’d love to see a comparison to the amount (in weight) of how much garbage is collected in Shaker. It must be so much less. I feel so much better composting than tossing. It is a big relief to know our leftovers and little bits of things that used to be garbage can now be useful to our environment! Thanks rust belt riders and Shaker!” –Lauren

When residents see the difference in their own trash cans, they see how collective action can dramatically cut waste and build a healthier environment for everyone.

Are you interested in signing up with us? www.rustbeltriders.com/for-your-home

Or if you’d like your quote featured in one of these posts, email us at [email protected]

01/07/2026

Freeze your food scraps!!!
One of the questions we get all the time is how to store food scraps at home. There are lots of options, but freezing them takes the top spot for ease and comfort. It keeps things clean, keeps smells out of your kitchen, and makes collecting scraps feel simple no matter how busy life gets.

People love this method because it makes drop off days way easier. Frozen scraps stay neat, travel well, and are perfect for folks in apartments or anyone who needs a little extra time between visits to their drop-off site. Plus, they break down beautifully once they reach our facility which helps us turn every bit of your leftovers into living soil.

If you ever want more tips for making composting fit your lifestyle, we are always here to help. [email protected]

01/02/2026

We want to say a huge thank you to all Rust Belt Riders members. Whether it was a five gallon bucket or a sixty four gallon bin, we are grateful for every single scrap you helped keep out of the landfill this year. None of this work would be possible without your support.

To our residential members, thank you for every bucket on the front porch and every trip to your neighborhood drop off site. Your commitment to saving your leftovers from the landfill truly adds up to a big impact here in Northeast Ohio.

To our commercial partners, thank you for choosing to turn food waste into soil that gives new life back to our local environment. Your leadership helps show what a sustainable food system can look like.

And to our municipal partners, thank you for recognizing that food waste is a citywide issue and choosing to tackle it together. Cities like Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, University Heights, Shaker Heights, and Beachwood have shown what is possible when composting is made accessible for everyone.

We hope to welcome even more cities next year and help put Northeast Ohio on the map for composting. Thank you to each and every one of you. Let’s make our impact in 2026 even bigger and even better.

12/24/2025

This holiday season, give your food scraps to Rust Belt Riders.

Instead of heading to the landfill, food scraps like meat, bones, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and even paper plates and napkins can all be composted.

If you know someone who is curious about composting but not quite ready to take the first step, a Rust Belt Riders gift certificate is an easy way to support them on their sustainability journey.

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us and helped us get to this point. We truly could not do this without our community.

Wishing you all a safe, joyful, and restful holiday season.

12/19/2025

“Free composting began to be offered by Shaker Heights shortly after I joined. I struggled with whether or not to go that route since I liked using the compost bins at Shaker Lakes Nature Center. However, the ones at Shaker Heights Library are right down the street and much more convenient. I was immediately happier with that, especially since the bins at the library have a foot pedal to raise up the lid. This makes dumping my collected compost material much easier. Staff was very supportive of my switching and did not make me feel as if I was letting them down by moving to the free program.

Thank you so much for offering this! I am currently traveling in Sweden, and when I described your process with composting and making the soil, my relatives were very impressed!” –Susanne

Susanne’s story shows how simple changes in convenience and design can help more people stay committed to sustainability. When composting fits easily into daily life, our community grows, and more food scraps are transformed into locally made soil.

Are you interested in signing up with us? www.rustbeltriders.com/for-your-home

Or if you’d like your quote featured in one of these posts, email us at [email protected]