Rust Belt Riders, the Northeast Ohio bicycle-riding organic recyclers who collect food waste from local restaurants, schools, and homes, have won a $20,000 grant that will help them manage customer relations, improve their billing processes, and expand their bicycles-and-trailers collection fleet.

The grant came from Social Enterprise Accelerator (SEA) Change of Northeast Ohio.

Rust Belt Riders grew out of a local community garden’s need for soil improvement. The gardening group, all employed in food service, realized that the soil amendment they were purchasing for the garden could be replaced by gathering the food waste at their work sites and composting it for use in the garden.

Composted food waste becomes a soil amendment in the hands of Rust Belt Riders.

Seeing the value of their market for food waste, Rust Belt Riders began charging to collect it from local restaurants and, eventually, schools and households. (Read more at the Waste 360, WasteDIVE, and Rust Belt Riders websites.)

Rust Belt Riders are putting food waste where it belongs —in the garden — and Keeping It Out of the Landfill.

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