Compost Hub Proposed for Gano Street

At the December FPNA meeting, members of the nonprofit group Harvest Cycle shared a proposal to build a compost hub on the East Side. The hub will be located just outside the Fox Point Community Garden on lower Gano Street and will include six fully-enclosed “processing” bins and an additional drop-off bin. While neighbors will be charged a fee to participate, program coordinator Joshua Tarantino explained that the payment system will be tiered, ranging from $10 to $25 per month, and free for Garden members and SNAP participants. “We will do everything we can to make it accessible and affordable,” they said.

What’s more, the new hub will replace a years-old composting system that is ailing. Neighbors have complained that the large, open bins currently located on the site have attracted rodents. The new setup solves the problem and offers other environmental benefits. “We think that super-localized composting is really important,” added Harvest Cycle coordinator Katie Murphy. “It is a resource for growing food. It has economic value and nutritional value.”

The new composting system will be phased in starting in Spring 2021. Tarantino and Murphy encouraged neighbors to learn more about composting at the Groundwork Rhode Island website, groundworkri.org.

Image, Amy Mendillo