I think we can all agree that landfills are awful and between composting and recycling, so so so so much of that trash didn’t even need to be there. It’s incredibly frustrating to me, a bleeding heart who’d like it if the earth would chill out a little on the whole global warming thing (pun intended — puns always intended!)
Yet, when I mention I compost, I get an eyebrow raise “wow! oh. that’s cool” and it’s said in a way that implies it is very not cool. It’s smelly and a lot of work. But then I get to tell them that it’s not so smelly and not work at all with Houston-based Happy Earth Compost!
I’ve used Happy Earth for a month now, and it’s so unbelievably easy I just cannot recommend it enough. Here are 10 things I think you should know before you give it a whirl.
- It’s pretty dang affordable. Happy Earth has a pickup service that comes and snags your compostables on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis on either Thursday or Friday. That’s $35 a month for weekly, $25 for bi-weekly, and $15 for monthly. You can also opt to drop your bucket off yourself at one of the convenient locations for only $5!
- Registration has a one-time $35 fee. That gets you a bucket, a bin, and instructions. Each bucket trade-in gets you new compostable bags!
- The bucket controls the smell pretty well. I keep ole bucky in the garage which, I’m sure you can imagine gets pretty steamy. However, the seal top does pretty well to keep that ripeness inside.
- Know your needs. One bucket with bi-weekly pickup has been working pretty well for me! However, if you’re a larger fam, you can always add a bucket on!
- The bin you get stays inside — but take it out often! I keep mine by mine on my counter by my sink and lined with a compostable trash bag. I change it every three days max otherwise… just change it often haha.
- You can pretty much compost all food waste and paper products. I get most of my home products from The Grove and so so so many of their products are compostable. So, between recycling and composting, my trash output is pretty much the odd single-use plastic! It’s kind of crazy how it’s changed my trash output!
- Communication is key! Since Happy Earth is a local small biz, the customer service is superb! You’ll get reminder emails about pickup days and get fast responses from a team member, which might even be the owners themselves (a husband and wife team!)
- Free compost/soil! Now, I have no green thumb but hey if you want some compost, you can have it if you are a member!
- Expect a surprise or two. Each month, Happy Earth includes a “bucket surprise” which is usually another locally-sourced, eco-friendly product! My first month was tooth tablets (replaces toothpaste!) and a shampoo bar.
- You are doing a really, really good thing for the earth! And for a local business.