Desert Compostables

By Marlene Avelino

December 6, 2024

Moira Sartin is the owner and operator of Desert Compostables [desertcompostables.com], a curbside food waste pick-up service. I first met Moira in September during Park(ing) Day - her table had these great, eye-catching stickers of moldy fruit and I stopped to chat and learn more. It turns out, this small, one-person business is doing the heavy lifting of diverting tons (well, maybe hundreds of pounds) of food waste from our landfill. Her business offers bi-weekly, curbside pickup of your food waste, delivering it to the Sustainability Campus Composting Facility. 

Moira Sartin, owner of Desert Compostables, with her compost buckets.

According to the Arizona Composting Council, food is the most common material sent to the landfill comprising 24% of municipal solid waste, contributing 58% of total landfill methane emissions. Only 5% of food wasted is composted throughout the country. Moira feels this deeply. When I asked what she wanted people to walk away with, she said, “I want people to think about our waste systems. When we throw something away, what does ‘away’ mean? Where is ‘away’? How does it impact our environment, our communities, and our collective future?” 

A particularly pretty food waste pile.

Moira had an earlier iteration of this program with her sister. They started it after returning to Tucson from cities with municipal curbside compost programs. After responsibly handling food waste for several years, it didn’t feel right to put it back in the trash can, so the pair started a service for themselves, family, and friends. Unfortunately, the pandemic put them on pause, and life continued to happen. Moira credits this earlier version as her foundation which started out of a sense of responsibility and the joy of doing it with someone you love.

Desert Compostables - Residential Food Waste Pick-Up

To learn more about Desert Compostables and to sign up for yourself or as a great holiday gift to someone you love visit: https://www.desertcompostables.com/ [desertcompostables.com]

The City has a composting program as well, FoodCycle at Home - this program is free but you drop off your scraps at nine available containers scattered throughout the City.