The Bike Farm
We're a bicycle-powered micro farm in the City of Kalamazoo, offering compost pick-up and drop-off. We keep food waste out of the landfill and instead get it composting, helping to nourish & enrich our soil.We know that not everyone has the space or time available to compost on their own, so we make it easy with our two convenient service options:
- Sign up for pickup and get your food scraps collected right from your porch weekly or bi-weekly.
- Drop off your food scraps and pay-as-you-go at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market and at the Farm.
Compost Services in Kalamazoo
Composting is the natural decay and transformation of your food scraps (and other organic materials) into a nutrient-rich matter that can nourish other plants and benefit our environment.Through composting, your food waste helps power local agriculture instead of taking up space in a landfill, where it produces harmful greenhouse gases and contributes to our climate crisis.
How's It Work?
- Get started. Sign up here or meet me down at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market on Saturdays at 1204 Bank Street. We'll get you set up with a bucket.- Fill your bucket. Throughout the week, place your food scraps in your bucket. Here's a list of what’s good to go in your bucket: fruit & veggie scraps, tea leaves, coffee grounds, shredded paper, egg shells, and flowers. We do NOT accept meat or dairy. More info on what’s compostable with us.- Drop it off or get it picked up. If you’re signed up for pickup service, put your bucket outside and we’ll bike over to swap it for a clean, empty one. Otherwise, bring your bucket to the Saturday Market or the farm's location in the Vine neighborhood.
Pickup & Drop-off Services
| Curbside Pickup by Bicycle (Residential) | $23/month |
| Drop-off at the Market, Saturdays May-November | $2 per bucket |
| Drop-off at the Farm | $2 per bucket |
What Can I Compost with The Bike Farm?
| Yes, Compost! | No, Not in the Bucket |
|---|---|
| Fruit, veggie, mushroom scraps, peels, skins, stems, seeds, and so on | Stickers & labels, rubber bands, twist-ties, tags |
| Eggshells & small amounts of leftover cooked egg, leftover prepared food that does NOT contain any meat/dairy/seafood | Plastic wrappers, foil, styrofoam (visit the City of Kalamazoo’s website for more info on recycling) |
| Coffee grounds, coffee filters, tea leaves (no tea bags) | Meat, dairy products, seafood, bones |
| Shredded paper or shredded cardboard (please remove all plastic envelope windows and staples) | Paper towels, napkins, trash, metal scraps |
| Certified compostable serviceware & bags, if cut up or shredded (must be labeled BPI, NOT “biodegradable” or “plant-based”) | Yard waste, like grass clippings, leaves, sticks (visit the City of Kalamazoo’s website for more info on yard waste pickup) |
Challenged to Be Carbon-Positive
The Bike Farm aims to be a carbon-positive business, meaning we're looking to get more carbon back into the ground...
Benefits of Composting
About The Bike Farm
Operating as of April 2019Closing our loop of vicious carbon cycles by growing plants, composting, and biking together.Bicycle-powered means we ride bikes to haul compost to the farm and specialty crops to market.
In the News: Read More About The Bike Farm
Contact Us
The Bike Farm is located in the Vine neighborhood in Kalamazoo. You can also find us at the Kalamazoo Farmers Market (1204 Bank Street) on Saturdays from May through November.
Fill out the form below to send us a message.