Why Compost?
Feed the Landscape, Not the Landfill
It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of climate change. Composting is something you can do to make a difference right in your own backyard. Composting reduces landfill methane, enriches soil naturally, and closes the food loop. So when you think about
creating healthier food, reducing waste, and healing the planet,
the real question becomes,
WHY NOT COMPOST?
🌱30% of landfill debris comes from homeowners. Most of which are yard waste and food scraps.
🌱 The average person generates 230 pounds of food scraps per year.
🌱Every year, food waste produces as much in greenhouse gas emissions as 37 million cars.
🌱Go to: EPA.gov for more information.
Services
Composting Units
Service Appoinments
Workshops
Speaking Events
The Providence GardenWorks Compost System
Most backyard compost bins fail because they’re not designed for urban life.
Stewart Martin’s composting system is engineered specifically for small properties, city conditions, and year-round use. It allows you to compost safely, efficiently, and confidently — even meat and dairy.
This is not a store-bought bin.
This is a guided composting system.
Why Store-Bought Bins Fail
People give up because they do not know what went wrong
Most bins come with no training or support
Generic designs do not fit
urban yards
Weak construction invites pests
Poor airflow causes odor
About Us
How It Started
Resources
Publications
Additional Organizations
Providence GardenWorks is redefining what it means to grow local.
Founded by composting expert Stewart Martin, we help families turn food scraps and yard waste into rich, living soil using a rigorously tested, composting system designed specifically for urban environments.
With nearly two decades of hands-on composting experience, Stewart and family has diverted over 20 tons of food scraps from landfills — right from his own backyard. His mission is simple:
To help families build healthier soil, healthier food, and healthier communities.
Through installation, training, and seasonal support, we make composting easy, clean, and deeply rewarding.
Take a Workshop
Ready to move from curious to capable?
Join Stewart Martin for a hands-on composting and urban gardening workshop designed specifically for Providence residents.
Whether you’re brand new or struggling with flies, smells, or slow breakdown, this workshop will give you the science, the system, and the confidence to compost successfully at home.
What You’ll Learn:
🌱 The brown-to-green balance made simple
🌱 How to compost meat & dairy safely
🌱 How to prevent odor and pests
🌱 How to speed up decomposition
🌱 How compost transforms garden yield
Building Healthy Families
Composting and gardening are powerful learning opportunities for children. Plant biology, botany, soil science, food science, entomology, urban design, chemistry, and morphology are just a few of the topics children can experience hands-on in the garden.
Composting, gardening and cooking together with your children is one of the most rewarding things anyone can do. A home garden can be a place of magic for a child and can instill a sense of wonder as they both grow.
The educational opportunities of involving your children in this process are tremendous. And children just naturally get the excitement of it all. Some potential educational topics might include botany, biology, entomology, earth and environmental science, chemistry, soil science and geology. These subjects can be made so much more meaningful to your children with the experience of holding the soil in their hands and watching plants grow from seed all the way to harvest.
Additionally, composting and gardening have been shown to be healthy for body and mind. To learn more about this, check out this article from Gardening Knowhow, and this one from PBS.
“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden?”
—Robert Brault