a winter bloom

Big hearted blooms

some color & light in the winter night

Born out of a desire to connect and support one another in dark times, Sue Buddenbaum began Big Hearted Blooms back in 2018. Taking the remnants and scraps of what is cast off in systems littered with waste, from florists throughout the northeastern Ohio region, the volunteers and members that make up the organization are able to take in and repurpose floral arrangements into vivid new lives. Arrangements that have already been used in some way, or have reached a “point past prime”, are gathered, sorted and returned to the world in beautiful new displays of light and life, and delivered to the livers and staff of health care facilities throughout the region.

Seng is one of many volunteers that are part of the Big Hearted Blooms mission, sifting through the bouquets as they come in and rearranging them into something new

With this kind of mission and ethos held, the relationship between Rust Belt Riders and Big Hearted Blooms seems like a beautiful melding of purpose and intent. How can we begin to return and remember the threads that weave us all together, and reimagine our relationship to the discarded and disposed ?

Every time the arrangements are sorted and repurposed, the scraps that have weathered slightly more are returned to the soil through their collection and addition to the Rust Belt Riders compost flow

“We’re intercepting flowers and we’re trying to do everything we can to keep things out of landfills,” says Sue, “and so we’re very naturally aligned, in our missions and perspectives.” According to her, “it’s a commitment that is well worth it to us because everything that we do really has a sustainability motive to it.”

This alignment comes with ease as well, working along the edges with fluidity of two organizations making their way in the fast, harsh world of capital and imagined scarcity.
“I feel like you’re very easy to reach !” Sue says, “I don’t personally run the account, the person who does is on a first name basis with whoever is driving the truck, and they’ve been super flexible, you’ve been super flexible to meet our schedule, because we’re not here all day, everyday. It’s been something we’ve had to work out to make sure we’re responsive to your needs, and you’ve been very responsive to our needs, and that flexibility is really [key].”

Big Hearted Blooms co-founder Sue Buddenbaum speaks to hope and joy through petals reimagined

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Following this thread allows us the opportunity to tend to the garden of the present, the sprouts reaching for the future in fragrant bloom. The joy present, whether on the face of volunteers sifting through the rainbow, those receiving the bundles of color or the box truck driver collecting petals from the compost heap, is undeniable. In a world often bereft of slow spaces and reimagining, the sparks of color allow us to step back into the moment and share it with one another.

Accumulations of the Pile - 2023 in Numbers

How do we begin to enter into the space that is 2024 ? In some ways the constraints that we construct around the parameters of time, weight and other measurements can be a barrier upon our ability to thrive and connect, placing imposed frameworks that separate this flowing tendril sprouting through the topsoil from the one growing from the rhizome right here, creating a distinction where none needs to be. Arbitrary containers ? All too often we can fall under the under the weight of systems we have constructed but never built to nourish us.

Sometimes it can also be the case that sinking deeper into the cycles and seasons, the rhythms and ebbs and flows of these periods, can help us witness what has been, what continues to be, and where the path may unfold ahead, in our dreams of shared abundance. Where are we headed ? A glance where our feet have tread allows us to hold gratitude for them carrying us there, and can help us to see the light gleaming in the distance ahead.

We know that the road for our community has been littered with debris, nourishing and challenging in equal measure. The struggles of existing within this financial framework, whether as a business that holds its values and attempts to live by them in all aspects of operation or as a worker buried underneath the ever present weight of capital. We are here hoping to imbue that challenge with life, the worn hands and hours of the composter, the truck driver, the person hacking away at a computer keyboard, the community garden tender’s tattered gloves . Not reflected here and yet also very much so are the number of hours thrown into the compost pile of making sure the work gets done, the number of hours our community members took to collect what we have all in the past tossed into the garbage bin to be a weight somewhere else, where we have helped to stoke the notion of “other”. The number of hours that hands spent digging deep into the soil and planting seeds with the hope and faith that what we truly have is here, with one another, that these connections to our food, our communities, our health and one another are one and the same, where our resiliency and joy are fed in an uncertain world. The number of maggots and flies that helped to digest our organic material back into the summer’s juicy cherry tomato. The number of times a community supported compost toter lid was thrown back at a drop off site and filled with the remembrance of tomorrow.

So… numbers, two thousand twenty three. Wild and bewildering, conveying some essence and also utterly without, tiny pixels on a screen singing some gorgeous melody. Here they are

All of this only to lead ourselves back, again, the unending return. How many gardens will we tend to in this coming year ? What number of giant sunflower stalks will reach up to the sky out of the nourishing tilth that we hold ? How many new faces will we get to meet along this path, here ? Maybe we’ll sink into the soil under the sun’s warm light, together.

West Side Market food waste will stop going to landfill

Read the latest article from Cleveland.com about our partnership with the West Side Market!

Written By: Courtney Astolfi, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Food waste generated at the West Side Market will soon be diverted from landfills and sent instead for composting. And if food items are still good, they would go to the hungry.

City Council this week signed off on a contract for the pilot program with Rust Belt Riders, a Cleveland-based business that facilitates commercial and residential composting around Northeast Ohio and services some 300 businesses.

The goal is to create more eco-friendly and sustainable practices at the market, which likely generates tens of thousands of pounds of food waste each year. Sitting in the landfill, that waste generates methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

It’s also a social and economic matter, said Daniel Brown, co-founder of Rust Belt Riders.

“In the U.S., roughly 40% of all of the food grown will end up thrown away -- and that has an incredibly damaging impact, because the United States will throw away roughly 1.4% of its [gross domestic product] annually, or $218 billion of food. This is the exact same time when, in Northeast Ohio, one in five children are considered food insecure,” Brown said.

The market composting program is expected to kick off after the New Year, once vendors make it through the busy holiday shopping season.

The city is paying for the program using a $60,000 grant awarded to Cleveland Neighborhood Progress from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. While the grant expires at the end of October, city officials hope to use the coming months to determine how to continue composting in future years, and how to pay for it, Senior Strategist Jessica Trivisonno said during a Monday City Council committee meeting.

Continue Reading…

After the Farm & the Table

Take a listen to this great episode of the CLE Foodcast! Here Lisa, host of the CLE Foodcast, talks with co-founder Daniel Brown about our work, composting and all things food-scrap related!

Conversation for food and drink enthusiasts that starts where the pretty Instagram picture ends. Hosted by Lisa Sands, a Cleveland-based local food advocate and food and travel writer. CLE Foodcast serves up a deep dive into the local food ecosystem with developing food biz news, interesting interviews, and plenty of recommendations for must-try food experiences.

Listen Here

Demystifying Fungi

FUNGI 

Scientific Definition

Fungi (n.) \ ˈfən-​ˌjī

Any of a kingdom (Fungi) of saprophytic and parasitic spore-producing eukaryotic typically filamentous organisms formerly classified as plants that lack chlorophyll and include molds, rusts, mildews, smuts, mushrooms, and yeasts

A.K.A.

An organism that helps with the decomposition process of food scraps to compost

But what does this mean?!

Fungus is not a plant or an animal. Fungi can be unicellular like yeast, or multicellular like mushrooms. They are heterotrophs, like us, which means they have to “eat” organic carbon materials to create energy. Fungus food can be things like fallen logs, leaf litter, or your food scraps! 

And how does it affect you?

We most often interact with fungus in the form of food such as yeast for bread or medicine made from fungi like antibiotics. Fungus has the potential to do even more though, it can help us solve climate change by breaking down our food scraps into compost. This compost will be healthier and contain diversity that will keep your plants health and strong. (And if you are eating those plants, you will be healthy and strong too!) To get your hands on this healthy soil go to Tilth Soils site found here. You can also go to RBR’s site to see how you can take your food scraps and turn them into this living soil. 

References include: Merriam-Webster Online DictionaryThe Botanical Society of America

Demystifying Windrow Systems

WINDROW SYSTEM 

Scientific Definition

Windrow (n.)  \ ˈwin(d)-ˌrō 

Long, open-air piles, that consist of organic matter or compost that is aerated manually or mechanically. They are built from a mixture of brown (carbon-rich) and green (nitrogen-rich) materials in ratios that optimize air and water infiltration and microbial life 

A.K.A.

A long pile of composting materials

But what does this mean?!

Rather than making a square or round compost pile, some people make a long row. The compost pile is about as tall as it is wide, but may be as long as space allows. This row of compost is called a windrow. On a large scale, windrow compost turners or backhoes are used to turn over and aerate the windrows. On a small-garden scale, a shovel or pitchfork and some physical work suffices. The windrow system is most commonly used for composting on a large scale.

And how does it affect you?

Rust Belt Riders composting mixture is placed in elongated piles called windrows 2 weeks into the composting process. These windrows are aerated naturally through the chimney effect and by mechanically turning the piles with a skid loader machine. This process helps keep the compost piles at an ideal temperature to kill off bad pathogens and keep healthy microbes thriving. This allows Tilth Soil to be one the healthiest thing you can use in your garden to feed your plants. 

References include: Merriam-Webster

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Demystifying Biodegradable

BIODEGRADABLE

Scientific Definition

Biodegradable (adj.)  \ ˌbī-(ˌ)ō-di-ˈgrā-də-bəl

capable of being broken down especially into innocuous products by the action of living things (such as microorganisms)

A.K.A.

When organic matter decomposes into simple compounds through natural processes and ultimately becomes part of the soil

But what does this mean?!

Natural processes such as weather, microorganisms and fungi break organic matter into smaller bits of organic material. This is a natural process so environmental risks and hazards are low to none. In fact, when things like food scraps biodegrade they actually help the health and nutrient content of the soil. 

And how does it affect you?

There is a tremendous amount of potential for you to personally make a difference with climate change and soil health by diverting your food scraps from landfills. Your food scraps will biodegrade and actually boost the nutrient density of soil. When you compost with Rust Belt Riders we take that soil and get it into the hands of local farmers and gardeners. (And you!) Go to https://www.tilthsoil.com/ to get your nutrient dense living soil! 

Did you know that you can get from food scraps to soil in as little as 30 days?

References include: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and Home Guides

Demystifying Landfills

LANDFILLS- 

Scientific Definition

Landfill (n.) \ ˈlan(d)-ˌfil 

A system of trash and garbage disposal in which waste is buried between layers of earth to build up low lying land

A.K.A.

A buried pile o’ trash 

But what does this mean?!

When you take  your trash to your curb each week a truck comes to pick it up then takes it to a “out of sight” location and dumps it in a huge pit to be buried with dirt. Modern landfills compose of clay bottoms and a liner, as well as leachate and gas collection systems. 

And how does it affect you? 

They are out of sight, out of mind but that is exactly why they are so sinister. Landfills are intentionally put in places away from main hubs of communities, making them easy to ignore. People who live near landfills are also often upset by the excessive amounts of noise pollution, truck traffic, odors, and pests caused by the landfills. When counties have one waste disposal site, they tend to attract more of these facilities while discouraging cleaner, more economically advantageous industries. In effect, landfills can decrease property values and restrict an area’s economic prospects without offering benefits that offset these problems. 

Over 40% of all food in the United States ends up in landfills. This organic waste does not break down in landfills as it would in compost piles. Instead it purifies and creates large amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.  When you compost with Rust Belt Riders you are helping create a solution to climate change.

Source: “Municipal Solid Waste Landfills.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 13 Sept. 2018, www.epa.gov/landfills/municipal-solid-waste-landfills.

Demystifying Tilth

Demystifying Tilth

Scientific Definition

Tilth (n.) \ ˈtilth

The state of aggregation of a soil especially in relation to its suitability for crop growth

A.K.A. 

Healthy soil that is full of nutrients and microorganisms 

But what does this mean?!

Tilth describes soil that has many pore spaces where air, microbes, nutrients, and water can reside. In discussions of composting and organic gardening, the phrase “the tilth of the soil” is often used to describe the general health of the soil including a balance of nutrients, water, and air. 

And how does it affect you?

Nutritionists recommend we eat multiple servings of fresh fruits, veggies and legumes to be our healthiest. This is because they are packed with vitamins and minerals. Plants get these vitamins and minerals from the soil they grow in. If the soil is lacking nutrients, so will our food. It is estimated that we have 60 years of healthy topsoil left if current agriculture and waste disposal practices are continued. Part of Rust Belt Riders mission is to create a regenerative system in Cleveland to feed our soils and turn back that clock. Rust Belt Riders uses your food scraps to create rich and nutrient dense tilth for local farmers, community gardens and you! When you buy Tilth products, you are combating food waste, fighting climate change, and supporting the radical effort of growing your own food.

Go to https://www.tilthsoil.com/ to ensure your garden is making the most nutrient rich food it can this season! 

References include: Merriam-Webster & Scientific American 

Demystifying Microorganisms

Scientific Definition

Micro-organism/microbe (n.) \ ˌmī-krō-ˈȯr-gə-ˌni-zəm

Any organism of microscopic size.

A.K.A.

Underground micro-heroes

Tiny little living creatures

But what does this mean?!

With the proper mixture of water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, micro-organisms are able to break down your food scraps into compost, which is why they are RBR’s micro-heroes! There are many types of microorganisms found in active compost; the most common are bacteria, archaea, protozoa, algae, fungi, and viruses. These little creatures are what brings life to our soils. 

And how does it affect you?

The abundance of microorganisms make compost a biodiverse ecosystem. This biodiversity is key for not only the health of our soils, but the health of the planet’s ecosystems too. When our soils and ecosystems are diverse with different types of life, it’s like a system of checks and balances in place that control things like pests and disease. Most of the current agriculture systems are not operating in a way that allows for microorganisms and biodiversity. By giving RBR your food scraps each week you help our underground micro-heroes thrive allowing for healthy soil creation for local farms growing your food. 

Go to the Tilth soil website to get a bag of our living soil with microorganisms included. 

References include: Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary