[00:00:11] Adam: Welcome to People Helping People, the podcast for social entrepreneurs who want to build a social impact business and increase their sustainability footprint. I'm your host, Adam Morris, and so excited to have on Alexander Clementson on the podcast today. I met Alexander, when he was just launching Together We Compost a compost collection service here in Columbus, Ohio.

At the time he was going through the social enterprise accelerator called Sea Change, and I signed up for his service on the spot because I've always been curious about composting and he made it so easy to start. Fast forward a year later. Not only am I composting, but Alexander is now also working for Sea Change as they grow and expand.

So we have a lot to explore. Alexander. Welcome on the podcast.

[00:00:56] Alexander: Thanks for having me excited to be here.

[00:00:57] Adam: Can you tell us a little bit about how you got the idea for Together We Compost.

[00:01:02] Alexander: Yeah. So I'll start with really this concept, that for a while, I've been trying to figure out what does it look like for community investment and making the planet a little bit healthier, in a really easy integrated fashion to everyday life. And I had several ideas and one day my partner, Dr. Reagan looked at me and was like, what about compost? And I was like, that's a really good idea. And so we just dove really deep into it. And that's how together we compost came about and the name together we compost, really interesting. We came after having a conversation with my sister, we were throwing ideas back and forth and blah, blah, blah. And then we landed on like together we compost.

She was like, that's good. I was like, that feels right. And so that's how we got the name. Two brilliant black women came together and were like, here's an idea. Here's an idea. And we put them both together and ran with it.

[00:01:59] Adam: I hear from a lot of people who want to start something that they just don't know where to start. How did you get the ball moving after you had the idea.

[00:02:06] Alexander: I was fortunate that I get my partner, Dr. Rang was starting her own business. And so I could look into the work that she was doing. And so I did a lot of research on what it takes to start an LLC in Ohio. I also was fortunate enough and have the ability to leverage some of the other income that I had and was like, okay, I know that I can get access to buckets bins and a few other resources.

Fairly easily, even, finding a way to get a truck. And so the biggest thing for getting started was really doing the resources, figure out what it takes to run and operate compost in Columbus. And what are the rules around it? The resources were secondary because I knew how to find those.

[00:02:49] Adam: Are there a lot of rules or regulations around composting?

[00:02:53] Alexander: Yes, it is actually, yeah, it's actually very tricky to compost. There are specific zoning codes in Columbus that really restrict the movement of food waste within the city. And so you have to be very strategic on how you do it and where it ends up. And what are the modes that you engage with? And so you can do stuff like work with, places like SWACO, or maybe some other community entities that would be super helpful.

But our model is pretty unique because we not only collect the food waste from around Franklin and Delaware counties, but then we partner with farms like Franklinton farms or seminary hill farm, and. Focus, our food waste going into those collection sites. Then we manage the compost on their sites.

And so it's like a two-for-one sort of the ecosystem gets a little easier and a little more connected.

[00:03:40] Adam: Got it. Can you explain a little bit more about how your business model works?

[00:03:45] Alexander: Yeah. So we have a couple of tiers that we do. We do the residential pickup, so that can be homes, and apartments. They can be buildings, it can be townhomes, things like that. And then we do work with businesses. So any food based business right now, and we're expanding to office spaces as well. But we'll have customized kind of pickup sites for them, whether it's a coffee shop, a bakery or a restaurant even food pantries, if they're looking to reduce their food waste.

And then we also do compost management, like I was mentioning. So we'll partner with farms and they'll say, Hey, like compost is really important to us. But we don't necessarily have the staff or the time to make this exactly what we want it to be. And so we'll partner with them to say, okay, let us get in some good runs and get practice and really build out your system with you.

And let's create something together so that we can really complete the food cycle. And the fourth thing. No, we're really excited about launching the summer's our education area. And so we're going to be hitting the summer hard at different festivals and other places with education as we continue to sign up for spots.

And then also working on building out a small urban farm, like our office site, which is also my house.

[00:04:55] Adam: I love

[00:04:55] Alexander: Uh, we're, We're super, super excited about that.

And just pulling education around food waste, and even things like chickens into the community.

[00:05:03] Adam: Wow. I'm really curious about this whole education track. How'd that arise.

[00:05:08] Alexander: Education is huge in our house. Education is just everything and folks, like in BiPAP communities get more engaged. I've found in compost when there's some backdrop and education around it. And doesn't just land in those communities. It's everyone. A lot of folks are like, oh, I've heard of compost or I've seen my family do it, but I don't really understand what their practices and principles are.

So if we can start providing some insight into what compost is, how you do it. And how it can be used in community. That's going to take folks a long way because we don't believe that together we compost is the only solution, but we're a place where folks that get started. And again, I will always reference this with my partner, Dr. Ragland's a PhD in education. And so it's a little bit easier of a lift over in my house to develop curriculum and things like that. When I have an actual professional and expert who can really help make those things happen,

[00:05:59] Adam: that's awesome. I love that. Can you tell us a little bit about why composting is important or how that helps?

[00:06:06] Alexander: What compost does when you go through the process, is it takes food waste out of the garbage stream. So imagine throwing something into a trash can, instead of throwing it away, you put it in one of our buckets or one of the other compost services buckets, but let's say together, we accomplished you put it in our bucket.

And what that does is it allows it to go into actual use. It goes into a compost pile. It goes into a compost system and it allows that food to be broken down and turned back into re-usable soil material, like nutrient rich product that grows food versus going to the trash, which then lets the food sit.

It can't break down. It releases methane, which is even worse than carbon dioxide for the environment. And so by removing that or removing a lot of toxic chemicals and other things from the actual environment and improving the quality of food, that's accessible to our neighbors and our communities.

[00:07:04] Adam: And I feel like I was in a similar space to what you just described. I had heard about composting from friends and people in the community, and I just never knew where to start, so I never started. And when you came along, what I loved about together, we compost. It was just very easy to sign up, get engaged and have a system for composting without having to worry about do I put something in my backyard?

What can go in there? For somebody who's starting to compost. Are there certain things which can be composted and can't be composted?

[00:07:32] Alexander: That was an excellent question. And the answer is yes. Things that can be composted?

that we readily take our fruit and vegetable scraps or whole fruit and vegetable. Things like coffee filters, coffee grounds breads flowers. We're expanding to even work with salons and reaching out to them because you can even compost hair.

You gotta be particular about how you put it in there. Cause you don't want to do is put a whole clump of hair in one spot and be like, it'll be fine. Cause it won't be fine. But there are other things that you can add into like leaves or if you chip wood. So like wood chips even grass and other organic material can be composted.

Things that we don't take are dairy and meat. And not that you can't compost them, but that's a totally different process and cycle that we haven't jumped into yet. But there are places in folks who will take that or we'll work with you to break it down.

[00:08:21] Adam: Got it now, are there certain other things in the kitchen, which can't be composted?

[00:08:26] Alexander: Yeah.

[00:08:27] Adam: I've always wondered It's something like, an avocado with the shell or the nut, or there's like these other pieces, which we should be pulling out.

[00:08:34] Alexander: Really good question. When it comes down to when you have like whole fruits or whole vegetables those can definitely be composted, like the skin all those. But what happens in a process for that is as you're sorting, you want to find a way to break those things down. Even like compostable cups or plates, that kind of stuff, you can add it to your compost, but you want to make sure those are in a separate container.

Those are in dry areas because those have to be broken down so finely and so much, because they're just left whole. They really mess up the compost process because they'll stay intact longer than, a couple of leaves or a couple of scraps of fruit and vegetables. So for things like that, you want to really break them down and separate them before adding them, or just make sure they're in their own dried container.

So they can be inserted appropriately by whoever your composter is.

[00:09:26] Adam: So for somebody who's listening, who hasn't composted before. Is there anything that they need to know before they jump into to this process?

[00:09:36] Alexander: Yeah, there's a lot of levels and varieties that composting. If you want to use a service like together, we compost and that's a home-based service that makes it pretty easy, like trash or pickup that can be curbside or maybe there's community drop-off spots, which we're working to build out. So super excited about that.

Shout out to Strong Water and Chatman's eat market, you know, just, just all of our partners. That's one way. Another way is if you're composting at home on your own, they're the bins you can buy offline. There's the just general. I'm going to make a pile and see what happens.

Idea. Please turn that. Please, Please turn that. But those are some of the other ways, and there's the large, most large scale process, which is like a community-based compost service. And say you live in a community where it's just already an additional like utility or something that goes on, then that's a process where you would be maybe taking it to a larger composting facility or site.

And so there are a lot of ways to compost, but it's more about your comfort level and how you want to get involved because composting, when your own takes time and it takes work and you have to have the right balance to actually make compost and not just muck.

[00:10:44] Adam: That's fantastic. So you launched in early 20 21, right?

[00:10:48] Alexander: Yep. March 1st I officially became an LLC.

[00:10:52] Adam: What have you learned in the last year?

[00:10:55] Alexander: I have learned that everything I thought was going to happen is different. We're going to be honest, right? Like we're talking to and with, and for social entrepreneurs, the idea that we really got through Sea Change and our cohort process in 2021 is that iteration is key and consistent iteration is a good thing.

Because we iterate all the time. We change our funding models. We change our staffing models. We change our core values, cause we're always trying to figure out well at a base, we know who we are, but who do we want to be as we expand or as we connect and allowing us to be flexible and engaged, because one of the really unique things about salary compost is that we focus on bringing people into the workforce that have barriers to employment.

And so that also means we have to be really strategic about who we partner with. Because there are some cases in places where just by the code or the regulations of the buildings or the places that they're in, if somebody has a felony on their back, They can't work in that space. And it's not because they haven't, done what they needed to do and are now re-engaging society.

It's just, that's the rule of the space. And because that is what it is. We have to be very careful about who we're partnering with so that we leave opportunities for our team to grow and to learn. And to answer your question a little bit further, we've also learned that. A variety of bin sizes are cool.

But everyone always comes back with us to us saying I have more waste than I realized. And so we have a standard size that we use for homes. Because once you get into the practice of compost, you realize how much you can actually putting back into the earth versus what you were getting rid of because of convenience.

And that's why it's the only compost really focuses on being that convenience factor and just saying, Hey, instead of the trash can, and for one of our. And just put that outside where you're taking out the trash, you're going out there anyway. It's not going to smell because you've got a nice lock lid and you can go about your way, knowing that you're making a difference.

[00:12:54] Adam: I think people don't realize how much of their waste they throw in the trash. Just because you're so used to doing it and you take out the trash and you'd never really measure, Hey, this much as is my food waste, but to see it, you know, every. It gets picked up how full it is of like here's food, which, we cut what you threw away or something went bad.

We put in there. It feels good to know that's not going in the in the trash.

[00:13:16] Alexander: It's not going to the landfill and it's going to do good work at places like Frankston Farms or Seminary of Farm. Like it's going to go back into the food system and then be a nutrient benefit for someone else. So it's once those systems are fully developed. So that's pretty cool,

[00:13:32] Adam: And it's super cool. So what's your vision for Together We Compost..

[00:13:37] Alexander: but my vision. It used to be part of that 2050 green plan for Columbus as a citywide resource that goes next to trash recycling at every apartment, home townhouse, dorm residents. And so as the city becomes greener, then there is a fleet of hybrid and electric compost service or pickup partners through together we compost that are helping to reduce what's going into the landfill and improving the actual food system and the complete cycle and her having very little or no emissions back into the environment. So the whole process of composting becomes as clean as possible and as beneficial as possible. So that's dream number one.

Dream number two is a urban farm and education center. So both then the city and as close as we can be for a farming and compost production as well. Just to really again, in case that food system and what size in education, which ties into the third part of providing the most employment to the most amount of people as possible, and really providing economic platforms for folks to say am.

I'm full of dignity. I'm full of worth. And I have the ability to work a job that pays me a living wage. Like I have paid my debts. I've done what I was supposed to do. And I'm reintegrated back into society in a way that says welcome back versus come back, struggle and figure it out.

[00:15:05] Adam: A healthy planet. Isn't just the environment. It's also as a society, how we live and treat each other and how our and economic stability is huge.

[00:15:15] Alexander: A hundred percent.

[00:15:15] Adam: I'd love to touch on a little bit about Sea Change. You recently joined there. Can you tell us just a little bit about what Sea changes and then what the work is that you're doing there?

[00:15:24] Alexander: Yeah. So sea change is primarily known as a social enterprise accelerator. And so as an organization, we have cohorts and affiliate cohorts that are focused on providing opportunities for social entrepreneurs to understand one, what does it mean to be a social enterprise, to what does social impact look like and how is that measured?

And then three, how do I create a financially sustainable model that allows me to do this work consistently with the most impact and do the most good in my community. And that's a long-winded way of saying, we're committed to building social enterprises that build community and provide opportunity for just a better expanding society.

[00:16:12] Adam: One thing I've always loved about Sea Change is that it really, it doesn't come from the standpoint of trying to make sure everyone's successful, but really helping people to validate their ideas and connect with other people in the community that can help them grow and thrive.

[00:16:28] Alexander: Yeah.

[00:16:28] Adam: We've just seen so many beautiful organizations come through Sea Change and become something fantastic. So it's a really neat for us for creating social change and businesses that are more meaningful and fulfilling.

[00:16:41] Alexander: Hundred percent. And I would really love to plug some of our partners in here too. Like the U ECDI Cause Impact you or there's so many people that we partner with Give Back Hack, right? That make up this really cool ecosystem in which the social entrepreneurs can get tapped into the right way, they can start a Give Back Hack, move to the, you jump over, to Sea Change and then launch into ECDI, some platform like that some sort of streamline which is part of my job, right? Like I'm now the director of us chief development and part of that shoots developments figuring out like, how do we create an even more pronounced view? And accessible means of engagement for folks who wants to be social entrepreneurs throughout this ecosystem. Like how do we get people connected? What are the steps and what are the ways? And we ensure that just because we're able to send an email that we actually can follow up versus being like I know they got it.

I hope we see them soon. How do we do that in a more meaningful way? And so it's been really cool to be thinking about and planning those things.

[00:17:44] Adam: Especially in, how do you tap all the people who aren't aware of this community and so that they know this exists that can join in. I'm still amazed when I have that conversation with people and they're like, wow, I didn't know, social entrepreneurship existed. I'm like Columbus is one of the top cities right now for this kind of ecosystem something that's really special and to see that grow and this model kind of expand I think is gonna lead to a lot of great change.

[00:18:11] Alexander: Yeah. And we're really excited about being part of this process because there are folks who are coming to the table and they have been talking about this for a long time, in the social enterprise ecosystem. So now here we are trying to dive in and figure out collectively. What does that look like?

What does that actually mean? And so it's been really cool to just meet folks who were in this space, want to get into this space and are really committed to making and sustaining the idea that Columbus is the place to be a social entrepreneur.

[00:18:40] Adam: Now one thing I'd love to touch on. this comes up a lot of Hey, I want to start a social enterprise, but I'm not ready to leave my day job. Is the idea of starting something as a side hustle and then being able to grow it and expand it. So I'd love to hear what your experience has been like, starting Together We Compost as a side hustle and then growing that, like, how has that worked for you?

[00:19:02] Alexander: Yeah. So when I started together, we compost, I worked full time as a director at community development. For all people. I was getting my second masters. I have two kids and two dogs. And then the cat has us, so that's a totally different dynamic, but

[00:19:19] Adam: So that's a busy life already.

[00:19:21] Alexander: That's a busy life already. And I said, why not?

On top of that, my partner was starting her own consulting business around diversity equity and inclusion. And I was like she can do it. I can do it because I can't be the only one in this house without a business. And right. And so we have that drive and that support with one another.

And to answer your question in more detail and less story, It's good to start in a place where you're just figuring out who you are and what you want to be. You go through like the Sea Change cohort process, and we talk about the MVP or select the minimal viable product. And, side hustle can be considered pretty similar to an MVP, right?

You're figuring out who your market is. You're bringing out what products people actually want. You're seeing if there's a sustainable, if there's an actual market for it. And more than that, you're testing out like the actual services you want to do potentially on a larger scale. And for some folks, that side hustle is all they want.

That's it, that's all they want because that's comfortable and works for them or people who want to grow starting this side hustle this part of the process, because it gets you to a place of understanding, like where you can go, or where you shouldn't go. Because it can definitely be one of those, we've seen time and time again, when people go I'm in that stop, what I'm doing, invest all my time and energy into this business idea and they get started and no one wants it. And so side hustle is really like an MVP. It's a good way to figure out who wants this. Where is it desired and how does it work? Because from there you can fine tune it and you can iterate and keep going.

And you can keep going with the resources that you have to ensure that your everyday life doesn't become so challenged that it's impossible to move forward. And so that's a, it's a really important aspect of that for folks who don't have the resources or the time to just lean solely into a side hustle.

[00:21:10] Adam: No, that does eat into your time a bit. So how do you do that and stay sane?

[00:21:15] Alexander: And our house, it's all about organization and communication. There are a couple of, people who are living here and we all have our own schedules and our own desires. And so it's really about looking at your time and saying, what's the most important part of right now? How am I going to be the most productive in this moment?

And sometimes just shutting it down and saying we need a break. 'cause today or this time or this moment, it's not productive for us. And so just being critically aware of like when you can and how you can do things is very important because otherwise you'll find that you're going to try and make sacrifices for things or for opportunities that actually don't even make sense for you.

And really being careful and conscious of your time and how you're engaged with it has really been useful for us.

[00:22:03] Adam: One of my core problems in life is balancing everything I'm trying to do. And it's hard, right? You have a dream and you have a passion and you want to pour everything into it. But. You can only go so long, sprinting a way towards a cause you need to have something that's takes you out to comfortable pace, where you can think and reflect and have your life in addition to building whatever it is that you want to.

[00:22:27] Alexander: Yeah. And it's really on top of that. It's important to have someone you can bounce ideas off of whether it's one person or a small group. Like I said, in our house, A couple of businesses running. And so we're able to, because they're different spectrums of business bounce off of each other and be like what do you think about this?

How does this fit here? Has this sound to you if you're not in my market, because we're not she's in my market, but I'm not necessarily in her market. And so who do you have in your space that can be honest, and can actually objectively look at what you're doing and give you good feedback, because that's another important part about time is that you don't want to waste it thinking to yourself when you can have somebody else or someone, some other groups who can actually give you that insight.

[00:23:11] Adam: And if you're here in Columbus and you don't have that in your house, then, going through Sea Change connects you with a lot of those people or like you, you mentioned going to the U or ECDI or Give Back Hack. Any of these events that Social Ventures puts together. There's a ways to connect in and actually get that feedback from people.

But that is really important when you're building something.

[00:23:30] Alexander: Yeah. You gotta have the places in communities you can connect to, especially with people who understand what you're doing, but aren't totally fully engaged because I'll give you that perspective. That isn't just a, yes, this sounds good. We're totally on the same page. It'll give you more of a critical lens of. Are you sure about that? Like, why is this necessary?

[00:23:49] Adam: I have a question. How do you think you've changed as a person since you started all of this?

[00:23:54] Alexander: That is an excellent question.

[00:23:55] Adam: Back to, who you were before you said I want to do something.

[00:24:00] Alexander: I think one, it goes back to time, but overall it goes back to the idea that like, I am. More much more keenly aware of how I engage the world and why I do it. Not just the people that I engage with, but also the spaces I find myself in. Who, and when I choose to be in relationship with, and more importantly, like really looking at that question of does this matter.

And now that I didn't ask myself before, and now that those aren't things that I studied or spend time researching, but I am. Much more community aware of myself in the spaces that I'm in and saying is what I'm choosing to do right now. Important for me, for the business, for my community, for my family, if yes, why and how do we go forward?

And if, no, are you still here? And so those are some of those like values and questions that like, I've been able to give myself permission to ask. And not just continue to be like, I've got to go. But instead, like I'm going to have impact and impact is strategic and it takes time. And it's based on who you're connected to and who you're with.

And so be very considered about those things.

[00:25:12] Adam: Thanks.

So how do people find out about Together We Compost.

[00:25:17] Alexander: Usually through festivals or panels, word of mouth. We've done some social media campaigns. Hopefully through this podcast, we just skyrocket and all of a sudden the entire city's like we heard this one podcast and we are all signed up just the whole city.

[00:25:34] Adam: I love it. I'm going to make everyone listen to this podcast.

[00:25:38] Alexander: Yeah, it is required for everyone. You got to listen. But those are some of the ways that we've been able to connect with folks. And even just looking at pitches from last year when we pitched for Sea Change we've just had a lot of engagement that way which has been really cool.

And we have a website that everyone is more than welcome to take a look at, and that website is TogetherWeCompost.org.

[00:26:01] Adam: togetherwecompost.org. So commit that to memory and go visit that if you're listening.

[00:26:07] Alexander: Yeah. They'll visit, sign up, do whatever your heart tells you to do. well, We'll send you that too. We're really working on ways to make composting more accessible in the practice that we have, right? Like we're working hard to pay living wages and build community and upfront that costs a little bit more, but we are really committed to this really cool idea I got from rave from another composting company the camos exchange.

And so at Together we Compost, we've inserted this ideology of a community of practice, pricing and engagement in which like if someone reaches out or a business is in conversation with us and they're like, we want to do this. We want to do this work. But we honestly can't afford it.

Then we'll say, What can you afford? What can you do? Is there an exchange of time or resources? Is there a price that makes sense for you? And we're doing this really cool thing with Green Scope which is run by Dominic , who also went through. In the same corridor as us in 2021. And we're partying with businesses and other organizations to really offer them a free waste audit to figure out, Hey, like this is your waste amount, and this is where you can be saving money.

The is how compost could get involved. And then to like using that to support a few months of like free composting services, you can get your feet wet, get a better understanding of what it means for you and your organization. And we are always at a place of, join when it makes sense and stop when it makes sense, because if you get to a financial place and you're like, yeah, we can't do this anymore.

We'll say, okay. And then we'll still throw you a little bit of time. Cause we don't want you to just stop together. Just all at once we give you a month or two of just being like, Hey, feel this out. Maybe you ride this wave and. You got a few more funds flowing in and if not, then we'll just stop it.

But no extra charge. We want you to still feel like you can do this work.

[00:27:58] Adam: So I have a little tip jar for restaurants to be like here's our together we compost fund.

[00:28:03] Alexander: I'm going to borrow that. I will borrow that and be like, would you like to tip to our composting service? I'm writing it down and I'm calling my team. So will I give you credit? We'll see. We'll see.

[00:28:14] Adam: You can sign me up for those tips. I really appreciate it now, it's been great for me personally, using your service. It's just been very easy great communication. And it's allowed me to learn about composting and get involved without getting my hands dirty.

Thank you very much for that.

[00:28:35] Alexander: Thank you for being a consistent and dedicated member. That's what we're here for. We're here for the convenience and the education.

[00:28:41] Adam: And thank you for joining me on the podcast today. It's been really fun to dive into your story and hear how you've grown and changed over the year and all the great things that are coming up in.

[00:28:51] Alexander: I'm super excited to be here and glad we got this time nailed down and had the chance to talk.

[00:28:56] Adam: Once again, if you're listening, go visit togetherwecompost.org and connect with them on social media and join composting.

[00:29:05] Alexander: Join composting.

[00:29:07] Adam: I love it. Thanks. Thank you very much.