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Our Mission
Bring affordable & sustainable food waste collection to residents & businesses in Keene while educating the community on sustainable waste practices.
Our Story
Hello, We’re Elm City Compost Initiative and we started this adventure during the summer of 2018. Co-founders Albert Diemand and Kira Wadsworth brought the first business of this kind to the city of Keene. We are a small, grassroots company with a mission to collect and divert all food & organic waste from businesses and residents to create a more sustainable city. We serve almost 200 residential customers and 14 Keene Area businesses.
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Our services are affordable, convenient, and rewarding. We are currently three, incredibly passionate, employees strong and with your help we can grow as a business, providing Keene with more green jobs and a better future.
Partnerships
Windham Solid Waste Management District
Windham Solid Waste Management District is the location of our industrial composting site where all the magic happens. They have helped us get our footing in the world of organic recycling and are diligent in diverting food waste within their community.
Stonewall Farm
Stonewall farm is the location of our new office space as well as our wash station and storage space. They are a multi-purpose farm and education center promoting more sustainable agriculture.
Hannah Grimes Center
Hannah Grimes helped get Elm City Compost Initiative on the map. They offer an abundance of small business training and counseling as well as business start up programs. They have been a great resource and supporter of ECCI from the beginning and we highly recommend for any new businesses.
Monadnock Food Co-op
The Monadnock Food Co-op is an accessible, community-owned food market in the heart of Downtown Keene. With their help we were able to create a drop-off program that has helped expand our customer base significantly.
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Healthy Home Habitats
Here at ECC we want you to be more sustainable in all areas of your life, not just in your waste management. That is why we have partnered with Healthy Home Habitats to provide all ECC and HHH customers with discounts.
Please learn more here:
Albert Diemand
(he/him)
Founder
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Albert Diemand founded ECCI in 2018 along with Kira Wadsworth to bring compost collection to the region. He first fell in love with composting after learning about composting toilets and then really digging into the crazy concept of waste in our world.
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Alumni of AmeriCorps NCCC and University of Massachusetts Amherst. ​
Meet The Team
Organic Waste Hauler
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Quincy Hope
(he,him)
Louise Lezcano
(they/she)
Office Manager
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Louise joined ECCI in late 2023, bringing with them prior professional experience in education, case management, and office management. They have always carried with them a passion for sustainability which can be clearly seen in everything from their love of gardening to their knitting and sewing hobbies.
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Louise is an alumni of Southern New Hampshire University and holds a BA in Psychology.