GROwasso is a community composting program aiming to reduce our city’s carbon footprint while growing food for people in need. Local community members will decorate recycled plastic containers to serve as in-home food scrap receptacles. These food scraps will be composted by student and community volunteers. We will then donate the compost to Owasso Community Gardens to further their mission of caring for Owasso through fresh produce.

Step 1: Get a bin.

Our in-home scrap collecting bins have been saved from the landfills, cleaned, and decorated by Owasso community members. Not only do you get a piece of art on your kitchen counter–you also get a free, smell-proof receptacle for your compostable scraps.

Step 2: Drop off your scraps.

When your bin is full, drop off your scraps at your convenience. Our drop off bin is located at Owasso Community Resources (109 N Birch St. Owasso, OK). Drive around the corner–you’ll see a GROwasso sign and a black composter next to the trash cans. Open 24/7. Take your bin back home and keep saving those scraps.

Step 3: We make compost.

GROwasso volunteers transport the scraps from our drop off location to our central compost bins at Hodson Elementary. All you have to do is provide the scraps–we do all the work after that! We combine the scraps with carbon-rich materials like leaves, twigs, and straw to form an appropriate carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. The compost piles are watered and turned 2-3 times a week to aerate the piles and promote decomposition. After 6-8 weeks, we have usable compost.

Step 4: Owasso grows!

The usable compost is donated to Owasso Community Gardens, located at Bailey Elementary. Volunteers use this garden to grow fresh produce for Owasso Community Resources, which provides assistance to over 1,000 individuals facing hardships.