Boxerwood Launches 6th Annual Backyard Compost Challenge

Registration is now open for Boxerwood’s annual Backyard Compost Challenge, a 10-week program in which participants receive free large-volume composters in exchange for adopting new stewardship habits. This citizen-science project poses the question: “How many pounds of food waste could Rockbridge County households keep out of the landfill if given the chance?” Last year, the 100 participating households diverted 4,179 pounds of food waste in just ten weeks. “That’s ultimately a lot of great garden soil,” said Catherine Epstein, Boxerwood educator and Compost Challenge facilitator.

Since its inception in 2021, the Backyard Compost Challenge has helped 335 local households adopt new earthcare practices, with lasting environmental and economic impacts. Hauling food waste to landfills increases costs for municipalities. Decomposing organic material in landfills also releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. Diverting food scraps to home composters, however, builds soil while also sequestering carbon: win-win.

For these reasons, municipalities across the nation encourage household composting, but not everyone has the tools or know-how to get started. The Backyard Compost Challenge tackles those obstacles by providing grant-funded composting kits and supportive, ongoing coaching from Boxerwood and Rockbridge Area Master Gardeners (RAMGA). The kit includes one “Earth Machine” (an 80-gallon sturdy black plastic composter), one household food waste collection pail, and one hand scale. Participants need no prior knowledge of composting, and the Earth Machines were selected for their durability and simplicity of use.

As in previous years, the newly recruited households will weigh and divert food scraps to their composters each week and report their results to Boxerwood, which will post aggregate results on its website. Now in its sixth year, the project enjoys a remarkable track record of success.  Last year, for example, 95% of participating households successfully completed the 10-week project, and of those 98% of survey respondents indicated plans to continue their new habits on a daily basis. The consistent success of this project prompted renewed funding from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VA DEQ). The $10,000 competitive 2026 award was jointly awarded to both city and county jurisdictions, with Boxerwood as facilitator.

Since its inception, the project has prioritized engaging local youth. This is a natural fit, said Epstein, given that hundreds of children in all four RCPS elementary schools daily participate in cafeteria food waste composting through Boxerwood’s “Waste Busters” program.

In addition to family engagement, the annual Challenge yields additional benefits as well. According to Epstein, many participants reported greater interest in gardening, as well as more careful selection of products depending on their packaging, more frequent household recycling, a greater effort to avoid over-buying food, and more conversations with family, neighbors, and friends about waste and its impacts. “In sum,” said Epstein, “the impact of the Backyard Compost Challenge reaches far beyond compost. It creates a ripple effect of positive stewardship that builds and builds. That’s inspiring.”

This year’s Challenge will run from March 13 - May 15, 2026. Participation is open to all residents of Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County, although the free compost kits are only available to households not currently composting. As there often is a waitlist, priority goes to households with children, with others selected by lottery. There is no cost to participate, and at the end of the study, households who plan to continue to divert their food waste may keep their composting kits, a $170 retail value. The deadline for signing up is Monday, February 23, 2026. Interested households may register online at the Boxerwood website: boxerwood.org/bcc