Join the Bristol Living Compost Project
Turn Your Food Scraps Into Living Soil, Right Here in Bristol
The Bristol Living Compost Project is a city-wide, community-led composting scheme operated by Generation Soil. It collects food waste from Bristol households and small businesses, composts it locally using fermentation and aerobic composting, and returns it to soil as nutrient-rich, living compost.
Instead of food waste being transported out of the city and forgotten, we keep it cycling locally in Bristol, where it regenerates soil, grows food, and strengthens communities.
Through the project, we provide food waste collection in Bristol and local composting using living systems, returning finished compost to gardens, allotments, schools, and growing spaces across the city.
By joining, you become part of Bristol’s first circular, community-led composting network — keeping nutrients local and rebuilding the ground beneath our feet.
Why Local Composting Matters
Every bucket of food waste collected helps close the loop.
Traditional waste systems move food scraps long distances, often turning them into energy while leaving behind chemical digestate that does little to restore soil health.
Our approach is different.
Local collection
Food waste is collected directly from Bristol homes, schools, and businesses.
Bokashi fermentation
Food waste is fermented, not left to rot. No smells, no flies, no liners.
Community regeneration
Living compost is returned to gardens, schools, allotments, and our two-acre food forest market garden.
Together, we’re rebuilding Bristol’s living ground, one bucket at a time.
Members often ask about using compost at home. You can also buy living compost in Bristol (limited batches), which helps fund local collection and composting.
How the Bristol Living Compost Project Works
We collect clean food scraps from households, schools, and businesses across Bristol and process them using bokashi fermentation and community composting.
Once fermented, the material is transformed into microbe-rich living compost that restores soil health and feeds our local food system.
Every handful of compost keeps nutrients cycling within the city.
1️⃣ Sign Up
Join online and receive your starter kit, including a sealable bucket, bokashi bran, simple guidance, and your local collection options.
2️⃣ Fill Your Bucket
Add your food scraps, including fruit and veg, cooked food, bread, tea bags, and leftovers.
No plastic. No liquids.
3️⃣ We Collect
Once full, your bucket is collected and swapped for a clean one.
4️⃣ We Compost
Food waste is fermented, composted, and matured into biologically active compost.
5️⃣ You Grow
The compost feeds community gardens, schools, urban farms, and our Bristol food forest.
Any excess compost is distributed where it’s needed most across the city. Membership proceeds also allow us to deliver food system education projects across Bristol.
Want to buy compost separately? You can do that too.
How We CoMpare
Standard Food Waste Service
personal
benefits
✅ Clean buckets every week
✅ No smells, flies, or maggots
✅ Living compost delivery
❌ No clean buckets every week
❌ Smells, flies, and maggots
❌ No living compost delivery
community impact
✅ Compost donated to local growers
✅ Free collections for low-income households
❌ Zero local benefit
❌ Linear supply chain
reporting and esg value
✅ Quarterly Soil-Positive Impact Reports
❌ Generic compliance reports
❌ No soil impact data
❌ No community benefit
biological value
✅ Rich microbial compost
✅ Builds soil structure
✅ Supports biodiversity
✅ Captures carbon naturally
❌ Digestate = low biology
❌ Often watery, low-carbon, low-nutrient
❌ No microbial diversity returned to the soil
carbon footprint
✅ Ultra-short Bristol routes
✅ Community-scale processing
✅ Up to 80% lower emissions
❌ Long-distance transport
❌ Heavy diesel fleets
❌ High emissions per collection
where your waste really goes
✅ Food waste becomes living compost
✅ Returned to Bristol soils, gardens, schools, and community
❌ Sent into large AD plants
❌ Digestate is often exported or spread on non-food land
❌ No nutrients returned to your
Get Compost Sooner With Our Annual Plans
Most members pay monthly, which gradually builds their compost balance across the year.
If you’d like your compost sooner, our annual plans offer extra value:
✅ Pay for a year
✅ Get two months free
✅ Request your compost immediately
✅ Receive a free 10-litre bonus bag as a thank you
No waiting. No limits. Just living compost, ready when you are.
It’s our way of thanking you for supporting local, regenerative soil building and keeping Bristol’s nutrients cycling.
Choose Your Plan
Soil Supporter
5£Every monthPerfect if you don’t need much compost but want to support local regeneration.- 5+ litres of living compost per year (or donated locally)
- Food waste collection on request
- Clean bucket and bokashi bran top-ups
- 500+ litres of food waste composted annually
- 10% off additional compost purchases
Soil Saint
10£Every monthFor people who love compost and want a generous annual return.- 40+ litres of living compost delivered per year
- Food waste collection on request
- Clean bucket and bokashi bran top-ups
- 500+ litres of food waste composted annually
- 20% off additional compost purchases
- Best Value
Soil Saviour
15£Every monthFor the truly compost-committed.- 80+ litres of living compost delivered per year
- Food waste collection on request
- Clean buckets and bokashi bran provided
- 500+ litres of food waste composted annually
- 50% off additional compost purchases
12-Month Soil Supporter
50£Includes two months free, immediate compost requests, and all Soil Supporter benefits.Valid for 12 months
12-Month Soil Saviour
150£Includes two months free, immediate compost requests, and all Soil Saviour benefits.Valid for 12 months
12-Month Soil Saint
100£Includes two months free, immediate compost requests, and all Soil Saint benefits.Valid for 12 months
Living Compost Allowance (Monthly Members)
Your membership allows you to request living compost up to the value of your total monthly payments.
In some cases, we may agree to provide additional compost. If you cancel after receiving more compost than you’ve paid for, a cancellation fee may apply to cover the difference.
Full details are available in our terms and conditions, or feel free to contact us to discuss options.
What Makes Generation Soil Different
We are Bristol-based, so your food waste stays in your community.
We use bokashi fermentation for clean, odour-free composting.
We produce living compost rich in microbes and biochar.
We connect people, food, and soil through community regeneration.
Every bucket supports real soil restoration projects across the city.
Be Part of Bristol’s Regenerative Future
By joining the Bristol Living Compost Project, you help create:
✅ Healthier urban soils
✅ Greener community spaces
✅ Stronger local food resilience
✅ A truly circular economy for Bristol
Whether you’re a resident, business, or school, there’s a place for you in Bristol’s composting collective.
Living Compost That Feeds The Food Forest
The compost created through the Bristol Living Compost Project powers our two-acre food forest market garden.
By feeding the soil with locally made, microbe-rich compost, we grow nutrient-dense food, restore biodiversity, and prove that urban food waste can fuel regenerative growing.
Adrian
“Fantastic service. No smell, no maggots, unlike the council brown bins. They collect my food waste and turn it into compost for my garden and allotment.”
Jasmine
“The fermentation process doesn’t smell at all. As a two-person household, it can take weeks to fill the bucket. The soil feels so much better than anything I could buy.”
Luke
“Great food waste service. Flexible weekly pickups if needed, but we usually only need collection every few weeks. The compost is great, plants love it.”
Oliver
“The process is simple, affordable, and it feels great knowing we’re making a difference to the local environment.”
Food Waste Collection That Actually Works
Are you a business?
Generation Soil CIC provides compost collection and compost delivery services for Bristol businesses.
We collect food waste, create high-quality living compost, and either return it to you or redistribute it locally. It’s a simple way to meet sustainability goals while actively regenerating Bristol’s soils.
Our Three-Stage Composting Process
1. Fermentation
Food waste is fermented using bokashi bran inoculated with effective microorganisms, introducing beneficial bacteria early.
2. In-Vessel Composting
Enclosed composting units prevent pests and maintain ideal conditions with airflow and high temperatures year-round.
3. Compost Maturation
The compost matures as pH balances and additional organisms, including worms, complete the process. Composting time is reduced from over a year to around three months.
Turning food waste into living soil. Keeping Bristol’s nutrients cycling. Regenerating the city from the ground up.
The Bristol Living Compost Project is delivered by Generation Soil CIC.