How Generation Soil Collects and Composts Food Waste in Bristol

What is Generation Soil?

 

Generation Soil CIC is a Bristol-based Community Interest Company regenerating local food systems through community composting, soil education, and regenerative growing.

 

Our core belief is simple:

 

Food waste belongs in soil, not landfill.

 

By treating food waste as a resource rather than rubbish, we reduce emissions, build healthy soils, and support local food production.

 

 

Who can join the Bristol Living Compost Project?

 

The Bristol Living Compost Project is open to:

 

• Households that want an easy, low-impact way to compost food waste

• Cafés, restaurants, offices, schools and community organisations

• Events and caterers needing short-term food waste solutions

 

Whether you produce a small amount of food waste or larger volumes, we offer flexible, service-based collection options rather than one-size-fits-all waste contracts.

 

 

How food waste collection works

 

Generation Soil provides a local food waste collection service across Bristol.

 

 

Step 1: Collection

 

Food waste is collected weekly or on a scheduled basis from households and businesses using sealed buckets. Collections are designed to be simple, clean, and practical for everyday use.

 

 

Step 2: Contamination checks

 

We carry out contamination checks to ensure only compostable material enters the system. This protects compost quality and keeps the process safe and effective.

 

 

Step 3: Local transport

 

Collected food waste is transported to our local composting hub rather than being exported to landfill, incineration, or large-scale anaerobic digestion facilities.

 

Keeping food waste local is a key part of reducing environmental impact.

 

 

How food waste is turned into living compost

 

At our composting hub, food waste is transformed using biological composting methods designed to support microbial life and soil health.

 

Our process includes:

 

• Bokashi fermentation to stabilise food waste

• Hot composting to eliminate pathogens

• Maturation to develop living, biologically active compost

 

We combine food waste with waste wood shavings and biochar to create balanced compost that supports fungi, bacteria, and soil organisms.

 

The result is living compost, not sterilised growing media.

 

 

Where the compost goes and why it matters

 

The compost we produce is:

 

• Returned to participating members

• Used in local growing spaces and market gardens

• Applied to soils that need organic matter and biological activity

 

This creates a closed-loop system where food waste becomes soil, soil grows food, and food feeds the community.

 

By returning nutrients to the land locally, we help rebuild soil health and reduce reliance on imported fertilisers and compost products.

 

 

How this supports soil health, food growing, and climate action

 

Community composting delivers multiple benefits at once:

 

• Reduces food waste sent to landfill

• Cuts emissions associated with waste transport and disposal

• Builds soil organic matter and water-holding capacity

• Supports local food production and biodiversity

• Strengthens community resilience and food security

 

Our approach shows how small, local actions can contribute to systemic change when they are designed around regeneration rather than extraction.

 

 

Why community composting is different from waste disposal

 

Most waste systems are designed to remove material from sight as quickly as possible.

 

Community composting does the opposite.

 

We:

 

• Keep materials local

• Make impacts visible

• Connect people to the soil beneath their feet

 

Generation Soil is not about selling compost or managing waste in isolation. We are demonstrating what a circular, regenerative food system looks like at street level.

 

 

Join the Bristol Living Compost Project

 

If you live or work in Bristol and want to:

 

• Reduce food waste

• Support soil health

• Be part of a practical climate solution

 

You can join the Bristol Living Compost Project as a household or business member.

 

Together, we can turn food waste into living soil and grow a healthier, more resilient city from the ground up.