This story was first published in Arizona Luminaria. 

The leaders of this up-and-coming composting company were all in the street on their bicycles awaiting their CEO and frontman.

They arrived from the backyard kicking rocks and talking to their mom. Their CEO is 9 years old and they run their business from a backyard in their Casas Adobes neighborhood in northwest Tucson.

Logan, 8, Jonathan, 9, David, 12, Ellie, 12, and Westley, 14, are on a mission to save the world and make a little money by doing one simple task: Composting.

The kids started SavetheWorld.Compost in January 2023. They wanted to start a business and Jonathan and David’s mom encouraged them to try composting.

They began by putting up flyers around their neighborhood with information detailing what someone can or can’t compost, the phone number for people to call when they have food scraps to be picked up, and the $5 monthly subscription price.

Customers can call or text when their reusable tub of food scraps is full and the kids will come and pick it up and drop off a new one.

Along with the subscription comes 1½ pounds of finished compost per month.

Composting is one of the things everyone, including kids, can do to improve soil health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, recycle nutrients, and mitigate the impact of droughts, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy and policy group.

Recently the city of Tucson launched a Food Waste Collection Pilot Program, a full-service food scrap collection and composting program operated in partnership with the University of Arizona Compost Cats program. More than 300 people have signed up for the pilot project, according to a city report.

The kids’ business was highlighted as a shining example of composting by the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, which gave them a Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program award for their efforts and dedication to composting.

The kids have a designated composting bin in their backyard where they actively create compost and track the progress of the items they currently have in the bin. All they have to do to maintain it is roll it a few times to get everything all mixed together.

David said the neighborhood has been supportive of their business.

“Definitely our friends that we know, and a lot of people in the neighborhood — they’re gardeners and some of them already compost — they’ve been really supportive of us,” he said.

There is also another neighborhood connection to composting they had the chance to learn about since they started their business.

“Our neighbor has a friend who lives in Ohio who has a real composting business with trucks and everything,” said Jonathan, David’s little brother.

He shared with a smile that they’re working on the having trucks part.

The business currently operates on bicycles, with the kids riding around the neighborhood to do pickups and deliveries.

“Most of our vehicles are bikes or electric scooters, so they do not produce fumes,” compost expert David said. “Most of the electricity comes from burning coals so it’s a bit of a trade off.”

Their moms, Essie Wu and Bri Workman, are happy that their kids have created a business that gives back to the environment

“I’m beyond proud of them,” Wu said. “It’s giving the kids a good experience and they get to ride their bikes around the neighborhood so it’s great for them.”

Workman and her husband also have their own retail business so it was a great experience for them to watch their kids begin their own business.

“We like to take a hands-off approach to allow them to grow and we adults just help out as needed,” she said.

The pride of the kids’ mothers also extends to the Voluntary Environmental Stewardship Program award the kids were given by the department of environmental quality.

The program has been around for nine years and has more than 400 members, said Joseph Shaw, the recycling coordinator for the department.

“What we aim to do is spotlight the amazing work that people are doing in our environment,” Shaw said. “Whether it’s a business, non-profit, or just volunteers.”

SavetheWorld.Compost first came up on Shaw’s radar when they submitted a note of vocation, as all commercial composters are required to provide.

The kids filled one out and sent it in and a coordinator within Shaw’s office sent the form to him asking, “have you heard of this?”

“It was the first time I’ve heard of kids helping out their community by doing compost. They’re using old yogurt containers and buckets to collect food scraps, just by doing that they’re going a step further in reusing old things to collect,” Shaw said.

As part of his work, Shaw gathers recycling data across the state, holds informational webinars and creates educational videos to get people knowledgeable about recycling and even excited to do it.

“Composting is great!” Shaw said. “It reduces methane emissions; reduces waste and turns it into a valuable soil; recovers organic material, keeping it local; and it creates jobs.”

Shaw said the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality was excited to give SavetheWorld.Compost the award because it is a worthy cause. He said the kids are doing great work within their own community.

Jonathan said he and his brother and friends are happy running their business and are able to see and know the impact they are making.

“We recognize that this is something fun that we can do, to do our part to help our environment,” Jonathan said. “So why wouldn’t we?”