Small business, big environmental impact: Green With Indy offers composting services

INDIANAPOLIS — Green With Indy is a local small business with a big vision.

The curbside composting company has been around since 2009 and provides pickup service to residential and commercial customers.

Owner Greg Walton got the idea for his company while working as an organic farmer.

“I’m an entrepreneur, and I want to be a green entrepreneur and do something worthwhile for the city so that's how we got started,” said Walton.

Enter Café Patachou. The restaurant became the first of many corporate partnerships Green with Indy forged. Walton and his team collect food waste and other compostable materials from restaurants, businesses, and even the Indianapolis Zoo.

Green with Indy

Prior to the pandemic, Green with Indy says it was able to remove between 1.7 million and 1.9 million pounds of food waste out of the landfill system. Most of that was food waste from local restaurants. When restaurants shut down Walton said he lost 50 to 75 percent of their business. However, as the commercial side waned, the residential side began to boom.

"With more people staying at home, cooking more and learning about gardening we've seen a large growth with our residential clients," Walton said. “Rich or poor, every household creates waste.”

Along with curbside pickup, Green with Indy works to educate the community about what composting is, why it's important and how you can get started.

Because of its efforts, Green with Indy earned the Outstanding Business Advancing Sustainability Award from Mayor Joe Hogsett and the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability in 2019.

To learn more about Green with Indy, or to sign up for its services, visit its website.