Nonprofit partners with church to put city’s first community compost bin into place

The very first community composting site in Palm Springs is now up and running after a successful launch last week.

The site is a collaboration between nonprofit Desert Compost and United Methodist Church, and is located at the church, 1555 East Alejo Rd. It’s underwritten by a one-year community grant from the city.

Desert Compost will begin mixing leftovers from the weekly meal service at the church with water and wood chips. The mixture, in a bin placed at the church April 19, will be turned regularly and will be ready to use as compost in 16 to 20 weeks.

Later, project managers and volunteers plan to incorporate kitchen scraps collected from congregation members. It’s hoped that residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the church can drop off organic material by the end of the year.

Desert Compost initially began diverting organic materials away from landfills in 2021, with two projects in Palm Desert funded by a grant from CalRecycle. Its Good Earth composting project at St. Margaret’s Church works with FIND Food Bank, acting as one of their food distribution centers and composting non-viable produce.

Haley Preston, founder and co-director of Desert Compost, said that community composting offers the opportunity for individuals to learn the benefits of preventing their food scraps from mingling with trash and creating air-polluting methane.

“They’re not just reducing waste,” she said, “but also building high quality soil and contributing to climate resilience in a measurable way.”

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