Queen City Commons
Cincinnati’s food waste is a shared problem that calls for a shared solution. Queen City Commons provides food scrap collection service to businesses and residents, and partners with local farms and gardens to turn that food scrap into compost.
The City of Cincinnati released the 2018 Green Cincinnati Plan, which outlines the city’s initiatives to fight climate change and reduce its overall carbon emissions. Among these goals is a commitment to be zero waste by 2035.
Our Calling
We are inextricably connected to the land, dependent on the vitality of the soil to feed us, and the assuredness of water to keep us moving. We are tied together, this land neither yours nor mine, but an accumulation of the weathers, plants, and animals that came before us. We too are swept in this cycle, a part of the history of here. We are players wrapped in the life of the soil, choosing to be in relationship, to give back what has been gifted to us.
We believe humans can be a positive player in our natural world, an integrated member who recognizes the value and breadth of all of nature’s elements – the clay in the soil, the buzzing of the cicada, the breath of the sugar maple, and the play of the robin, bouncing between limbs.
When our modern lives have pulled us further from knowing our relationship to the land, how do we begin to rediscover our connection on a practical level? We believe this begins with our food, with putting our hands to the earth, feeling the hum of the soil life, and choosing to give back.
Composting is a recognition of the cyclical, regenerative nature of life – that all returns to the earth, and from this springs forth new life. Composting is a choice to participate. Once we begin to engage, we create space to see and hear more of how the natural world is calling to us, to be in relationship and say “I am here for you, just as you are here for me.” We learn that there are ways to love and care for the land right in front of us, through the community that manifests itself right on our doorstep – by knowing our neighbors, discovering the personalities of the plants, animals, and soil around us, and hearing the whisper that we feel inside of us, that we are meant for right here and right now.
Our Mission
Harness the energy of Cincinnati's food scraps to rebuild connection with our local foods and soils.
Our Values
Queen City Commons operates on a set of values that centralize community and employee empowerment, integrity and inclusion, and the intentional and sparing use of resources. We continuously work to be engaged, open-minded, and transparent about our practices to ensure that we honor the good in all of our partnerships.
Our Team
Kaelee
There’s something special about getting to recycle organic materials back into the earth. With a background in business marketing, retail, and restaurant work, Kaelee has seen first hand the societal strain of pushing out new products at high speeds, with no regard to waste created. She is thrilled to use her educational and business background for a new, restorative purpose. Moving back to Ohio from Denver during the pandemic, this Dayton native brings fresh perspectives, passion, and creative objectives for building Cincinnati’s compost community. Kaelee finds comfort in not being too comfortable. She enjoys getting her hands dirty, a good old camping trip, and riding on the back of motorcycles. She always finishes the day with the NYT crossword.
Julia
With a background in Spanish language studies and interdisciplinary social sciences, Cincinnati-native Julia is determined to work towards a future where composting is a norm in the Queen City. Julia has been benevolently inspired by being a part of the Cincinnati urban agriculture and community composting movements – it was not in their post-graduate plans, but they are so grateful they ended up here. When not driving the hottest dump truck in town, you can find Julia gardening, crafting, swimming, unremittingly admiring neighborhood cats on their walks, and singing with the May Festival Chorus.
Marie
Born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie, and settled beside the currents of the Ohio River, Marie is a human with a deep passion for care- and community-based systems. Through the spiritual and transformational power of composting, Marie believes that we have the opportunity to deepen our relationship to land right in our own neighborhoods. When not getting her hands soiled up with compost (pun totally intended), Marie enjoys all types of hands-on projects, ogling over the daily growth in the garden, and moving through the woods.