Ray Leard - The Recipe for Community Around Compost

Green Champions

Ray Leard is dubbed as the "Compost King" for his pioneering efforts in bringing large-scale composting to Central Ohio. As the founder of the Compost Exchange, Ray single-handedly paved the way for residential curbside food scrap recycling and composting services in a region of over 3 million people. His journey began in 2012 with a small experiment in Athens, where he built a composting operation from scratch. Fueled by a passion for sustainability and a knack for building relationships, Ray expanded to Columbus in 2016, recruiting over 3,500 members to the Compost Exchange through a strategic farmer's market approach and educational outreach. His innovative mindset and unwavering commitment resulted in a staggering impact – diverting over 500 tons of food waste from landfills annually.
Episode in a glance

• Introduction to Ray Leard and the Compost Exchange
• How Ray's composting journey began in Athens, Ohio
• The pivotal moment that led to the birth of the Compost Exchange
• Expanding the Compost Exchange to Columbus and the farmer's market approach
• The importance of building relationships in the composting business
• Ray's philosophy on teaching and empowering others
• Compost 101: Debunking misconceptions and making it accessible
• The power of composting: "I can change the world"
• The staggering impact of the Compost Exchange

About Ray Leard

Ray Leard is a sustainability pioneer and the driving force behind the Compost Exchange, the first and largest service provider of residential curbside food scrap recycling and composting in Central Ohio. Over the years, he has diverted over 500 tons of food waste from landfills annually, transforming the way an entire community of over 3 million people approaches food waste. Ray has since sold the Compost Exchange and launched a new organization called Purely American Organics, continuing his mission to empower communities to embrace sustainable practices.

You can connect with Ray and learn more about his work at purelyamericanorganics.com

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1. Introduction (00:00:00)

2. Introduction to Ray Leard and the Compost Exchange (00:00:09)

3. How Ray's composting journey began in Athens, Ohio (00:01:42)

4. The pivotal moment that led to the birth of the Compost Exchange (00:04:00)

5. Expanding the Compost Exchange to Columbus and the farmer's market approach (00:08:38)

6. The importance of building relationships in the composting business (00:13:10)

7. Ray's philosophy on teaching and empowering others (00:15:51)

8. Compost 101: Debunking misconceptions and making it accessible (00:18:17)

9. The power of composting: "I can change the world" (00:20:14)

10. The staggering impact of the Compost Exchange (00:21:01)