A message from the Pirates:

Happy Fall! Our Fall is off to an incredibly busy start. Of course we've got the usual task of food scrap pick up and composting at our site, but we are also in the midst of the big Scrap It! Curbside expansion. In just the last few weeks, we have welcomed 500+ new participants to the program! That means added routes for our drivers, plus all the work of enrollment and communication for our admin team. It's been a whirlwind! We are happy to now have a little extra help with that work, thanks to the new additions to our team: drivers Phil and Nick!

We're also in the midst of some overlapping marketing campaigns! Be on the lookout for our billboard (pictured below, near Delaware and the 290) and our lawn signs (currently in the KenTon area), and keep your ears open for our ads on the BTPM radio stations. We are hopeful that these campaigns will help to increase awareness of our various programs and drive some new composters our way! But of course, the best way to reach new composters is through YOU, our dedicated current members. We hope you'll consider helping us to spread the good word.

Keep reading for updates and announcements related to your service...

What to do with that waste? Fall edition

🍂Yard waste:

We are happy to collect your yard waste (leaves and plant trimmings) on any of your regularly scheduled pick up dates! Simply visit the Shop tab of your Customer Portal, select the number of bags, then check out.

This is a great option if you want the added guarantee that the material will be diverted from the landfill and composted. You may also want to look into the options offered by your municipality.

Please note that we cannot accept large sticks/branches or glass clippings.

🎃Pumpkins:

Pumpkin season is here, hallelujah! We've probably got a few more weeks until you are trying to get rid of them, but it's a good idea to plan ahead. We've got two options for you:

1. Collection: if your pumpkin fits IN your bucket, AND doesn't put it over the 40lb weight limit, we're happy to collect it on your normal route. Please note that we cannot accept painted pumpkins.
2. Drop off: we are once again participating in the Erie County Pumpkin Dump! See the flyer below for more details.

Our compost piles have gone omnivorous! (AKA we'll take your meat and bones!)

For a little while now, we've accepted meat and bones on a limited basis from commercial partners, and we are pleased to now open that option up to all of our composters. It's awesome that we can now say we accept ALL food, and to continue chipping away at the waste ordinarily sent to the landfill.

And a friendly reminder... not all green bags are created equal!

Notice those certification emblems on the "what to compost" list above? We require one of those certifications (BPI, TUV, or CMA) for all non-food items, including green liners. Unfortunately, there are companies out there who inaccurately label their products as "compostable" or "biodegradable," which is why we look to these verifications for assurance.

The picture below is of all the items that get screened out of our finished compost...lots of large sticks and rocks, and also some trash! The green bags pictured are lookalikes, likely ones that were falsely labelled as compostable. So please take care to look for a BPI, TUV, or CMA certification next time you purchase liners. Biobag, Hefty, If You Care, and Compostic are four brands we know make certified bags.

Buffalo's Scrap It! Curbside expansion underway!

Hundreds more Buffalonians are now composting! The long awaited expansion is finally happening. Woohoo! Keep encouraging your friends and neighbors to register, and they'll be able to join soon too.

And to our new members, WELCOME!!

Meet your drivers, ep 2: Tim!

Tim (they/them) wears many hats here at FPC, including worker-owner, driver, driver manager, and more... We are so lucky to have them on the team!

🗓️ Years with FPC? 3

📗 Your FPC story? I live in a housing cooperative and I believe in workers seizing the means of production...plus, my food scraps have been composted on Gittere street since 2016! All that brought me to Farmer Pirates.

🦬 Favorite Buffalo neighborhood? I love my own West Side neighborhood. We have so many different kinds of people living there and doing pick ups is a great way to meet some of my neighbors.

🚛 Best part of driving for FPC? Our neighbors and customers are awesome - I love it when they treat us to snacks/water when it's hot out, or we have one guy that gives us scratch off tickets, or they ask questions about our work. Sometimes I feel like a local undercover celebrity, because so many people know of us but rarely do we get to meet our composters - so I always feel proud when I share what I do for work or when I run into a composter while on the route.

📦 What do you wish people knew about composting? People should collect their kitchen scraps using paper bags before putting them in the lined bin! Paper bags will make your bins less juicy and a lot cleaner.

Commercial partner feature: Niagara Falls State Park

That's not an AI-generated image, it's really our tote at the top of Niagara Falls! We started partnering with the folks at Niagara Falls State Park dining facilities early this summer. Composting is an important part of preserving our WNY landscape, so it is awesome to see the State Park participating. We'll continue working with them through the end of their busy season this fall and we hope to continue the partnership next season too! No matter if you are new to the area or you've lived here for ages, a trip to the Falls is always worth it.

Welcome new commercial partners!

Remember, we're only ever an email away!

We always appreciate questions and feedback, stories and photos.

Reach us at ahoy@farmerpirates.com.

Thank you for your ongoing support. And until next time, ROT ON!