Walsh, Republic Property Group
Walsh Community Garden composting site
The Walsh neighborhood said it has become the 14th residential site for the City of Fort Worth's Residential Food Scrap Composting Pilot Program, and the first public-private partnership in the program.
The new site, in the Walsh Community Garden at 13749 Makers Way, is open and operational for program subscribers to drop off their food scraps. The first 13 drop-off sites in the program are in public sites such as libraries and parks.
“Partnering with the city has given our residents a chance to create a positive impact on our environment, ” Seth Carpenter, vice president of development for Republic Property Group, Walsh's developer, said in a release. “Each decision made for the community comes from our goal of blending high tech solutions with a dedication to preserving the land and space for future generations."
The city has joined Cowboy Compost, founded by the then-Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra music director Miguel Harth-Bedoya, to equip program subscribers with a starter kit including a kitchen countertop pail, five-gallon transfer bucket, refrigerator magnet, and educational resources for a one-time fee of $20. The fee benefits the Keep Fort Worth Beautiful nonprofit.
“We saw the need and we worked to find a way to meet it!,” Stacy Barton, a Walsh resident and members of its Lifestyle and Innovation Group, said. “Our group talked with the City of Fort Worth about bringing the composting program to life here and we’re so excited to kick it off and make a difference in the community.”
Republic and Fort Worth's Walsh family, which owned the 7,200-acre ranch now under development, designed the master-planned community with a committment to preserve one-third of the land as parks and green space. It has more than 24 miles of trails, at least one park within 5-minute walking distance of each home, greenhouse and the community garden.
Since its launch in April 2019, Fort Worth’s Residential Composting Program has had more than 1,330 households subscribe and over 105 tons of food waste collected and diverted from the landfill, with what it estimates is less than 1% contamination.
The program is open to all Fort Worth residents via the city's website. The city is holding an event April 17 to sign up residents and distribute starter kits.