Community Composting that works in rural Northern Wisconsin
Big Lake Organics was launched in 2021 by Northland College alumni, Todd Rothe and Jamie Tucker, building on nearly three decades of campus composting at the Hulings Rice Food Center in Ashland, Wisconsin. As the demand for compost collection and finished product outgrew the college’s capacity, Big Lake Organics emerged as a full-fledged private business focused on diverting food waste from landfills and returning nutrients to local soils.
The company now provides organics collection to homes and businesses across the Chequamegon Bay region, offering a circular service model that includes food waste collection, composting and finished compost delivery. metroSTOR were delighted to welcome Todd at our recent Food Waste Drop-offs In Action webinar, where he was joined by experts from across the country, all with invaluable insight into how to roll out a successful food waste drop-off program.
When Big Lake Organics inherited a loosely managed community composting program in 2023, it came with a familiar problem: open, unsupervised drop-off sites quickly became magnets for contamination, pests and general misuse. Todd explained, “It was a free-for-all. People dumped yard waste, trash, whatever they wanted. It created mess, odor, and attracted wildlife.”
As a rural operator covering 60 miles and a population of just 12,000 to 14,000 people, Big Lake Organics needed a low-cost, high-impact way to serve households without the expense of curbside collection. Controlling contamination, ensuring cleanliness and making access easy were all essential, especially without any municipal funding or subsidy.
To bring order and usability to its residential collection program, Big Lake Organics installed three metroSTOR FXP 65 cart enclosures across Ashland. The durable, foot-pedal-operated units are paired with either keypad or smartphone app access via metroKEY, allowing the team to control access, reduce contamination and maintain hygiene at all sites.
Each unit contains an unlined 65-gallon cart that is swapped out during scheduled pickups. Power washing is performed off-site at the company’s facility and service drivers carry cleaning kits to handle any spot issues. Site placement is key: units are installed in high-traffic areas like grocery stores, medical clinics and near college buildings, helping residents to drop their scraps as part of their daily routines.
“Since implementing the metroSTOR units, we have completely eliminated the issues we had with contamination and pests. These enclosures have held up to everything… snow, raccoons, even bears.
Our model is values-based. We charge $10 a month. That covers our labor, fuel and equipment. We are not trying to make a profit; we are trying to make composting accessible and affordable. We are upfront with people about what they are supporting: clean soil, reduced methane and a better future.
Cleanliness is essential. We clean every bin regularly and make sure drop-off points are tidy and odor-free. The perception of composting matters; if it looks clean and smells fine, people are more likely to keep using it.
Working with metroSTOR and metroKEY has been great. They have supported us every step of the way. We are looking forward to expanding our program and continuing to show what rural composting can look like when done right.”
— Todd Rothe, Co-founder, Big Lake Organics
Big Lake Organics is continuing to expand access by adding more units in strategic locations. The team is exploring hybrid access models to improve usability for non-smartphone users and building stronger partnerships with local businesses, in some cases offering free commercial pickups in exchange for residential unit placement.
With a durable system in place and strong community support, the organization is well-positioned to grow food waste diversion efforts across northern Wisconsin and metroSTOR looks forward to supporting the team on this exciting journey.