A Story of Composting in Frederick County
The Frederick Compost Workgroup spent years advocating to bring local composting solutions to Frederick County. Their efforts helped establish composting operations at Utica Bridge Farms.
The facility provided a much-needed local solution for processing food scraps, leaves, woodchips and other organic material, turning it into high-quality compost used by farmers, gardeners, and landscapers throughout the region.
In 2022, the operator, Key City Compost, received site plan approval from the Frederick County Planning Commission to expand its composting facility. That approval was set to expire in January 2025, and while Key City made progress, the necessary steps to vest the plan were not completed before the deadline.
In 2024, Compost Crew, a Maryland-based small business with 14 years of composting experience, acquired Key City Compost’s operations at Utica Bridge Farms to build upon and sustain this important local work.
Compost Crew also assumed Key City’s contract to provide curbside food scrap collection for the City of Frederick, a program the City Council recently voted to extend due to its success. Since then, the facility has provided a much-needed local solution for processing food scraps, leaves, woodchips and other organic material, turning it into high-quality compost used by farmers, gardeners, and landscapers throughout the region.
By continuing to operate the Utica Bridge Farms facility, Compost Crew is helping ensure that food scraps collected in Frederick stay in Frederick, supporting local soil health, local farms, and the county’s broader sustainability goals.
