{"id":31212,"date":"2026-08-28T11:17:58","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T15:17:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/?post_type=article&p=31212"},"modified":"2026-08-28T11:17:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T15:17:58","slug":"case-study-ocean-city-maryland","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/es\/article\/composting-for-community\/case-study-ocean-city-maryland","title":{"rendered":"Avoided Disposal Costs Help Cover Expenses"},"template":"","class_list":["post-31212","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_type-case-study","initiatives-composting-for-community","topics-community-composting","impact_areas-climate-and-environmental-justice","impact_areas-democratic-governance","authors-nora-goldstein"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":31278,"background_color":"tan","article_type":[712],"initiative":15,"display_event_fields":false,"display_case_study_fields":false,"start_date":null,"end_date":null,"start_time":"","end_time":"","time_zone":"America\/New_York","virtual_event":false,"location":"","locality":"Ocean City","state":"Md.","topics":[42],"impact_areas":[16,19],"abstract":"This case study is from the Keep Compost Local report featuring public-private partnerships between the City of Ocean City (Maryland), Go Green OC, and Ocean Compost.","authors_tax":[701]},"sidebar":{"title":"\u00cdndice"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"This case study was originally published in Mant\u00e9n el compost local<\/a>, a report offering survey data, case studies, and policy recommendations to equip governments to collaborate with local composters and foster community prosperity. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/em>","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Municipality and Interviewee:<\/strong> Ocean City, Maryland, Kim Mueller, Director of Sales, Ocean City Convention Center\r\n\r\nCommunity Composters:<\/strong> Go Green OC (Josh Chamberlain, Founder and Executive Director) and Ocean Compost LLC (Garvey Heiderman, Founder)","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)<\/h3>\r\nIn 2021, the Town of Ocean City established an agreement with Ocean Compost LLC to pilot the collection of food scraps from several restaurants and compost them at a nearby farm. The Town agreed to pay Ocean Compost the same per-ton fee it pays to tip its waste at the Reworld (formerly Covanta) incinerator in Chester, Pennsylvania \u2014 a tip fee of over $90 per ton. Following the pilot, the agreement has been renewed annually. Collection is done by Ocean Compost, which currently services about 25 restaurants along with the Ocean City Convention Center and its outdoor events. Go Green OC provides volunteers, education, and assists with onboarding new restaurants. Ocean Compost handles equipment and the relationship with the Town. Once food scraps are collected, they are weighed at the Town\u2019s transfer station prior to transport to the composting site in Bishopville, Maryland. Ocean City then compensates Ocean Compost for the food scraps collected. The Town started receiving several cubic yards of compost in 2025 for use in its landscaping.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Municipal Motivation"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Municipal Motivation<\/h3>\r\nThe Town of Ocean City \u2014 a resort city on the Atlantic coast that swells to become the second-largest city in Maryland during its peak season, from June through September \u2014 services residents and businesses with trash collection. When it switched from landfilling collected solid waste to incineration, the Town ended its curbside recycling program, which was met with some pushback from residents, businesses, and environmental advocates. Go Green OC, an environmental nonprofit, started collecting food scraps in Ocean City in 2018, and has gradually increased the number of businesses serviced. The City Council has been supportive of the initiative via the per-ton-diverted compensation. Garvey Heiderman, owner of The Hobbit Restaurant in Ocean City, was the first to source-separate food scraps for composting in 2018. When Heiderman and Josh Chamberlain, Executive Director of Go Green OC, approached the Ocean City Council about initiating the food scraps collection pilot in 2021, they learned that an agreement with the City had to be with a for-profit entity, not a nonprofit like Go Green OC. As a result, Heiderman formed Ocean Compost LLC. The agreement between the Town and Ocean Compost is capped at 250 tons per year for now, says Heiderman. \u201cIf we ever expect to exceed that, we will have another conversation with the Town at that time.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe Ocean City Convention Center, which is owned by the Town of Ocean City and managed in partnership with the Maryland Stadium Authority, has been collaborating with Go Green OC and Ocean Compost to provide food scraps collection at the Convention Center, and organics and recycling services for special events such as OC Bikefest and beach concerts. \u201cOur partnership with Go Green OC and Ocean Compost is built on trust, shared values, and a mutual commitment to making Ocean City a model for sustainable event destinations,\u201d explains Kim Mueller, Director of Sales at the Ocean City Convention Center. \u201cFrom the very beginning, our goal has been to create something that not only diverts waste but also inspires our community, visitors, and event clients to see environmental responsibility as an essential part of our culture. Even without a formal contract, our collaboration is rooted in open communication, aligned goals, and a clear understanding of the positive impact we want to achieve together. This is not a short-term initiative \u2014 it\u2019s a long-term commitment to growing our composting program, expanding zero-waste services, and showing that environmental stewardship and economic vitality go hand-in-hand in Ocean City.\u201d\r\n\r\nIn 2024, the Convention Center diverted about five tons of food scraps and compostable food-contact packaging. \u201cWe have converted nearly all products to compostable in preparation for beginning to host zero waste events,\u201d notes Chamberlin.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image_grid","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_image_grid":{"repeater":true,"images":null,"images_repeater":[{"image":31280,"caption":"Sign at Convention Center. Credit Go Green OC","link":""},{"image":31277,"caption":"Cart at participating restaurant. Credit: Go Green OC","link":""},{"image":31279,"caption":"Volunteers dumping collected food scraps. Credit: Go Green OC","link":""}],"ratio":"square","width":"wide"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Composting Activity"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Composting Activity<\/h3>\r\nOcean Compost accepts a wide range of food scraps, along with soiled paper, pizza boxes, and certified compostable foodservice ware. A box truck with a lift gate has capacity for 34 32-gallon carts, which are used for collection. The company leases about one acre on a farm in Bishopville, where it uses aerated static piles for composting. Wood chips are mixed in as part of the composting recipe. The site is permitted by the Maryland Department of the Environment as a Tier 2 Small facility (this regulatory tier allows processing of <10,000 cubic yards per year of food scraps and yard trimmings). The permitted capacity is 500 tons per year of material. The facility has one full-time employee and over 20 volunteers who perform various feedstock receiving and composting-related tasks at the farm two days a week for about one to three hours. \u201cWe are currently processing about 150 tons per year of feedstocks and could easily double that on our current footprint,\u201d says Chamberlain of Go Green OC. \u201cWe usually have an average of five volunteers at one time, rotating in and out. Some have been with us for three years. The volunteers are saving us tens of thousands of dollars a year on labor, making our program feasible.\u201d\r\n\r\nSince 2018, over 1,000,000 pounds<\/a> of food scraps have been diverted to composting from participating restaurants, the convention center, and outdoor events. Finished compost is screened once a year using rented equipment.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_pullquote_feature","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_pullquote_feature":{"quote":"Our partnership with Go Green OC and Ocean Compost is built on trust, shared values, and a mutual commitment to making Ocean City a model for sustainable event destinations. From the very beginning, our goal has been to create something that not only diverts waste but also inspires our community, visitors, and event clients to see environmental responsibility as an essential part of our culture.","image":"","attribution":"Kim Mueller, Director of Sales, Ocean City Convention Center"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Outreach & Education"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Outreach & Education<\/h3>\r\nOcean City\u2019s year-round population is around 8,000; it swells up to 300,000 during the peak season. Many restaurants start closing in November and December, and reopen in March, so participation in food scraps collection is seasonal. Go Green OC does all the outreach and education for the restaurant food scraps collection program. At the Convention Center, Chamberlain does source-separation training for Sodexo, the foodservice contractor, and Center employees. Go Green OC provides the signage.\r\n\r\nFor events, the nonprofit partners with the Convention Center and promoters to highlight the greening of the events. Go Green OC works with a third-party recycler to collect items such as aluminum cans, cardboard, and plastic bottles. Because the Town does not offer recycling, being a provider of that service \u2014 along with food scraps collection \u2014 garners media attention, especially during the events. At the four concert events during the year, Go Green OC sets up food scrap collection stations around the food tent, which are staffed by volunteers. It also collects all back-of-house food prep scraps and food that has been served but uneaten from event caterers. Surfriders, a nonprofit, manages event recycling.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Compost Markets"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Compost Markets<\/h3>\r\nThe compost is given away for free in exchange for donations to Go Green OC. End users include home gardeners, a local flower grower, and a small farmer.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Costs & Benefits: Ocean City"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Costs & Benefits: Ocean City<\/h3>\r\nThe Town of Ocean City does not incur any costs for its agreement with Ocean Compost, LLC as it is simply redirecting the fee it would pay at the incinerator to Ocean Compost. The Town\u2019s involvement in food scraps diversion is highlighted on the city\u2019s tourism website under the sustainability webpage<\/a>. The ability to offer event greening services at its Convention Center is another benefit.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Costs & Benefits: Go Green OC and Ocean Compost LLC"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Costs & Benefits: Go Green OC and Ocean Compost LLC<\/h3>\r\nThe per-ton payments from the Town of Ocean City support Go Green OC\u2019s food scrap collection services, as well as help cover operating costs at the composting site. The revenue is not adequate to support labor costs incurred for the composting facility; thus, volunteers are integral to the current success of the operation. Go Green OC does have a contract with the Convention Center to provide food scraps collection services.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"PPP Lessons Learned"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

PPP Lessons Learned<\/h3>\r\nThe willingness of the Ocean City Council and the Town\u2019s solid waste department to pay Ocean Compost LLC the same per-ton price it would pay at the incinerator serves as a useful model of an off-ramp for a jurisdiction to move away from disposal and incineration towards diversion. This is especially relevant where the incinerator or landfill is reaching the end of its service life and incentivizes the jurisdiction to support the development of local infrastructure for food scraps recycling. In addition, the incinerator in Chester, Pennsylvania<\/a>, has long been known as one of the nation\u2019s worst cases of environmental racism.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"M\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

M\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n<\/h3>\r\n