Made in Colorado: Compost Queen

Backyard endeavor now boasts 550 customers

Eric Peterson //July 25, 2024//

Backyard endeavor now boasts 550 customers

Eric Peterson //July 25, 2024//

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Compost Queen Jamie Blanchard-Poling started her namesake business in 2018 after seeing a composting void in Northern Colorado. “At first, it was just a few friends and neighbors,” says Blanchard-Poling. “I was collecting food scraps, doing it in my side yard.”

Word got out in a big way. Winner of the 2022 Small-Scale Compost Manufacturer of the Year from the U.S. Composting Council, the company now serves 550 residential and commercial customers with nine employees and four sites, including a new headquarters that opened in late 2023. Compost Queen has traditionally given its end product to farm partners and customers, but the increasing volume led to a bagged product that’s launching in late 2024 or early 2025.

Composting is one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions, notes Hand of the Queen (and Blanchard-Poling’s husband) Max Poling. “Reducing food waste, and composting has more emission reduction potential than electric vehicles, recycling, high-speed rail and walkable cities combined.”

Bagged compost price TBD; composting service starts at $20/month.

Made by Compost Queen, Fort Collins, www.compostqueenfc.com.