Innovation

Since its founding by Dan Brown and Michael Robinson in 2014, Rust Belt Riders has served the Northeast Ohio Community by collecting and hauling food scraps for proper disposal through composting. Initially serving business and restaurant clients only, they have since expanded their client base through the addition of drop sites which allow residential customers to compost as well. In 2023 alone, over six million pounds of compostable material, diverting it from otherwise ending up on landfills. Their client base includes 2,785 household subscribers and 281 businesses around Cuyahoga County. These operations directly address the UN SDGs #12 Responsible Consumption and #13 Climate Action.

Their innovative nature does not stop with their operations. The unique business structure employed by Rust Belt Riders has created what Natalie described as "the best place [she] has ever worked". The founders envisioned a place in which everyone had true ownership over their work. This has developed the workplace culture seen at Rust Belt Riders, which features equal wages, lots of paid time off, lots of mutual respect, and no hierarchical structure. Natalie says that the entire team will "work together to accomplish all of the tasks in the organization". You have haulers signing time sheets and doing admin work and vice versa for the office side. This lack of division helps the staff to create the culture that is so integral to the mission of Rust Belt Riders. This helps Rust Belt Riders to address UN SDG #8 Good Jobs and Economic Growth.

Inspiration

The inspiration for the operations of Rust Belt Riders comes from the key issue of food waste. In the United States, 40% of all food is wasted. Food waste is also the largest component of US landfills, accounting for 24% of all waste found there. That is more than plastic, paper, metal, or glass. Food waste is one of the main contributors to methane in our atmosphere.

With backgrounds in manual labor, Robinson and Brown wanted to give workers in that field a sense of ownership over their work. This led them to implement a work-owned, community-focused structure to their business. Whereas in many other companies, those who handle manual labor are treated as the lowest-ranking employees, at Rust Belt Riders they are equal to all others.

Overall impact

Rust Belt Riders has a tremendous impact on countless individuals. First, they have been able to create meaningful and impactful jobs for 35 individuals. Their workplace dynamic and benefits go above and beyond to ensure the fiscal and mental well-being of their entire team. They have been able to make a direct impact to their wide-reaching clientele. Thousands of people and hundreds of businesses are able to say that they are doing what is right for the environment because of the services provided by Rust Belt Riders. This is particularly beneficial to their business clients who are able to increase their sustainability efforts through Rust Belt Riders. On a deeper level, they have done the planet and the Northeast Ohio community a tremendous amount of good by directing food waste away from landfills. Even those who are not direct customers of Rust Belt Riders will reap the benefits of their services. As they grow as a business, their positive impact will only continue to grow with them.

Business benefit

Throughout the majority of our conversation, we kept coming back to how much the culture of Rust Belt Riders means to its employees. Natalie describes Rust Belt Riders as "really just like family". The lack of a hierarchal structure gives the workers a sense of equality. All of the companies employees and owners are paid the same hourly rate They have access to about a month of PTO and are allowed to use it as they see fit without heavy oversight. Workers are given the freedom to create their own schedule to best fit their needs. They are given unique benefits such as access to company vehicles and facilities.

This open and equal nature is enriching to the lives of its employees much more than a traditional workplace environment. It was in the founders original vision to give its workers ownership over the work that they are taking part in day in and day out, and they have very effectively done so. Through the blend worker ownership, equal treatment, and tight-knit community, Rust Belt Riders has become, as Natalie put it, a "really a special place" that she is "so lucky to work" for.

Social and environmental benefit

The most obvious benefit to society and the environment comes from the direct environmental impact of diverting food waste away from landfills and towards composting. With over 40% of all food going to waste in the United States and that waste composes the largest percentage of landfill waste, there is an immense positive impact from Rust Belt Riders operations. When food waste is allowed to sit in the sun with plastic and other waste, it putrefies and releases methane. Methane is an incredibly harmful greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in our atmosphere. Food in landfills is the third largest producer of methane, after fossil fuel production and agriculture. By reducing the level of methane put out from landfills, Rust Belt Riders are making tremendous progress in the fight against climate change. Now, they are beginning to work with cities as they have signed a contract to work with the city of Beachwood Ohio to provide composting services to all residents.

Their benefits to society do not end there, however. Not only is their impact on the environment, but Rust Belt Riders have been able to benefit the local community by creating good jobs for its workers as well as partnering with other local businesses and farms for job training. As a locally focused business, they do not have goals to expand across the country, however, they have been able to serve as mentors to six other similar projects that have since been started in other locations.

Interview

Natalie Senturk, Residential Department Head