Melissa Pringle

It all started with an idea (and a Google search).

As many cool ideas are, Compost Carpool was born out of a need (and laziness). I wanted to start incorporating more sustainability measures into my lifestyle, so I took to Google to see how I could get started.

“Easiest ways to reduce carbon footprint.”

One of the first results was food. Eat less meat. Choose local & organic. Reduce food waste. Compost! I thought composting was an easy first step into a more sustainable lifestyle, but as I was living in a gardenless townhouse with no room for a composter at the time, I wasn’t sure what I would do with all of the compost material I collected. I thought, “Man, I wouldn’t mind collecting it if only someone would just pick it up and do something good with it.” In other words, I needed someone to do my dirty work.

Two years in, and the journey has been interesting.

I’ve learned so much about the environment. The impacts of chemical farming, GMOs, the meat industry, the rise in chronic disease and how the food industry has a major impact on the overall population. Most importantly, I have learned that we can change things. I’ve learned that nature and our bodies were created to heal and regenerate. I believe that we are supposed to be taking better care of the earth we’ve been given. I’m so much more passionate and aware now – and it all started from one simple idea. Composting.

My favorite Psalm is 115:16 (NIV) The highest heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth he has given to mankind.

That’s why I do this.

John Pringle

Who is going to do this?

I can honestly say that despite loving nature and the outdoors, I had never really embraced the idea of going green. Not that I didn’t toss a bottle into a recycling bin every once in a while. I did. And I falsely believed I was doing my part and making a difference. About two years ago, my wife came to me with the idea of starting a small business. A small composting business. I listened to her, laughed, and thought, “How are we going to make money with this? Who is going to do this?” It sounded like a joke to me. However, I quickly realized how passionate she was and, reluctantly at first, got on board with the idea.

Suddenly it didn’t seem so crazy to me.

Over the next year and a half, I started learning more and more, and suddenly, it didn’t sound so crazy to me. Instead, I felt inspired to be better, to talk about it with people, and to try to change minds in the same way my own mind had been changed.

I am so proud to be a part of this movement.

What amazes me most is the realization of just how big a difference we can make – even with only a few people. Even more amazing is what we can do when a lot of people choose to compost. Together, we can truly make a difference for our local farmers, our planet as a whole, and everything in between. It really is amazing how composting has been the gateway drug into sustainability. I take steps, even small ones, to be intentionally better in this regard. I see plastic everywhere. I have stopped eating meat. I believe that being wasteful has become easy. It’s careless and thoughtless, but something we can change. My motto is now that we know better, we can do better.

Laura Prentice

I am passionate about sustainability.

I have been passionate about environmental sustainability for most of my life. I fell in love with composting in high school through Keep Flower Mound Beautiful’s Master Composter training, and then in college I ran my school’s environmental activist organization and community garden (I also kept an illegal worm composting bin under my bed)

Creating fertility from waste.

Since then I have worked on organic farms and gardens, learning about the importance of soil health and compost firsthand. I love hands-on work that makes a difference and gets my hands dirty! Being involved in the process of growing food grounds me, and creating fertility from waste inspires me.

Many ways to heal!

My other passion is supporting women through my work in reproductive health and fertility awareness education. Though serving women and making compost may seem disparate goals, they feel very connected to me: without a healthy relationship to our world and the soil we cannot heal ourselves.