com:post, UK
The circular economy has arrived. In the UK, a new compost service is capturing waste from florists and turning it into a nutrient-rich, all-natural fertiliser for growing more plants. We chatted to co-founder Hannah Martin about the launch of com:post and its rapid uptake in the UK industry.
What were your biggest concerns about launching this business?
Having worked in the floristry industry for over 20 years, our concerns didn’t fall within this part of our business. But our experience within the waste management industry was limited, so we had to quickly learn about how it all worked and where our service fell within this sector. We also knew that there was a strong need to introduce florists to composting their green waste, but we soon realised that this need was bigger than we’d initially expected. Our main concern was that we didn’t know how we were going to help everyone at the rate that we were receiving enquiries – it was quite overwhelming in the early days.
Co-founders Hannah Marton and Fiona Knowlton
Florists are provided with ready-to-compost bags to fill with green waste.
What have been the trickiest obstacles to overcome?
The sheer scale of our industry’s impact on the environment is huge. The trickiest obstacle is to stick to composting and not get involved in everything else. It’s been a challenge having to change an entire industry and listen to different views and needs, and wanting to help everyone to ensure our service fits all needs.
What areas are you now servicing and what are your plans for growth?
We currently operate a London collection service using our own fleet of vans and drivers. The florists are currently giving us around 10 tonnes of green waste every month which is fantastic. Our plan is to continue growing this service into all areas of the capital and to develop our Christmas collection service as we approach the festive season. We have also just launched our service for events florists within this area who may not require a collection every week, so this is very exciting!
In addition to this we have recently launched our partnership with Hoek Flowers which enables us to collect green waste from the florists that they supply using their network of delivery hubs and drivers across the UK. This is a great way to offer our service to a high percentage of UK florists quickly through a service that they already trust. We are currently operating through their Bristol hub that services Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and more, and we have just started operating through their Swanley hub which covers London and the surrounding counties which is keeping us very busy!
Do you have any current figures about waste diverted?
Our target is to divert one million tonnes of green waste from landfill and incineration, and we are on track to deliver this by the summer of 2026. The UK currently puts over six million tonnes of green and food waste into landfill, so this will be a significant achievement.
What has been the response from florists?
Overwhelming at times but very exciting! The uptake has been phenomenal with regular enquiries from florists across the UK and overseas. The need for this service is clear and we are excited to provide a service that can help all florists – from the smaller home florist to the large event florist studios – so the impact on our industry will be huge.
What do you hope for COM:POST over the next couple of years?
Our aim is to make our service available to all florists in the UK, and to change UK culture around composting waste so that this is standard practice. We want to serve 50% of florists operating in the UK to achieve our one million tonnes target.
