♻️ Omaha's recycling has plateaued. Here's plan B.

Our monthly newsletter to help you on your eco-journey

We've always said Earth Month is like our industry's holiday season — which means you're in the peak of your spring eco-resolutions. Good news: this issue is packed with goodies to help you hit those goals. So forget about cutting calories. We're here to help you cut your carbon.

This issue's rundown:

🚛 Round Two: Compost Club expands May 19.
🍽️ Eco Eats Guide Refreshed: New spots, updated info, and a map.
🌱 Every Omaha Plant Sale: One list. All of May and June.
📰 Worth a Read: Creighton's 42-ton year, Omaha's recycling plateau, and the state's new compost priority.
🤝 New Partners: gluten-free bakery, plant store, and a healing center. All composting now.
📓 Steal This Playbook: CHI Health Center composted 93 tons last year. We give the steps.

THE BIG STORY

Curbside Compost Club Just Doubled In Size

After council members Pete Festerson and Danny Begley joined us at the ribbon-cutting, we’re now 1 month in. And we have receipts!

Last week’s route averaged 53 pounds per household! And we’re currently up to 113 homes, with more signing on each week.

Next stop: parts of Ralston, North Omaha, Westside, and Benson. If you live there or know someone who does, now’s the time to sign up.

We just made the sign-on process simpler and faster. You can figure out immediately if you’re in our service area, or get automatically enrolled on the waitlist.

→ Check your address here

Already a member? Here's how to redeem your finished compost credits when you're ready to use them in the garden.

YOUR ECO GUIDE

2026 Edition: The Best Eco-friendly Omaha Restaurants

Our most popular blog just got its 2026 update. Now with new locations and expanded descriptions on what each restaurant, coffee shop, and bakery is doing behind kitchen doors for the planet. And (what we’re most excited about), a Google map you can use to find the closest spot without scrolling through the whole list.

Whether you're looking for a Tuesday lunch or a weekend dinner that lines up with your values, this is the shortcut.

→ Browse the Eco Eats Guide

EVENTS

Spring Plant Sale Guide

Pop-up plant sale season is in full swing. We rounded up all the events so you don't have to. 😍

Through May 16 — The Big Garden, 5602 Read Street. Thursdays through Saturdays 9–2, plus weekly online ordering with Wednesday curbside pickup. $3 plants, organic practices, 20,000+ seedlings.

Also May 16 — 🦋 Nebraska Monarchs giving away 275 free predesigned native gardens at Bryan High (4700 Giles Rd), 1–4 PM.

🪴 Plantapalooza at Fort St. Church of Christ (5922 Fort St), 10 AM–3 PM. Soooo many plant vendors and artisans, free to attend.

🌱 May 23-24 — PATH - Pollinator Alliance of the Heartland's native plant sale in Bellevue

Looking ahead to June:

🌻 June 6 — Free native plants at Bellevue Farmers Market with Green Bellevue, 8:30 AM–12:30 PM. Wildflower Week celebration.

🌳 June 20 — Two PlantNebraska sales: Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue (9–noon) and Schramm Pollinator Party in Gretna (10–2).

Bring a wagon. You'll buy more than you planned.

SNIPPETS

Creighton just composted 42 tons in a year. Dr. Andrew Baruth with Sustainable Creighton shared the numbers on WOWT. He's been on a campaign lately to boost confidence that recycling actually works. Read our blog Does Recycling Work in Omaha to find out.

They gave us an award! Andy Harpenau — our founder, the guy who started this whole thing in 2004 with a single truck — was named Earth Day Omaha's "Friend of the Environment.” He'll deflect when you bring it up. So we're telling you instead.

Composting just became a state priority. The Governor's Water Task Force released their final report on how Nebraska plans to protect its drinking water. One of those goals has us celebrating: increase the number of acres using compost to build healthier soil. Read our foundation’s recap here.

Omaha's recycling has plateaued. The Flatwater Free Press ran a chart this month showing residential recycling stalling above 20,000 tons annually. The cities that got ahead? They didn’t throw money at education. Many added curbside composting, like we just did.

NEW PARTNERS

If you wanna use your dollar or enthusiasm to support local commercial organizations that have joined the recycling and composting movement, here are some of the new partnerships we’re celebrating …

Nodest Home Plants

As you can tell from shop owner Shannon’s silly Instagram skits, Nodest is back! After a location hiatus, they’re now in the thick of Blackstone serving up beautiful house plants in its signature Millennial aesthetic. Check out all the plant shops that compost with us.

Rebel Rise Bakery

This female-founded bakery is the newest addition to the Eco Eats Guide. Now composting kitchen prep from their gluten-free baked goods, along with a smattering of compostable packaging.

Dignity in Healing

A mental health collective expanding access to emotional healthcare for providers and patients across Omaha. They're now composting with us at their N 120th Street clinic. Healing the people and the planet in the same building.

📓 Steal This Playbook: CHI Health Center

Omaha's busiest conference center and arena composted 93 tons of food waste in a single year. So we gave them our Biggest Impact Award at this year’s Hillside Awards.

That didn't happen by accident. Levy Restaurants, the venue's food and beverage partner, uses a waste tracking system called Waste Not 2.0 that changed how their entire operation handles food. What started in the main kitchen expanded to coffee prep, then to concessions at Creighton basketball games. They even donate usable food to Saving Grace Food Rescue.

You can do the same — here's how:

Set up a scale in the kitchen and weigh every piece of food that doesn’t get served. Use Waste Not 2.0 or set-up a your own tracking system using our DIY template.
Partner with a food rescue organization like Saving Grace to divert usable food before it hits the compost bin.
Start with your highest-volume waste stream (usually food prep) and expand from there. This is the easiest stuff to compost since it’s in what we call a “controlled environment.” If you decide to go front-of-house, give us a call, as it’s tricky.

That’s a wrap!

P.S. Got a sustainability win at your business or in your kitchen? Hit reply and tell us. We read them all.

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With love, your friends at Gretna Sanitation, Soil Dynamics, and Hillside Solutions.

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