Hello Compost is a composting service that enables the exchange of food for food waste in working-class communities.

Families put food waste into freezable, odor-blocking collection bags. Those bags go to Project EATS (a New York-based nonprofit focused on urban agriculture), where they are weighed and assigned a value that translates into credits for fresh produce, grown by local farmers. Project EATS uses an iPad app to track progress – and appeal to the human drive to compete.

Website: hellocompost.comTwitter: @hellocompostCategory: Energy/UtilitiesCompetitors: N/AModel: Trade waste for fresh foodFounded: 2012