Queen City Commons

Queen City Commons is a food scrap collection service rooted in our Cincinnati community. We service residents and businesses, and partner with farms and gardens to compost everything we collect.

Our Calling

We are inextricably connected to the land, dependent on the vitality of the soil to feed us, and the flowing presence of water to keep us moving. We are tied together—this land, neither yours nor mine, but an accumulation of the weathers, plants, and animals that lived and died before us. We too are swept in this cycle, wrapped into the life of the soil, a part of the history of here. It is from this understanding that we choose to be in relationship, to give back what has been gifted to us.

We believe humans can be a positive partner in our natural world, an integrated member who recognizes the value and breadth of all of nature’s elements—the clay in the soil, the buzzing of the cicada, the breath of the sugar maple, and the play of the robin, bouncing between limbs.

When our modern lives have pulled us further from knowing our relationship to the land, how do we begin to rediscover our connection on a practical level? We believe this begins with our food, with putting our hands to the earth, feeling the hum of the soil life, and choosing to give back.

Composting is a recognition of the cyclical, regenerative nature of life—that all returns to the earth, and from this springs forth new life. Composting is a choice to participate. Once we begin to engage, we create space to see and hear more of how the natural world is calling to us—to be in relationship—and to say “I am here for you, just as you are here for me.” We learn that there are ways to love and care for the land right in front of us, through the community that manifests itself right on our doorstep—by knowing our neighbors, discovering the personalities of the plants, animals, and soil around us, and honoring the whisper we feel inside of us: we are meant for right here and right now.

Our Mission

Queen City Commons’ mission is to help build a regenerative local system through composting and connecting people, land, and community.

Good to Compost Images

Our Values

We Remember

We remember our foundation is based on interdependence, reciprocity, and relationships. We return to our connection and reliance on our community as a basis for how we engage and take action. Our inextricable bond holds us responsible to make decisions based on our collective outcome.

In our daily practice, we work to center community and employee empowerment, integrity and inclusion, and the intentional and sparing use of resources. We continuously work to be engaged, open-minded, and transparent about our practices to ensure that we honor the good in all of our partnerships.

We Reimagine

As we continue to remember the ways we are all rooted in the same soil, we turn toward a renewal of spirit. Guided by the power of our curiosity, we reimagine how we can participate in a gentler and more reciprocal world.

We Hope

We find hope through action, and we find action through hope.


Our Team

Kaelee

There’s something special about getting to cycle organic materials back into the earth. With a background in business marketing, retail, and restaurant work, Kaelee has seen firsthand the environmental impact of pushing out new products at high speeds, with no regard to waste created. She is thrilled to use her educational and business background for a new, restorative purpose. 

Kaelee dreams of building Cincinnati’s compost community. She finds comfort in not being too comfortable. She enjoys long road trips, trying new things that scare her, and people-watching in a park or coffee shop.

Julia

With a background in Spanish language studies and interdisciplinary social sciences, Cincinnati native Julia is determined to work toward a future where everyone in the Queen City is excited about the power of compost! Julia has been benevolently inspired by being part of the Cincinnati urban agriculture and community composting movements. This work wasn't in their postgraduate plans, but they are so grateful they ended up here. When not driving the hottest dump truck in town, you can find Julia gardening, crafting, swimming, unremittingly admiring neighborhood cats on their walks, and singing with the May Festival Chorus.

Marie

Born and raised along the shores of Lake Erie and settled beside the currents of the Ohio River, Marie is a human with a deep passion for care- and community-based systems. 

Through the spiritual and transformational power of composting, Marie believes that we have the opportunity to deepen our relationship to the land right in our own neighborhoods. When not getting her hands soiled up with compost, Marie enjoys all types of hands-on projects, ogling over the daily growth in the garden, and moving through the woods.

Will

As the newest member of the QCC team, Will brings his education in environmental studies and years in the food service industry to connect people through composting. As a lifelong Cincinnatian, he’s eager to get behind the wheel and is dedicated to ensuring that regenerative practices are accessible to individuals, households, and businesses across the region. Will is also a lifelong musician and can often be found performing across town. He is also an avid runner and enjoys finding new vegetarian recipes.