ABCompost is a student-led composting initiative at Concordia University, operating under the Concordia Greenhouse Project, focused on reducing food waste through small-scale, hands-on composting systems. Founded through Concordia’s Zero Waste program in 2022, the project uses vermicomposting (worm composting) and tumblers to transform campus food scraps into nutrient-rich soil.
With a strong educational mission, ABCompost runs workshops, demonstrations, and volunteer sessions to make composting accessible—especially for students without access to municipal compost systems. The initiative emphasizes reconnecting people to the waste cycle and building a more conscious campus food culture.
ABCompost officially joined the Concordia Greenhouse Project in September 2024, since which our programming and capacity have grown substantially. This transition has allowed ABCompost to expand on existing initiatives by offering more vermicomposting workshops throughout the year, providing additional volunteer opportunities for students, and scaling up our vermicomposting operations to divert more food waste on campus. We have also developed event-based programming, collaborated with various groups within the Concordia community, applied for grants related to workshop development and food systems, and conducted research related to composting behaviours and waste reduction among students.
Over the 2024–2025 academic year, ABCompost hosted eleven workshops, including five vermicomposting workshops, and our annual October pumpkin carving event. We also presented at the C-Change Conference in June 2025 in collaboration with Improove to discuss food waste reduction strategies. Thanks to our amazing volunteers and staff, ABCompost diverted over 389 pounds of organic waste from landfill, primarily through weekly compost collections from campus food groups. We also hosted weekly volunteer sessions, which students reported as fostering a sense of community and shared commitment to reducing food waste.
In the 2025–2026 academic year, ABCompost has:
- Won a CCSL grant to launch an experiential learning Hydroponics 101 program, in which vermicompost produced on-site was used to support hydroponic growing.
- Continued to host weekly volunteer sessions
- Completed a survey on student composting habits and student satisfaction with composting services at Concordia University. The full report is available on the Concordia Greenhouse’s Website.
- Collaborated with elementary schools, youth programs, and non-profit organizations to deliver workshops on food waste reduction and broaden community engagement with composting practices.
- Donated finished compost to the Concordia community and to non-profit organizations.
- Hosted a range of workshops on waste reduction, including sustainable pumpkin carving, vermicomposting, waste audit, and Low-Buy Year workshops. The Low-Buy Year workshop was featured in a CBC Radio interview
Volunteer with ABCompost
Volunteer hours are on pause for the summer
What Is Vermicomposting?
Vermicomposting is a natural method where earthworms and bacteria quickly break down food waste into rich compost. Unlike traditional composting, it can be done safely indoors and works faster than outdoor piles or tumblers. Only a few worm species are suitable, mainly the red wiggler (Eisenia fetida), along with the European nightcrawler, African nightcrawler, and Indian blue worm. These worms thrive in dark, ventilated bins with soil bedding and a steady supply of food scraps. In the right conditions, they eat the waste, reproduce, and lay cocoons containing 10–20 baby worms.
As the worms digest the food, they produce vermicompost—nutrient-dense castings often called “worm poop.” This natural fertilizer is much richer than most store-bought compost and is highly valued by gardeners and farmers. Vermicomposting not only reduces food waste but also creates an excellent soil amendment for growing healthy plants.
Composting Research
Throughout the 2024-2025 academic year our Composting Coordinator, Catherine Rokakis, conducted a survey on student compost habits. The summary of the report is listed below. A full report can be found on our research page.
Workshop & Compost Price List
| Worms (1 yogurt sized container) | $30 |
| Vermicompost (~700g) | $10 |
| Workshop for nonprofits/community groups | $200 |
| Workshop for businesses & other for profit organizations | $300 |
| a vermicomposting kit following a workshop | $30 – $50 |
For more on educational workshops and events contact us at…
Email: abcompostconcordiamtl@gmail.com
Instagram: @abcompostmtl
Thanks for your support!
We would like to thank everyone from Facilities Management for all of their help in making this collaboration a reality, specifically Jackie Martin and Faisal Shennib for their incredible support of so many projects like this and many others at Concordia. Also we would like to thank Oliver De Volpi from Hospitality for letting us temporarily use the Dish Project space on the Hall building’s very busy 7th floor while the Greenhouse is closed. And finally, thank you to Catherine Rokakis and Isabella Curiel-Ploumis, the founders of ABCompost, for agreeing to come on board.
ABCompost will continue their amazing workshops and operations as they did before, so stay tuned for volunteer opportunities, internships, and other great programs as they become part of the Concordia Greenhouse family!