About Taos S.C.R.A.P.S
Taos SCRAPS got it's official start in the fall of 2025, although it's founders have been working towards the idea for much longer.
Jennifer Paris, co-owner, has been in conversation with the town and county to try to further municipal composting. She has given several in-depth presentations to relevant local government agencies on how we can reduce waste, mitigte drought, and develop a path to enhance agricultural soil.
Zack Vignola, co-owner, has been composting with any organic waste he came across since 2021, offering a free food waste drop off service at the Taos Farmer's Market in the summers of '23 and '24 and picking up food waste from a handful of local households.
Carlos Arguello at El Tros Farm has offered an incubator site with the land and tractor support needed to expand from on-farm compost to the development of an increased volume of compost and additional compost products.
Susan Stuart of Life Underground Labs has consulted on the composition of the piles designed to build microbial life as fully and quickly as possible, and she has introduced us to microscopy to verify the living organisms in our compost.
These four started meeting to shape Taos SCRAPS in early September 2025.
Our Story
Taos SCRAPS was founded with one thing in mind: usie local waste to regenerate soil.
When you consider the fact that 90% of arid grasslands in the USA (like the Taos Mesa) are considered desertified or degraded and that roughly 50% of our nation's waste is organic material, the solution is simple:
MAKE COMPOST!
Our Mission
SCRAPS' mission is to provide the residents of Taos County with locally-produced, high-quality compost and mulch products that support healthy soil, sustainable farming, and community resilience. We are committed to reducing waste going to the landfill, improving soil health, and empowering the community through education and consultation.
FAQs
What do you compost?
We compost most food wastes as well as shredded cardboard, yard waste, and manure. If it can be composted, we'll compost it!
How often/when is the food waste pickup?
Can I pause service?
We can't compost plastics or "recyclable" serving dishes or utensils (and please try to remove produce stickers!) or other non-organic waste/recyclables, large bones, avocado pits (They are so slow to break down!), or big pieces of paper/cardboard. Although meat is compostable, there is a large coyote population here that we'd rather not have visit regularly!
Currently household pickups are run every other week on Mondays. Contact us for more information on pickups for your business.
Yes, just reach out and let us know. 575-737-8166.
What don't you compost?
What quantities of compost will be available?
Although we aim to eventually have truckloads and packaged living compost available, we are not yet producing in these quantities. First deliveries will be buckets you bring or we provide. We will let you know when products become available in the spring-summer of 2026. Prices will be available on the website's products page.
