Making Trash Bloom

Sustainability Matters is making trash bloom, planting landfill trash cells with native perennial meadows instead of turfgrass. Landfills seal a 5-10 acre trash cell every 3-5 years. That land can never be built on, used to grow crops, or planted with trees. Turfgrass, the current go-to planting for trash cells, has no ecological value, but native meadows offer crucial habitat to threatened wildlife and pollinators. 

Sustainability Matters, our young Virginia-grown grassroots nonprofit, is currently piloting the Making Trash Bloom project at the Shenandoah County Landfill, where it has garnered tremendous regional interest and enthusiasm, becoming a source of community pride and vital education. Most Shenandoah Valley residents never make it to more traditional horticultural education sites, but in rural areas with no trash pickup, everyone passes through the landfill. In its first year, the pilot plot became a pandemic destination for local residents and families, many of whom now ask, “How can I do this at home?” 

As part of the A Community Thrives challenge, we're fundraising to expand Making Trash Bloom to additional landfills, hold associated educational workshops, and developing a scalable model. Help us get there before the challenge ends on Friday, August 13 at noon ET, and we'll become eligible for further merit-based grants of up to $100,000 from USA Today's A Community Thrives program! With your support, we might just Make Trash Bloom nationwide!!