Ocean City Partners with Composting Organization Go Green OC

OCEAN CITY, Md. - Ocean City has announced a new partnership with GO GREEN OC, a non-profit composting organization, to help Ocean City become the first ever zero waste resort town in America. 

The founder of GO GREEN OC, Josh Chamberlain, said the organization has already been composting in town since 2018 and they are happy with the progress that has already been made.

"Last year, we moved around 230,000 pounds of food waste and this year we expect to move between 500 to 750,000 pounds," Chamberlain said, "so it should bring our grand total of food waste since 2018 to 1 million pounds."

GO GREEN OC has expanded their composting efforts. Last year they had 11 restaurants composting and this year they have nearly 30. They hope to have more restaurants in Ocean City sign on. 

While some may question how hard it is for restaurants to separate trash from compost, especially when it gets busy in the restaurant during the summer, Taylor McDermott is a server at Fish Tales restaurant and said the staff at her restaurant will make the transition to compost and get used to it.

"It's really easy on the back line to differentiate a black trash bag and a black or dark bin and a green bag in a green bin full of food," McDermott said. 

But with new processes coming to Ocean City, the sentiment is the same: the future of the environment in Ocean City is the main concern.

One GO GREEN OC volunteer Sophia Seufert said that "the more we take care of Ocean City, the longer it's going to be able to be this place where people are able to make their living and come and enjoy the city and the water."