Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
She got a pickup truck, but even that wasn't enough. However Tashjian was determined not to <br />give up. <br />"One day, I was talking about all this to my boyfriend <br />who is a welder, truck driver and a master mechanic, <br />and he said `Why don't you just try to do it yourself?' <br />And I was like `Well, I don't drive trucks, I don't know <br />how to build composting bins,' and he was like `Well, <br />duh, I can help you with that.' And that's pretty much <br />how I started," she said. <br />With the help of her boyfriend, Matthew Scannella, <br />Tashjian bought "a slow- moving kind of Frankenstein <br />truck" that she named "Torty." She and Scannella <br />retrofitted the vehicle to be able to pick up dumpsters <br />and roll away totes, so it could service businesses <br />just like a waste management truck would. <br />Six to eight months later, she got a loan, which <br />enabled her to trade in her startup truck for two rear - <br />loading garbage trucks. It's been two years since <br />Tashjian started Compost Crusader and just last <br />month, the company picked up 115,000 pounds of <br />organic material — more than four times the weight she was handling when she started in 2014, <br />reports the Journal Sentinel. <br />Although Tashjian is trying to have a big impact on food waste, as a waitress, she does have a <br />small tip for everyday diners who want to do their part. "I often suggest that people split items <br />when I think their eyes are bigger than their stomachs," she said. "I mean, they could always <br />order more later if they want. The kitchen's not going anywhere." <br />Tashjian with her proper truck. <br />