Meet Joe D’Esposito of lincoln Park/West Wash Park

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joe D’Esposito.

Hi Joe, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I moved to Denver from New York where I grew up, in 2015. Since then, I’ve made my living as a musician here. With live music being hard to come by through the pandemic, my time and focus shifted towards composting and growing food in Denver. Over the past 5 years, though, I’ve been shifting my focus towards waste reduction, urban agriculture, food security, and composting. After transitioning to a zero direct waste lifestyle in 2017, doors began to open in sharing waste reduction strategies and urban agriculture and sustainability education. In May of 2021, I began working with Mile High 360, a remarkable youth resource center in Denver, to teach composting and gardening. There, I get to pair my composting initiative, “Soil Cycle” with education. Students age 13-25 and I build compost bins, collect organic waste via bicycle, and garden to promote food security and make our city more livable for ourselves and wildlife. So far, we’ve kept about 4 tons of waste out of landfills, biked over 1,000 miles and have created 5 cubic yards of compost.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Growing food, producing as little trash and recycling as possible, composting, cultivating communal momentum, and teaching present their challenges. If I could identify an obstacle that ties them all together, I’d say it’s probably the frequency of failure. Failure should be regular as a beginner in anything, but as a beginner in all of these things, sometimes I found it hard to bounce back. At the end of the day, though, I love the work, and I love the learning. Sure, it’s hard to ride a bicycle 5 miles with a trailer that is hauling 200lbs lumber taken out of a dumpster (we’ll get there), but it’s a challenge that I feel propelled by, rather than discouraged by.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As an individual, I try my best to live a zero-direct waste life. This means not throwing out or recycling anything for as long as possible. I’ve got a good streak going of about 4 years of not having to use a trash can or recycling bin. To do this, I buy food in bulk without packaging or in compostable materials, I make my own cleaning/beauty products and make garden projects, home repairs, clothing, and gifts almost entirely from things found in the lovely dumpsters and alleyways of Denver.

As a musician, I’m known as an improvisation-centric fiddle and cello player. I’m not sure if music will always be my profession but I’m sure I’ll always love it. My favorite roll to fill musically is that of the invisible side-person. I love accompanying a singer or being a part of a band where I can nudge momentum or introduce something new to the listener, enhancing the sound and feeling of what’s going on without ever distracting from the musical focus. To my students at Mile High 360, I’m known as “Compost Man” partly because they can’t remember my name, but I don’t feel too motivated to change that as “Compost man” feels like a badge of honor to me.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
If you’d like to stay in touch, I send out an email to about 175 friends per week called “Trash Talk”. There, we discuss a waste reduction, sustainability, and a whole host of other Earth-friendly things. If you’d like to go on a compost collection bike ride, come volunteer at Mile High 360, and you’ll get to take over Denver with 10-20 middle/high schoolers on bikes collecting coffee grounds.

Contact Info:

• Email: jdesposito2@gmail.com