Rust Belt Riders: Nathan Rutz on Cooperatives and Scaling up

Today, I’m thrilled to share my conversation with Nathan. He’s the Director of Soil and a long-time force behind Rust Belt Riders, a cooperative composting operation that’s grown from bicycles and buckets to launching a mid-scale compost facility. Their story is truly inspiring—not just because of the growth, but because of how intentionally they’ve done it.

We talk about the early days, what it’s been like to scale, and the importance of their unique cooperative business structure—which sets them apart in the composting world. And toward the end of the conversation, Nathan shares his beautiful vision of a compost-centric utopian future. It’s heartfelt, imaginative, and honestly, something we could all use a bit more of.

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