Meet Anthony Woo, teen whose composting service diverted 300,000lb of waste

Image: Left/Barron Prize for Young Heroes/Right/Canva

Free curbside composting in New Jersey has diverted more than 300,000 pounds of food waste from landfills through Torus, a youth-led nonprofit co-founded by Anthony Woo. Torus says it serves more than 1,000 households and local businesses, collecting food scraps from the curb every other week at no cost to participants.

Anthony was 17 when the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes named him a 2025 runner-up for co-founding the free service. Based in West Windsor, the student-led nonprofit says composting through its service has so far reduced greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1,140,000 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Why Anthony Woo started a free composting service after seeing food thrown away in dining halls

According to the Barron Prize and Torus, Anthony began his work after seeing uneaten food repeatedly dumped into trash bins in dining halls.

He pitched the idea of a free curbside composting service for households and businesses to several friends, who jumped on board. Once the group had secured initial grant funding, he went door to door urging people to compost. He collected plenty of rejections, he said, but slowly gathered sign-ups, and learned that “persistence isn’t just part of the process, it is the process”.The service launched in 2024. By the time the Barron Prize announced its winners in September 2025, it had served over 500 households and diverted more than 200,000 pounds of food waste.

Anthony was then aiming to reach 1,000 households by the end of that year while expanding into more communities.

Image: Canva

How Torus works with doorstep buckets, free pickups every other week and a trip to Trenton Renewables

Residents sign up through the Torus website, and anyone inside the service area has a compost bucket delivered to their doorstep within a few days. Every other week, they leave the full bucket at the curb, and a Torus driver takes the food waste to Trenton Renewables, which Torus says turns it into clean, renewable energy.The group also runs workshops, partners with town governments and uses a merit system that lets households track their waste reduction and carbon savings. People outside the service area shown on its July 2026 map can join a waitlist, and those living outside New Jersey can subscribe to a mailing list.

How Torus pays for free composting, with backing from Google, Walmart and local organisations

To fund the free service, the group had raised more than $75,000 from individuals and companies, including Walmart and Google, by September 2025.

Torus’s website now lists supporters such as the Clif Family Foundation, the Joseph Robert Foundation, The Lawrenceville School, Stop & Shop and Wegmans.Will Grasty, vice president of Cocovibe, said in a message published on the site that the company is proud to empower Torus to do more great things for the future, the planet and its people.

Rising Star Award, composting finalist and grant shortlist mark a busy 2026 for Torus

In 2026, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection recognised Torus with a Rising Star Award for its student-led work to expand access to food-scrap collection in the state.

The certificate shown on the Torus website is dated 28 October 2026. Torus was also a finalist in the 2026 Emerging Composter Challenge, run by the United States Composting Council, presenting its approach at the COMPOST2026 conference in Sacramento.

It appeared as well among seven teams shortlisted for the 2026 Shift Impact Grant, which highlights practical approaches to climate action.Anthony S. Verrelli, executive director of the Mercer County Improvement Authority, said in a statement published on the Torus site that the authority commends Torus for its leadership in advancing the project. He praised its grassroots expertise, commitment to public education and partnerships with organisations such as Trenton Renewables.