Meet the Composter: Carol Renninger

Carol Renninger and Eva

Carol Renninger and her small mixed breed dog, Jackson, regularly visit Back to Earth Compost Crew at the Ambler Collection Site. Jackson is one of the newest composters, as Carol rescued him from the SPCA about six months ago.

Jackson is helping Carol to mend the hole left in her heart after her sweet Greyhound, Eva, crossed the Rainbow Bridge in October 2021. Carol never wanted a small dog. She always had dogs over 45 pounds, until 18-pound Jackson reminded her of a mini Greyhound with his ears flopped forward and showed a white patch on his chest—just like her beloved Eva.

Composting through Back to Earth is just one of Carol’s many sustainable practices. She has reusable fabric grocery totes from Trader Joe’s that she has been using for over 20 years! She recycles and donates unused items whenever possible. Carol donates to Nova Thrift Store in the Doylestown area (which benefits Network of Victim Assistance), Habitat for Humanity Restore and Green Drop regularly. She drives a small, fuel-efficient car. Carol also subscribed to Hungry Harvest and was happy to keep produce that might not sell at a grocery store out of landfills.

Carol grew up in Abington and now lives in a 55 and over community. She has surpassed retirement age but continues to work because she loves her job. Carol went to Penn State for design, co-owned a wall-stenciling business and worked in a real estate office before going back to school at Widener to earn a degree in Behavioral Health, which is her passion! Her career relocated her to New Mexico for several years, followed by a few years in Central Pennsylvania. Carol was happy to return to Montgomery County in 2014 to be closer to family.

Carol has two children, a son and a daughter, as well as two grandsons. They are a three-generation Penn State family, as Carol and her daughter are alumni, and her grandson is currently enrolled as a freshman. When Carol packed up her belongings to move to New Mexico, her story had an interesting twist: instead of becoming an empty nester, SHE left the nest! Her son helped her pack, drove to New Mexico in the moving truck and purchased the family home from Carol.

Carol dabbled in composting before using Back to Earth. She dug a hole in her garden for food scraps to help nourish the soil. She always had an interest in composting and recycling. And, she has a pet peeve: when people do not flatten their boxes for recycling.

Carol has a couple of favorite things about Back to Earth. She has enjoyed meeting members of the Crew and she appreciates getting gorgeous compost to provide nourishment for her plants and soil. Carol states, “What I like about Back to Earth Compost is the passion, the love of taking care of the planet, and educating us about climate change specifics – cause and effect details, bringing it home. I've learned so much over the last two years.” She has discovered tips and information during chats while dropping off scraps and through online training opportunities.

Carol likes to cook and is currently interested in transitioning to a plant-based diet. She mentions, “I also started sprouting again. I juiced many years ago, but now use a Vitamix and don't throw away all that pulp. Oh...what I didn't know then!” After being introduced to Simple Green Smoothies in 2020, Carol makes smoothies regularly. She also makes her own almond milk! When she lived in Central PA, Carol belonged to a CSA, went to cooking classes at a local farm where she picked up her CSA portion.

Carol also likes to garden and read mysteries. She has one raised garden bed and another one to start this year. She likes to grow herbs, veggies, and adds native plants.

She has always liked gadgets and technology and has created her own smart home with ability to activate light bulbs, door locks, thermostats, etc. through her phone. Jackson benefits from the smart home with an Echo Dot that plays Yo-Yo Ma for him and a camera that allows Carol to watch him remotely.

Thanks to sweet Eva, Carol has a fondness for all things Greyhound. When she adopted Eva, she learned that the Greyhound community is like a family. The Greyhound family regularly gathered for classes, conferences, walks and even wine tours. Greyhound gatherings resulted in lots of keepsakes and collectibles, ranging from event t-shirts to blankets, original artwork and pillows. Carol has a Greyhound-themed bathroom, complete with a Greyhound shower curtain!

Despite Carol’s love for her job, she is starting to think about retirement. She looks forward to focusing time on gardening, taking lots of long walks with Jackson and tackling creative projects that have been waiting for her attention, like mosaics, sewing, quilting, stained glass, ceramics and more.

Back to Earth Compost Crew is happy to have Carol in our composting community!