A Letter from Moriah:

Sometimes opportunities come along, and saying ‘Yes!’ to them both makes sense and feels right. Whether you believe it’s the Universe, God, chance, or a combination of all three, it feels like a gift when things line up in ways that seem serendipitous. That is how I feel about the reason for this announcement. All the effort that has gone into growing glass recycling in Madison County has brought me to an opportunity that feels like a no-brainer. 

I am excited to announce that Phoenix Glass Recycling is merging with NewTerra Compost, based out of Chattanooga, to have a larger impact on Northern Alabama, together.

Phoenix will continue to operate and offer glass recycling under the NewTerra Compost name, and I will be managing all our recycling and composting efforts in Madison County. We (our administrator, Shea, our driver, Kevin, and I) are excited to soon be able to offer you more services and better customer tools!

For some background, I met Norm Lavoie and Michael Ryan, the owners of NewTerra Compost, during the South Star Music Festival in 2023, and we hit it off. They have a similar origin story as both our companies were formed in 2020 in response to a need for more sustainable waste options in each of our communities. Over the past few years, we realized that we could have a larger impact if we combined our efforts, skills, and resources. Norm, Michael, and I all have a similar drive to provide the best customer service we can while also keeping our environmental impact in mind with every decision.

In the world of small business, and especially in sustainability, where a lot of the work is HARD, tasks that need to be done float up to leadership instead of trickling down.  Shovelling literal tons of material, working events, picking up driver collection routes, working to build our sustainable communities, and doing all of these things in the early morning, late into the night, and into weekends; these are just some of the things I have prioritized to make sure Phoenix continues to be a positive force in the world. The same is true for Norm and Michael. We show up. We get the work done, even when it’s hard, even when it's inconvenient, because we know the work is important. This is why I feel so confident that this partnership is going to thrive. 

As we join forces (eco-friendly Power Rangers style), we look forward to beginning to offer residential compost services to Madison County, in addition to the compostable product sales and commercial compost services NewTerra has already begun in North Alabama.

My decision to merge with NewTerra was made with care, a decent amount of consultation, and a huge amount of consideration for all the work I’ve put into Phoenix, as well as everyone who has worked for or with me along the way. This recycling community has impacted me (and our local ecosystem) in an incredible way, and I can’t wait to see what we can do next as part of NewTerra Compost. I’m not going anywhere, you’ll still see me at Green Team litter pick-ups, community events like Green Thinks, and giving tours to friends and family at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, the logo on my shirt will just be different.

I appreciate everyone who has encouraged me to keep going, in any way, big or small. It has been wonderful learning how much starting Phoenix meant to you all. I’m still working hard to make the world a better place, and joining efforts with Norm, Michael, and the NewTerra Compost team is the best way to increase our impact. 

As always, please feel free to reach out with any questions, and more information will be sent over the next few days. As with any adjustment, we expect a few bumps to be unavoidable, but we are working hard to make this a seamless transition. Our customer support will continue with the same high standards, ready to help smooth out any issues, and we are excited to share all the new opportunities to reduce your carbon footprint in the coming weeks.

Thank you again for trusting me, for being part of this cooperative work, and for supporting an effort that means so much to all of us. I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in this next chapter.

Moriah J. Fordham

Things to know during this transition:

• Your glass recycling subscription will remain unchanged unless you choose to modify it.

• Your subscription pricing will not change unless you decide to switch to a different plan.

• Your billing date will stay the same, with billing for service in May, on April 28th 2026, reflecting your usual charge amount but showing as NEWTERRA COMPOST on your bank or credit card statement.

• You will be receiving several communications from NewTerra Compost in the coming days regarding access to your new account portal and updates to how On Demand Collections and bin orders are scheduled.

• NewTerra Compost communications will come from:

Shea@newterracompost.com and

Customerservice@newterracompost.com

(Please save these to prevent missing important communications)

• You will be given the option to opt into SMS Text Reminders for your collections once you've accessed your account in the NewTerra Compost Portal.

• Pre-registration for residential compost collections is now open at NewTerraCompost.com - Click the ‘Sign up for Curbside’ button below the banner, and you'll be notified when compost services begin for Madison County.

• Our posted policies, terms and conditions, and collection guidelines will remain in effect and enforced for glass recycling subscriptions, with updates for compost services.

As always, we appreciate your ongoing support and patience and are happy to address any questions, concerns, or needs via email.