The vision for Key Compost started during Phil Westcott’s time as a photographer for Land Management Agencies such as The National Park Service and U.S. Fish & Wildlife. The photography work exposed him to several people and places of our world that that are being highly affected by our changing climate. Fast forward a few years, and Phil found himself working a bit outside the realms of environmental science. A course with the Institute for Local Self Reliance in 2014 reawakened Phil’s interest in composting and set the course for his full-time involvement in the industry. Shortly after taking this course, Frederick launched the “What’s Next” process where the municipality studied new solutions to its increasing solid waste complications. The culmination of these two things were a sign to Phil that the time to implement and pursue large scale change was now.