We are in Phase 1: building infrastructure and launching our pilot. Full services are not yet available.
Ecoloop LLC is based in Salem, Oregon. We collect discarded material, process it, and return it as products and soil instead of sending it to the landfill. Less waste, usable goods.
Ecoloop exists to close the waste loop. Discarded material comes in. Products, soil, and paid work go back out. We run a circular system: collect, process, return, so less ends up in the landfill, more stays in use, and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities have real work inside that process. In 10 years we intend to handle 500,000 pounds of material a year and help stand up 50 community gardens.
We keep building and inventing ways to turn waste into resources, diverting material from landfills, closing the loop, and leaving the place better than we found it. That work is for the people who come after us, and in honor of the people who came before.
Ecoloop is built as one connected system. Each wing supports the others.
Ecoloop is built to serve customers. Collection is one of those services, not the only one. We also take on work such as junk removal, landscaping, and other practical jobs that keep material out of the landfill. What those services bring in becomes feedstock for the production wing.
Material from our services moves into production. We process it into usable products, currently small-batch goods such as calendula salve and handmade paper, and grow that capacity as the business grows.
Services and production create the work. Volunteer roles, paid jobs, and community gardens are built into that system, including opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Phase 1
We are building infrastructure and launching our pilot. Full services are not available yet. We share this openly so you can trust what we say about timing and availability.
Our growth is planned in phases so we can deliver what we promise.
Building the foundation and launching our pilot so we can grow responsibly.
Launch of organic waste collection and landscaping services in our service areas.
Community gardens, IDD employment and volunteer opportunities, plus expansion of services, products, and material types.
Michael Shaw
Founder, Ecoloop LLC
I grew up in Salem and watched quality of life slowly decline. Industrial farming destroying the soil. Over-processed food swapping nutrients for chemicals. Less community and more isolation. The longer we wait to change, the harder it will be to build the future I want for my children.
I’m recently married and work full time supporting individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. My wife and I want to raise a large family. I believe as a society we have chosen convenience over long-term health, and short-term gain over future stability. I know that if I do nothing, my children and grandchildren will not have the kind of future I hope for them. I want them to grow up proud of their community, with even bigger dreams of paying it forward for their children.
I cannot look at this and say, “Someone should do something.” I have the responsibility to do everything I can.
I know how beneficial community integration can be. While working with both students and adults with IDD, I have seen how meaningful work and real community integration reduce challenging behaviors and open the door to a fuller life and joy that spreads to everyone around. I am grateful for the life I have. It was built by past generations who worked to make things better for those after them. They didn’t wait for the right time. They just started. That legacy comes with responsibility. I want to pay it forward for everyone after me.
That’s why I started Ecoloop. By turning waste into resources, we can build opportunities for meaningful growth in our community and improve the quality of our soil and food. Closing the loop on waste is my way to give more than I take, and to do everything I can to give our children a brighter future.
I can see a stunning future where we close the loop on waste, grow healthy food together, and build community, where our grandchildren keep innovating new solutions and expanding even to the stars. So every new generation starts with more possibilities than the last.
Small and consistent steps will change the world. I hope you’ll follow along with me.
I appreciate you taking the time to read.
Ecoloop Founder Michael Shaw
