Composting – Institute for Local Self-Reliance: Recent Episodes

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Are you interested in bringing benefits of community composting to your area but feel unsure how the model could scale to meet high demand? Are you a community composter that wants to grow your operation in a competitive landscape, but wonders how to do so without compromising your values? Register for this webinar to hear how three successful community composting businesses navigated scaling up their operations, while staying true to the distributed operations and mission-driven focus that set community composting apart. Topics covered will include cooperative structures, partnerships with local farmers and gardens, hub-and-spoke models of growth, community engagement, and more!

This webinar will feature presentations from three community composters followed by a moderated panel discussion and Q&A.

Date: Thursday, May 23rd, 2023Time: 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. ETREGISTER HERESuggested donation: $20DONATE HEREA recording of this webinar will be made available to those who register.

This webinar is one in a series the Institute for Local Self-Reliance offers to support a distributed and diverse composting infrastructure that includes community-sized and on-farm composting.

This webinar is Part 1 of 2 in a Scaling Up Community Composting webinar series the Institute for Local Self-Reliance offers to support a distributed and diverse composting infrastructure that includes community-sized and on-farm composting. To view and listen to our past composting-related webinar recordings, click HERE.

PRESENTER & PANELISTS

| Kristie Blumer – Senior Director of Composting, Compost Crew Kristie's passion is identifying sustainable solutions to connect people to the environment. Kristie has over 13 years of waste management experience from hazardous waste remediation to food waste recycling. She now leads the composting division at Compost Crew, a mission-driven food scrap recycling and composting business that services more than 20,000 homes, businesses, and municipalities in the Washington, DC metro region. | | David Paull – Chief Impact Officer, CompostNow David Paull is co-founder and Chief Impact Officer at CompostNow. CompostNow is an award winning compost solutions provider for organics recycling with expertise in the hauling, logistics, consultation, production, and distribution of compost. Founded in 2011, CompostNows’ mission is to make composting easy. Since 2011, CompostNow has diverted 75 million pounds of food waste from landfills and created 24 million pounds of finished compost for local farms and gardens. David has been highly involved in food waste circularity, food systems, and social entrepreneurship for the past decade. He currently serves as a commissioner on the East Point Local Food System Ecosystem Commission, as a Board Member of the Southface Institute, and is the founding Board Chair of the Georgia Compost Council. With a design degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design, David applies design thinking to advance circular solutions at the intersection of planetary and human health. | | Michael Robinson – Co-founder, Rust Belt Riders Michael is a co-founder and worker-owner at Rust Belt Riders+Tilth Soil, an organization dedicated to transforming regional food systems through the creation of soil blends from food waste. RBR+Tilth’s vision is to build a regenerative solidarity economy that improves food security and combats climate change.He also serves on the board of Cleveland Owns, an economic democracy incubator that builds cooperative businesses and leads campaigns for community control of resources. When he’s not working, he likes to read, cook, help on his wife's flower farm, and nap with his cats. Michael is an Echoing Green Climate Fellow and an Environmental Leadership Program Senior Fellow. |

MODERATOR

| Clarissa Libertelli – Coordinator, Community Composter CoalitionInstitute for Local Self-RelianceClarissa coordinates the Community Composter Coalition, a network with over 300 organizational members in 47 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 9 other countries, hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Her work involves convening networking and knowledge-sharing events for community composters, producing resources and infographics to support community composting, and more. |

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Across the country, a growing number of States are considering and adopting healthy soils policies, though very few of these policies recognize compost application as a proven soil health-building practice. This presents an unprecedented opportunity to both promote composting and connect the practice to soil health and climate protection.

Soil, home to 59% of life on earth, provides life-sustaining ecosystem services including support for human food systems and climate change mitigation. The addition of compost to soil is among the fastest ways of replenishing soil organic matter, which not only protects soil health, but is also likely to increase soil carbon storage – especially in depleted soils.

Composting also provides unique opportunities to facilitate circular and holistic food systems by linking food waste diversion efforts to regenerative soil practices, and urban centers to areas of food production. However, policy is needed to encourage and invest in the production of high-quality compost and its application to land to maximize the benefits to soils, farms, and climate.

This Healthy Soils and Compost Policy Guide provides an overview of the overlap between healthy soils and compost in policy, as well as opportunities for policy to advance soil health practices, high-quality compost production, and compost use throughout the country. It is designed for advocates, policymakers, and curious minds to explore a menu of policy avenues to address the critical need to both build soil health and divert organic materials from disposal via compost.

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Download the Guide HereThis guide was originally published in October 2023 and updated in April 2024 with refined framing and information on contamination, incorporating valuable stakeholder feedback. We intend to update this document as the landscape progresses, if you have suggestions of sample policies we might have missed, let us know (email sjones@ilsr.org).

Thanks to Steven Keleti and for his support in the creation of this guide.

Watch our December 2023 webinar featuring this guide and presentations from healthy soil policy experts here

To share these materials under creative commons license, free of cost, we request you credit the Institute for Local Self-Reliance by including the following:

Source: Sophia Jones and Linda Bilsens Brolis, Healthy Soils and Compost Policy Guide: Synergies and Opportunities, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2023 (ilsr.org/healthy-soils-compost-policy-guide). Reprinted with permission.

Check out our Infographics: Compost Impacts More Than You Think * How Composting Combats the Climate Crisis * Compost for a Better Planet * Hierarchy to Reduce Food Waste and Grow Community*

Watch ILSR’s On-Farm Composting and Compost Use webinar series

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Learn more about your impact — View the sponsorship one-pager here.

Support the 8th National Cultivating Community Composting (CCC) Forum, October 17-19, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio! This year will focus on cultivating a sustainable community composting movement through connection and collective problem-solving. You can learn about the impact of last year’s forum in BioCycle.

The scholarship fund helps us bring more community composters to the event – especially those from underserved areas and chronically disenfranchised identities – and cover their travel, registration, and workshop costs. Last year, 83 of the 189 attendees received scholarships in order to attend. While contributions will primarily cover our scholarship fund, they also will fund also our networking reception, printed agendas/materials, and other direct expenses.

Any amount is welcome and will be put to good use. Sponsor below!Follow the Institute for Local Self-Reliance on Twitter and Facebook and, for monthly updates on our work, sign up for our ILSR general newsletter.

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DIY Screener at BK ROT

Composting equipment is typically not readily available in sizes that community sites can use. This is true for turning and mixing systems as well as compost trommel screeners and sifters. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” In this age of open-source collaboration, it is encouraging to note that there is an entire online community of folks in various countries sharing trommel screen designs. The same basic rotating cylinder design is available in different configurations: manual turning, bicycle powered, motorized, and solar powered. Many utilize repurposed materials such as bike wheel rims. Users share their YouTube videos, modify each other’s designs, then come back to post their improved versions.

Download DIY Trommel

Do It Yourself Trommel is a step-by-step guide by Bruno Navarro of Nexus Bau to building an electric trommel compost screener intended for use at community gardens, schools, urban farms, and other community venues. ILSR supported Bruno in documenting his design in this guide. This screener design is not a new design but rather modifies a common design to incorporate a metal frame rather than a wooden one. In general, metal is stronger and less prone to cracking and rot than wood. To build it, knowledge in welding, electronics, hand tools, and common sense is needed. Find one or more individuals in your community versed in the areas you might not have training or expertise in.

DIY Screener at BK ROT

This design was first built and installed at BK ROT, a youth-engaged community composting operation in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. By increasing the site’s capacity to screen compost, BK ROT was able to double the radius of clients it served. Bruno also partnered with the Lower East Side Ecology Center to build the trommel screener at East NY Farms over two weekends (2 hours each day), collaborating with the community and staff. It’s also been replicated at GoodLife Garden and two other New York City sites. In New York City, materials and labor are expensive and might run ~$5,000. The design can be scaled up and tailored to different needs.

Watch Youtube instructions: NexusBau – Making A Compost Trommel (15 min.) or download the PDF instructions.

About Bruno NarravoBruno is a freelance woodworker, designer, inventor, and video producer. He graduated from The Cooper Union in 2008 with a B.S. Architecture degree. In 2010, he formed a design/build company called “NexusBAU” in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, that focuses on unique and singular custom works. Since then he has worked not only with private clients but nonprofit organizations, community gardens, and The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. He has also taught “How To” classes to individuals who have been marginalized in our society.

All photo credit: BK ROT Instagram

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For Immediate Release: March 13, 2024Media Contact: Reggie Rucker

Institute for Local Self-Reliance Launches BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program in New England Coastal States[WASHINGTON, DC] – Several New England states have enacted legislation to divert wasted food from disposal, mainly targeting large generators. With the focus on addressing industrial sites, there is a notable lack of support for schools, community gardens, and urban farms in historically excluded neighborhoods to establish a local circular economy.

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is proud to announce the launch of the BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program. The program aims to support new or existing local community composters in coastal states in New England and is specifically geared toward BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving organizations, Native Nations, and those working in historically excluded neighborhoods. This new opportunity is made possible by 11th Hour Racing’s grant program, funded by The Schmidt Family Foundation.

Through the BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program, ILSR will provide $100,000 in sub-grants to as many as ten selected projects. Grants will range from a minimum of $5,000 to a maximum of $20,000.

“This dedicated focus on BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving community composters is long overdue,” said Brenda Platt, director of ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative, about the grant program. “These are the communities that for decades have borne the brunt of neighborhood disinvestment, environmental racism, and the negative consequences of climate change. This grant program is one step toward the work society must continue doing to repair the harms of previous generations and restore access and opportunity to communities of color engaged in land stewardship and environmental preservation.”

Melvin Alvarez, grant program manager at 11th Hour Racing, added, “11th Hour Racing is committed to growing small, decentralized compost programs and infrastructure that benefits ocean and soil health. We are proud to support the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s efforts to grow composting in the northeast while prioritizing access and funding to communities of color.”

Eligibility for the program is open to BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving organizations, Native Nations, and those working in historically excluded neighborhoods. Projects must fund new or existing local community composting initiatives. Applicants must reside within a New England coastal state, including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The program welcomes a diverse range of applicants, including community gardens, educational institutions, farms, food co-ops, for-profits, governmental institutions, Native Nations, non-profits, and worker-owned co-ops.

The application period for the BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program opened on March 4, 2024, and runs through April 2, 2024. Interested individuals and organizations can apply by completing a written application or by submitting a video at ILSR.org. Information and applications are also available in Spanish.

Ashley Muspratt, the president and CEO of the Center for EcoTechnology (CET), expressed their support for the program, stating, “As an organization committed to advancing just and resilient climate solutions, CET deeply believes in supporting wasted food solutions that are BIPOC-led. This grant program has the potential to bring big picture concepts like ‘the circular economy’ down to a local level while centering Black, Indigenous, and people of color that are already doing this important work.”

Ella Kilpatrick Kotner, Harvest Cycle Compost program coordinator at Groundwork RI, added, “We are thrilled by the announcement of the BIPOC Composter Mini-Grant Program! Community composting not only reduces organic waste sent to landfills but creates more resilient and sustainable communities by connecting people with their neighbors, returning nutrients to soils, creating good green jobs, and closing the loop between food production, consumption, and discards. Funding BIPOC organizations working within these communities to create the alternative infrastructure that will turn waste into wealth is not only critical but makes perfect sense.”

For more information about the BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program and to apply, please visit the ILSR website. Together, we can build resilient and sustainable communities while fostering equity and inclusivity in the composting sector.

About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, founded in 1974, is a national research, advocacy, and technical assistance organization that empowers communities to take charge of their local resources, economies, and environmental future. Through its Composting for Community Initiative, ILSR promotes distributed and diverse local composting across the country, aiming to cut food loss, enhance soils and watersheds, support local food production, and protect the climate while addressing community prosperity and equity.

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Reneé’s journey began with a simple idea: composting isn’t just about reducing waste — it’s about building communities. Reneé V. Wallace, executive director at FoodPLUS Detroit, empowers Detroiters to drive systemic change within themselves, their homes, and throughout their community. Through innovative pilot projects like banding neighbors together to utilize alleys for community projects, partnering with farmers’ markets to pick up wasted food, and creating compost systems at universities to build bridges between farmers and students, Reneé is revolutionizing how we think about sustainability. By fostering collaboration and community engagement, Reneé is not only transforming Detroit’s economy but also nurturing a more resilient and sustainable future for all.

Related ResourcesFoodPLUS Detroit

Compost Pilot Program at Wayne State University

Detroit City Council Green Task Force Organics Recycling Program

The Stewardship Network: Reneé V. Wallace

Georgia Street Community Collective Farm

Transcript

| Reggie Rucker: | Hello and welcome back to another episode of Building Local Power Detroit, our first stop in a multi-city series where we explore how to build local power from the experiences of people who are doing just that on the ground in their respective cities. These are the people who are proving what’s possible when a community comes together to shape its future. We’ll talk to community leaders, advocates, activists, entrepreneurs, and elected officials, all who have powerful stories about the drive to write Detroit’s next chapter. We think these stories will be illuminating in their own right, but we hope they’ll also inspire you on your journey to build local power wherever you’re listening from. I’m so excited to do this tour with my co-host, Luke Gannon. What’s up, Luke? | | Luke Gannon: | Hey, Reggie. I am doing pretty well. It’s been super sunny in Minneapolis this week, which has really lifted my spirits, so that’s been lovely. How are you doing? | | Reggie Rucker: | I’m doing well, Luke. I’m doing well. But first I need to apologize. I’m sorry I don’t have any throwback jams for you today, so I’m truly sorry. But I’m excited about this episode nonetheless. And the reason why I’m excited is we’ve done composting episodes before and they’re always really great, always learn something new. But what I think is really special about what you’re going to hear from Renee, our guest today, is that this isn’t so much a composting story as it is a community story. It’s a story about building networks and coalitions and partnerships to join forces with people who share a common cause with you. Even if they may not know it initially, but you help them find it, you help them see it. It takes a certain type of creativity and really brilliance in the truest sense of the word to make certain projects come together. And Renee is that creative and brilliant in spades. So, Luke, I’ll let you go ahead and take the story from here. | | Luke Gannon: | So today on the show, Renee V. Wallace from FoodPLUS Detroit shares how she has built a strong network of organizations piloting programs that focus on community sustainability. Through her efforts, she has united people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to create sustainable change. Here’s Renee. | | Reneé Wallace: | I am Renee V. Wallace, and I lead a nonprofit called FoodPLUS Detroit. And we have a composting initiative called the People’s Compost Initiative, and it was one of our first inaugural programs when we started FoodPLUS back in 2014. I tell people I’m part contagion and part evangelist, so I’m out really looking at composting from a systems perspective in terms of how we do this work. And so last year I moved from just… not just, but talking with others about the whats, whys, hows, and all of that, to actually entering into a partnership to actually start a composting business. So I tell people, you get close to this, be careful. Because we really are looking for everyone to find their place in it. I firmly believe that. | | And so FoodPLUS Detroit, when we started the organization, originally it was an idea of Michigan State University. They were looking to develop this network of innovation coalitions across the world, and they selected seven cities, and one US city was in Detroit, all the others were at other places. And so myself and Kathryn Lynch Underwood, we explored that. And we were like, “Okay, so one more non-profit for what?” Detroit is just very, very well known for urban agricultural work, and so the start of this was from a food systems perspective, close the loop, right? And when we were looking at the landscape of what was being done at that time, now mind you, this was 2012, 13 when we were making these decisions, there was a big, big gap in composting. | | Back then even if you Googled food waste, you would be back on page 15 on Google at that time. Well, fast-forward, it’s in our faces now. But that wasn’t true then. People who were using compost were finding that they had to… We had to always bring it in. We had to bring it in. And it was like, no, we can do this. And so I didn’t know anything about composting. I tell people, to all the folks that say I don’t know anything. I’m like, “Good, that’s a great place to start.” But you can make it accessible at so many different levels. That’s my belief. I’m a systems person. System process change is what I do. | | Luke Gannon: | Renee has been involved in composting since its earliest murmurs, while always conscious of the significance of food systems. It wasn’t until she immersed herself in composting that she truly grasped its profound importance in both the community and the environment. | | Reneé Wallace: | When it first started out, it was about the food system. Let’s close the loop. It makes sense. It was food. As I often say to people, everybody eats, we ate, but we don’t eat everything. So what happens to the food that we didn’t eat? So what’s going to happen to that food? And along the way, it evolved from being just about the system closing the loop because you can rescue food and feed more people. You can take the food and feed the animals. For me, the conversation started to shift from not just about the food system, but when I learned about compost, compost has superpowers. It’s more of a city’s systems solution. It’s a soil-based solution because once you get away from composting, the act itself, you start to look at compost, the product. And what does compost in soil do? It not only improves the quality of the soil for growing the food, it’s going to improve the quality of the soil to have the plant sequester even carbon. It’s going to improve the quality of the soil so that water can infiltrate and you stop flooding my dog on basement. | | Luke Gannon: | Compost forms a vital network connecting a multitude of organisms. It nourishes humans with food, provides essential nutrients for plant growth and vitality, and contributes to the development of resilient infrastructure, ensuring strong foundations for our environment. | | Reneé Wallace: | As I started to have a deeper understanding of the power of compost, it started to shift the conversation about it. I talk about it in terms of what do we have a need for. I’m not talking to you about just composting or compost itself, I’m talking to you about what is happening in the quality of our life. If our basements are flooding, if people are dying from heat, okay, let’s plant some trees. How about we plant some dog on trees? How about we make the soil good so the trees have a good start? Because oftentimes the trees don’t do well because the soil is not well. So if we can build healthy soil, then we can build solutions. | | Luke Gannon: | Every single day we make a choice. The majority of people want at least some of the same things, clean air, clean water, and healthy food. We have the power to contribute in having that. If we make the choice to compost our food, instead of putting it in the landfill. | | Reneé Wallace: | Accessible first in people’s minds, I tell people, listen, in kindergarten, I’m going to take you all the way back. What’s the first thing they taught us in kindergarten? Where everything goes. Everything had a place in kindergarten, did it not? Now, you need to hang your coat right here. Put your shoes right here. Sit your little body part right here. This is where you put the books back. It’s the same thing. You are already making decisions, but help people shift the decision they make based on something they want. | | Luke Gannon: | Change is made in participatory democracies. Renee sees a clear pathway for sharing knowledge and creating participation. | | Reneé Wallace: | I frame it and I talk about it as the three EPs. The first EP is enabled policy. Second EP is enable public, and the third EP is enable practice. So enabled policy, you have to have an environment that allows for a thing to happen. The stewards of our cities and our counties and our states have to create a policy environment that enables us to do these things at whatever scale we want to do it. That’s the first EP. The second EP is we have to have enable public, we have to be people who are informed and understand why this is important to do and what our part is in doing it. One, do I want to participate in it, and will I lend my voice to the conversation that allows the stewards that are passing the policies to say yes? And then you have to have enable practice. You have to have people that know what the heck they’re doing. | | Luke Gannon: | The beautiful thing about composting is its accessibility, the potential to do it at every scale. | | Reneé Wallace: | We need to work out models that are going to allow us to put it in everybody’s reach. And when you have diverse scales, then you can build models that look different in different places so that you can make it accessible. A process I put in place a few years ago, I started doing pilots because I believe in demonstrating. We wanted to inform the policy. So how do you inform the policy? You inform the policy by demonstrating how to do it. | | One of my pilots, I paired… Wayne State University, they had been trying to do a compost program on their campus and had not been able to really get that going. I helped them design a program. So we built out programs on both sides. It’s like, okay, the university has the materials. We created a program, compost warrior student-led program. The students are collecting the materials. We get the services to let them use the trucks to bring the materials. We worked with the grounds department, which brought leaves over. We built this thing up and we built a community. We built a program, and we built a program in such a way that it was about integrating two communities, a city, and a campus community. | | Luke Gannon: | Renee is involved in multiple pilot projects, partnering with other organizations to create a cross-communal network that is driving collaboration and shared interest and making a sustainable difference across Detroit. | | Reneé Wallace: | So my third pilot, which is in the neighborhood where I live, are people who live in a really nice neighborhood and they decided to activate the alleys. So we started doing work in the alleys to activate the alleys. So we’ve been a part of the alley activation program. And we started to talk about, well, what are we going to do in these alleys and what are we going to do in the neighborhood? So people are growing food. It’s like, well, yeah, we got a few people interested in composting. So they’re backyard composters. And what we’re working toward is we’re going to build a shared system in the alley. We’ve networked, it’s either 12 or 18 alleys now. | | And so first it was, let’s go from green way to dream way. First of all, let’s just get them cleaned up where we can use them, they’re green, they’re beautiful. And now let’s dream what do we want to do in the alleys. So there’s a lot of different things going on, murals and other kinds of things. And so we’re going to build a system, a shared system, and drop-offs throughout the alley system. | | Luke Gannon: | Renee actively contributes to the Detroit City Council Green Task Force and played a pivotal role in establishing the Organics Recycling Committee within the Sustainability Advisory Group. In every initiative she undertakes, Renee prioritizes meeting people where they are, approaching each situation with understanding rather than coercion. | | Reneé Wallace: | If we want to be successful, it’s not about making it cookie-cutter per se. Now the process is a process, how you come to it is diverse. Look at what people want. Look at what people are doing. Look at where their heart is. What’s going to motivate them to come do this process, that’s what’s going to be different as you go from community to community. And here I am in Detroit, and if you’ve brought four other people here in Detroit, you’re going to get four different versions of what this looks and feels like. | | Detroit has been doing urban ag forever, and we chose strategically certain things that were not happening in the food system to say, hey, y’all, we can grow. We have a next. Let’s go. We’ve been doing it this way, now let’s do something else. And we picked composting as one of those what is next. This was back in the time, early on when the vertical gardening wasn’t popular, the new ways of growing food. So back in 2012, 13, 14, we were just really starting to innovate some of these ways. | | Luke Gannon: | Community organizing around farming has long been a staple in Detroit. Now the city is finally catching up, leveraging community input to drive policies that actively support farmers and composters alike. | | Reneé Wallace: | Presently, we’re working on the policy. In Michigan, landmark policy just passed Part 115, which has very, very significant compost standards and regulation. The whole state is moving away from disposal approaches to sustainable materials management. The policy is going to help drive the entire state. And so we had very limited policy at a local level. We had some language in our urban ag ordinance. And the language beyond that was the solid waste policy plan, advocating for policy that is tiered, so that depending on what I’m doing should dictate what the requirements are. And the state is such that we were able to raise the ceiling a bit on the state level, which gave us a little more room at a local level on what it is that we could put in place. And two of the bills in the package addressed composting in particular. | | Luke Gannon: | FoodPLUS Detroit is expanding its partnerships with farmer’s markets across the city to ensure that the food utilized at these markets is returned to the soil completing the cycle of sustainability. | | Reneé Wallace: | The vast majority of the composting right now is happening with people who are farming, people who are growing food. We have a network of community markets. We have like 20 community markets of farms and some farm stands around the city. So one of the pilots that I’m involved in now is we’re going to do drop-offs at three farmer’s markets to pilot it so that we can start to look at collecting materials first from behind the counter with the farmers and things that the food that doesn’t get eaten or sold, or it’s just scrapped and collecting that. And it goes back to the farms that are composting. And then hopefully, we’ll be able to expand that across all the markets. So then we can begin to educate and engage the people who come to the market. So look at the community and what they’re interested in. And so the policy has to change. So a number of people looking at it from diverse ways that meet the needs of our diverse population to me is what’s important. One message, but it’s multiple voices. | | Luke Gannon: | Wow. Well, thank you so much for letting us share your story on the show today, Renee, and for being a part of the movement to build local self-reliance in Detroit. | | Reggie Rucker: | Luke, as always, great job. Thank you so much. And Renee, thank you for reminding us of the humanity that we find when we connect with each other and the Earth that we live on and get life from. Always a welcome reminder. And thanks to all of you, our listeners, for tuning in. We’ll be back again in two weeks with another story out of Detroit. But in the meantime, check out the show notes from today’s episode to dive deeper into what we discussed today. And as always, you can visit ilsr.org for more on our work to fight corporate control and build local power. Or just send us an email to buildinglocalpower@ilsr.org to let us know what’s on your mind. This show is produced by Luke Gannon and me, Reggie Rucker. The podcast is edited by Luke Gannon and Tea Noelle. The music for the season is also composed by Tea Noelle. Thank you so much for listening to Building Local Power. |

If you want your city to be a focus in an upcoming season, send an email to buildinglocalpower@ilsr.org.

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Music Credit: Mattéa Overstreet

Photo Credit: Em McPhie, ILSR’s Digital Communications Manager

Podcast produced by Reggie Rucker and Luke Gannon

Podcast edited by Luke Gannon and Mattéa Overstreet

Copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license.

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Para esta información en inglés, haga clic aquí.

Las solicitudes ahora cierran el 7 de abril.El Instituto para la Autosuficiencia Local (ILSR) lanzará el Programa de Minisubvenciones para Compostadores Comunitarios que pertenezcan a la agrupación de personas negras, indígenas y de color (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, BIPOC). El programa es financiado por 11th Hour Racing, de la fundación The Schmidt Family Foundation, con el fin de brindar apoyo a los compostadores comunitarios nuevos o existentes de los estados costeros de Nueva Inglaterra. Los programas que soliciten financiación deben ser dirigidos por personas de la comunidad BIPOC o que presten servicios en la comunidad BIPOC, o implementarse en una comunidad indígena o en un vecindario históricamente excluido. Entregaremos $100,000 en minisubvenciones a los proyectos seleccionados, con un total de hasta diez subvenciones de $5,000 como mínimo y $20,000 como máximo.

Además de la financiación, los beneficiarios recibirán capacitación sobre compostaje en caliente, una beca para asistir al 8.º Foro Nacional Cultivating Community Composter, que se llevará a cabo en Cleveland, Ohio, en octubre de 2024, y acceso a la Coalición de Compostadores Comunitarios de ILSR, una red de compostadores comunitarios que establece relaciones, comparte lecciones aprendidas e inspira nuevas operaciones.

Diversos estados de Nueva Inglaterra han promulgado leyes para desviar los residuos alimentarios de los vertederos, dirigidas principalmente a los grandes generadores de residuos alimentarios. Si bien existe una gran cantidad de recursos para ayudar a los supermercados y a otros generadores de residuos alimentarios a cumplir con estas normativas, se observa una notable falta de apoyo a las escuelas, los huertos comunitarios y las granjas urbanas de vecindarios históricamente excluidos para que puedan establecer una economía circular local. Este programa intenta cerrar esta brecha abordando las disparidades mediante recursos limitados y servicios de orientación.

Principios de Equidad Nos regiremos por nuestra Guía de Principios de Equidad como orientación en la toma de decisiones y como ayuda para garantizar que la equidad, la justicia y la inclusión respalden nuestras decisiones de financiación de las minisubvenciones.

Solicitud para la Minisubvención: Elegibilidad:Solo son elegibles las organizaciones dirigidas por personas que pertenezcan a agrupaciones BIPOC o que presten servicios en dichas agrupaciones, las comunidades indígenas o aquellas que trabajen en vecindarios históricamente excluidos.

Los proyectos deben financiar iniciativas de compostaje local, ya sean nuevas o existentes.

Los solicitantes deben residir en un estado costero de Nueva Inglaterra. Estos estados son:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island

Ejemplos de grupos elegibles: huertos comunitarios, congregaciones, instituciones educativas (como las escuelas), granjas, cooperativas de alimentos, proveedores de servicios de recogida de restos de comida, organizaciones lucrativas, instituciones gubernamentales, comunidades indígenas, organizaciones sin fines de lucro, cooperativas de trabajadores, etc.

Cómo solicitar la financiación:La solicitud estará disponible a partir del 4 de marzo hasta el 7 de abril de 2024.

HAGA CLIC AQUÍ para presentar una solicitud mediante Formularios de Google o un video.

Los candidatos tardarán entre 20 y 30 minutos en completar la solicitud. La solicitud mediante Formularios de Google permite guardar sus respuestas automáticamente. Sin embargo, debe iniciar sesión para comenzar o continuar la solicitud.

Si tiene algún problema técnico o alguna pregunta sobre el programa de minisubvenciones o la solicitud, envíe un correo electrónico a najee@ilsr.org.

Preguntas Frecuentes:¿Cuál es la importancia del compostaje comunitario y de mantenerlo a nivel local? Los compostadores comunitarios elaboran y utilizan el compost dentro de la misma comunidad donde se generan los desperdicios alimenticios y otros materiales orgánicos. Su rasgo distintivo es mantener el proceso y el producto lo más local posible, a la vez que involucran a la comunidad mediante la participación y la educación. El compostaje local genera ingresos para la comunidad, fomenta la inclusión social y el empoderamiento, reverdece los barrios, construye suelos sanos, apoya la producción local de alimentos y la seguridad alimentaria, mantiene los puestos de trabajo locales y refuerza las habilidades de la mano de obra local. El compostaje a escala comunitaria desempeña un papel crucial a la hora de abordar los problemas de justicia medioambiental. Ofrece una alternativa a los vertederos y los incineradores, que tienen efectos desproporcionados sobre las BIPOC y las personas con bajos ingresos. Además, el compostaje comunitario puede reforzar la capacidad de barrios históricamente excluidos, a la vez que promueve el compromiso social y la conectividad. ¿De qué manera el ILSR está desarrollando el movimiento de compostaje comunitario? El informe de 2014 del ILSR, “Cultivando la fertilidad local: guía para el compostaje comunitario”, fue el primero en demostrar la viabilidad del compostaje comunitario. Describe iniciativas exitosas, consejos para replicarlas, pasos iniciales y la necesidad de apoyo de los sectores privado, público y sin fines de lucro. Desde la publicación del informe, el interés por el compostaje comunitario y su desarrollo han aumentado considerablemente. El ILSR ha patrocinado siete Foros Nacionales de Compostadores Comunitarios Cultivadores, ha organizado una Coalición Nacional de Compostadores Comunitarios y un servidor automático de listas de correo electrónico de compostadores comunitarios, ha celebrado numerosos eventos de creación de redes, ha lanzado una serie de seminarios web enfocados en cómo los gobiernos locales pueden apoyar el compostaje comunitario, ha creado un podcast de Compostaje para la Comunidad (que amplifica las voces y los programas en las comunidades desfavorecidas), ha publicado guías sobre las mejores prácticas de gestión y cómo evitar los problemas de roedores en los sitios de compostaje comunitario, ha llevado a cabo un Censo de Compostadores Comunitarios, y mucho más. ¿Qué medidas ha adoptado la ILSR para incorporar la equidad en este proceso? Nuestra Guía de principios de equidad se basó en las Directrices de equidad para donantes y fundaciones, de Soul Fire Farm, y en la guía Creando un desarrollo de capacidades más equitativo, de Community Wealth Partners. Hemos redactado este documento para orientar la toma de decisiones y garantizar que nuestras decisiones relacionadas con la financiación de minisubvenciones estén respaldadas por los principios de equidad, justicia e inclusión. * Nos comprometemos a llevar a cabo un proceso justo e imparcial. Nuestro objetivo es apoyar a las comunidades históricamente excluidas. Para ello, adoptaremos un enfoque de desarrollo de capacidades en nuestra colaboración con los beneficiarios. Este paso implica fomentar el desarrollo de compostadores a escala comunitaria y en las granjas que involucren a los residentes, promuevan la inclusión social y el empoderamiento, construyan suelos sanos, mejoren la producción local de alimentos y la seguridad alimentaria, mantengan los puestos de trabajo locales y refuercen las habilidades de la mano de obra local. Nuestro objetivo es minimizar los prejuicios, reducir las disparidades y ser inclusivos. Las organizaciones de primera línea prestan sus servicios a comunidades que experimentan racismo medioambiental, lo que incluye a BIPOC y personas de bajos ingresos. Nuestra intención es ayudar a estas organizaciones sin asumir que sabemos lo que es mejor para sus comunidades. * Además, las BIPOC que sean asesores externos a la organización decidirán sobre los beneficiarios. *¿Cuándo se notificará a los beneficiarios si han recibido la subvención? Esperamos notificarlos entre finales de abril y la primera semana de mayo. ¿Cuándo se anunciarán oficialmente los premios? Está previsto que los premios se anuncien durante la Semana Internacional de Concienciación sobre el Compost, del 5 al 11 de mayo. ¿Cuándo se firmarán los contratos y se efectuarán los pagos? Está previsto que los contratos se firmen y se efectúen los pagos a finales de mayo. *¿Cómo se determinará el éxito del programa? Planeamos evaluar el éxito del programa en función de cómo el financiamiento impacta de manera beneficiosa el trabajo y el crecimiento de los grupos de compostaje dirigidos por comunidades de BIPOC y al servicio de estas. Ayudaremos a estos grupos mediante la financiación del apoyo a su misión principal. Al mismo tiempo, confiamos en que las organizaciones de primera línea saben qué es lo mejor y las apoyaremos a la hora de decidir cómo asignar los fondos. ¿Puede una organización que presenta una solicitud de subvención participar también como socia en otras solicitudes de subvención?** ¡Buenas noticias! Puedes solicitar una subvención y formar parte de las solicitudes de otras organizaciones. Los proyectos de compostaje comunitario son una excelente manera de que las organizaciones se unan y tengan un impacto positivo en las comunidades BIPOC. Trabajando juntos, podemos crear más oportunidades de colaboración y ayudar a promover un medio ambiente más sano y sostenible para todos.

Quiénes somos:El Institute for Local Self-Reliance se fundó en 1974 y es una organización nacional de investigación y asistencia técnica que sienta las bases y el marco para que las comunidades se ocupen de sus recursos locales, sus economías y su futuro medioambiental. Nos centramos en mantener el poder económico y político tan cerca de las comunidades como sea posible; de esta manera, se ven en la obligación de asumir la responsabilidad y la autoridad de tomar las decisiones que repercuten en sus vidas.

Al mismo tiempo que aborda la prosperidad y la equidad de la comunidad, la Iniciativa de Compostaje Comunitario del ILSR impulsa el compostaje local distribuido y diverso en todo el país para terminar con la pérdida de alimentos, mejorar la calidad de los suelos y las cuencas hidrográficas, apoyar la producción local de alimentos y proteger el clima. Estamos ampliando las soluciones distribuidas que engloban el compostaje en el hogar, los huertos comunitarios, las granjas urbanas y rurales, las escuelas y las microinstalaciones operadas por organizaciones sin fines de lucro, cooperativas y empresas sociales. Con demasiada frecuencia, las ciudades y los estados favorecen la producción industrial y masiva de compost y dejan de lado la vasta variedad de opciones locales.

El plan de trabajo actual del ILSR para la Iniciativa de Compostaje Comunitario está diseñado para apoyar y desarrollar un sector de compostaje diversificado y descentralizado que surge para satisfacer la necesidad apremiante de reciclar los alimentos que se desaprovechan. Al mismo tiempo, permitirá obtener tierra fértil para jardines y granjas locales, mejorará la capacidad del suelo para que actúe como sumidero de carbono, brindará oportunidades educativas y permitirá mantener puestos de trabajo de calidad. Nuestra iniciativa más amplia tiene tres metas fundamentales:

1. Facilitar la producción y generar conciencia sobre los beneficios del compostaje.
2. Fomentar el compostaje en el ámbito comunitario y agrícola.
3. Cambiar las reglas para promover el compostaje por sobre el uso de vertederos y la incineración de residuos y promover el compostaje como práctica de conservación del suelo.

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Para esta información y solicitud en español, haga clic aquí.

Find the press release here.

Deadline extended: Applications now close April 7, 2024The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is launching a BIPOC Community Composter Mini-Grant Program to support new or existing local community composters in coastal states in New England. Programs seeking funding must be BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving, in a Native Nation, or working in a historically excluded neighborhood. We will provide $100,000 in sub-grants to selected projects, awarding up to 10 grants with a minimum grant of $5,000 and a maximum of $20,000. This new opportunity is made possible by 11th Hour Racing’s grant program, funded by The Schmidt Family Foundation.

In addition to funding, awardees will receive virtual hot composting training, a travel stipend to attend the 8th National Cultivating Community Composter Forum in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 2024, and access to ILSR’s Community Composter Coalition, a network of community composters that builds connections, spreads lessons learned and inspires new operations.

Several New England states have enacted legislation to divert food waste from disposal, mainly targeting large food waste generators. While abundant resources are available to assist supermarkets and other food waste generators in meeting these regulations, there is a notable lack of support for schools, community gardens, and urban farms in historically excluded neighborhoods to establish a local circular economy. This program addresses this disparity by providing limited resources and guidance to fill this gap.

We will abide by our Equity Principles Guide to steer our decision-making and help ensure equity, justice, and inclusion support our mini-grant funding decisions.

How to Apply: Eligibility:BIPOC-led or BIPOC-serving programs, Native Nations, or those working in historically excluded neighborhoods.

Projects must fund new or existing local community composting initiatives.

Applicants must reside within a New England coastal state. These are:

• Connecticut
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island

Example groups include community gardens, congregations, educational institutions (e.g., schools), farms, food co-ops, food scrap collection service providers, for-profits, governmental institutions, Native Nations, non-profits, worker-owned co-ops, and more.

Application:The application will open on March 4th, 2024, and close on April 7th, 2024.

APPLY HERE to submit an application via Google Forms or submit a video.

Candidates should allot about 20 to 30 minutes when applying. The Google Forms application will automatically save your responses. However, you must log in to start and return to the application.

For technical difficulties or questions about the mini-grant program or application, please email najee@ilsr.org.

Frequently Asked Questions:What is community composting? Composting is the controlled aerobic decomposition of raw organic materials (such as food scraps and dry leaves) via fungi, bacteria, and other microbes in order to create compost, a dark, crumbly, earthy smelling soil amendment. Community composting is a model of composting that sources organic materials locally, engages the community in the composting process, and uses the compost produced in local soils. To learn more about community composting, download our Composting 101 Guide and check out our videos for EPA highlighting the benefits. What is the importance of community composting and keeping it local? Community composters make and use compost within the same community where wasted food and other organic materials are generated. Their distinguishing feature is keeping the process and product as local as possible while engaging the community through participation and education. Local composting circulates dollars in the community, promotes social inclusion and empowerment, greens neighborhoods, builds healthy soils, supports local food production and food security, sustains local jobs, and strengthens the local workforce’s skills. Community-scale composting plays a crucial role in addressing environmental justice concerns. It offers an alternative to landfills and incinerators that have disparate impacts on BIPOC and low-income individuals. Additionally, community composting can strengthen capacity in historically excluded neighborhoods while promoting social engagement and connectivity. How is ILSR growing the community composting movement? ILSR’s 2014 report, “*Growing Local Fertility: Guide to Community Composting,” was the first to demonstrate the viability of community composting. It described successful initiatives, tips for replication, start-up steps, and the need for private, public, and non-profit sector support. Since the report’s release, interest and growth in community composting have skyrocketed. ILSR has sponsored seven National Cultivating Community Composting Forums, convened a national Community Composter Coalition and community composter listserv, hosted numerous networking events, launched a webinar series focused on how local government can support community composting, created a Composting for Community podcast (which amplifies voices and programs in disadvantaged communities), released guides on best management practices and how to avoid rodent problems at community compost sites, conducted a Census of Community Composters, and more. What steps has ILSR taken to incorporate equity in this process? Our Equity Principles Guide was informed by the Soul Fire Farm Equity Guidelines for Donors and Foundations and the Community Wealth Partners Making Capacity Building More Equitable guide. We wrote this document to guide our decision-making and help ensure equity, justice, and inclusion support our mini-grant funding decisions. * We commit to undergoing a fair and impartial process. We aim to genuinely support historically excluded communities. We will achieve this by adopting a capacity-building approach in our collaboration with grantees. This step involves cultivating community scale and on-farm composters who engage residents, promote social inclusion and empowerment, build healthy soils, improve local food production and food security, sustain local jobs, and strengthen the local workforce’s skills. We aim to minimize bias, reduce disparities, and be inclusive. Frontline organizations serve communities experiencing environmental racism, which includes BIPOC and low-income individuals. We want to help these organizations without assuming we know what is best for their communities. * Additionally, BIPOC advisors outside the organization will decide on the awardees. When can awardees expect to be notified if they have received the grant? We anticipate notifying awardees around the end of April to the first week of May. When will the awards be officially announced? The awards are expected to be announced during *International Compost Awareness Week, from May 5 to May 11. When will the contracts be signed and the payments made? The contracts are slated to be signed and payments made by the end of May. How will the program’s success be determined? We plan to evaluate the program’s success on how the funding beneficially impacts the operation and growth of BIPOC-led and BIPOC-serving community composters. We will help these groups by funding their Core Mission Support. At the same time, we trust that frontline organizations know what is best, and we will support them in deciding how the funds should be allocated. Can an organization submitting a grant application also participate as a partner in other grant applications?*** Great news! You can apply for a grant and be a part of other organizations’ applications. Community composting projects are an excellent way for organizations to unite and positively impact BIPOC communities. By working together, we can create more opportunities for collaboration and help promote a healthier, more sustainable environment for everyone.

About ILSRFounded in 1974, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is a national research and technical assistance organization that constructs the foundation and framework for communities to take charge of their local resources, economies, and environmental future. We focus on keeping economic and political power as close to the people as possible, where they have the responsibility and authority to make the decisions that impact their lives.

ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative catalyzes distributed and diverse local composting across the country to cut food loss, enhance soils and watersheds, support local food production, and protect the climate while addressing community prosperity and equity. We are amplifying distributed solutions that encompass composting at home, community gardens, urban and rural farms, schools, and micro facilities operated by non-profits, cooperatives, and social enterprises. Too often, cities and states favor mass industrial compost production and sweep aside the rich array of locally-based options.

ILSR’s current work plan for our Composting for Community Initiative is designed to support and grow a diversified, decentralized composting sector that rises to meet the pressing need for recycling wasted food while creating rich soil for local gardens and farms, enhancing the ability of soil to act as a carbon sink, providing educational opportunities, and sustaining good jobs. Our broader initiative has three key goals:

1. Facilitate replication and raise awareness of the benefits of composting.
2. Cultivate community-scale and on-farm composting.
3. Change the rules to advance composting over landfilling and burning and promote composting as a soil conservation practice.

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The E.P.A. is accepting public comments until March 15, 2024, on the Waste Reduction Model (WARM) version 16 and its supporting documentation. In an effort to “improve the usability, integrity, and functionality of WARM,” the EPA intends to use these comments along with findings from an external peer review and data quality assessment to update the current model.

WARM is a measurement tool to estimate and compare potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy savings, and economic impacts of various materials management practices, including source reduction, recycling, composting, anaerobic digestion, combustion (incineration), and landfilling. Emissions, energy units, and economic factors are measured across materials commonly found in municipal solid waste and construction and demolition debris.

The methodology and assumptions used for WARM’s estimations have significant implications – the tool is used to weigh and compare the benefits and drawbacks of materials management practices relative to each other. These estimates are used in consequential decision-making for policy, regulation, funding, and more, and inaccuracies in measurement assumptions elicit biased results.

In response to the EPA’s request and to strengthen the measurement model and reduce current biases, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance submitted the comments below. The U.S. Composting Council also developed recommendations to include in public comments.

We urge you to also submit public comments, and we welcome the use of our comments to inform or guide responses or to be copied and pasted directly into your submission.

Public comments can be submitted through March 15, 2024, through docket number EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0451 in Regulations.gov.

Comments on the E.P.A. Waste Reduction Model version 16 (WARM 16) Docket No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2023-0451Submitted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Dear Administrator Regan,

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on EPA’s Waste Reduction Model version 16 (WARM 16). The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a national nonprofit research and educational organization that advocates for thriving, diverse, and equitable communities. We respectfully request your consideration of our comments and recommendations outlined in this letter, which have been informed by nearly 50 years of experience providing assistance to communities to reduce and recycle wasted materials.

ILSR commends the EPA for its continuous efforts to improve and update the measurement tool and for seeking input through public comments. However, WARM 16 continues to have several flaws that hinder progress in mitigating and adapting to climate change. The current form falls short of its goal to allow for an adequate comparison among available solid waste management options. In response, ILSR offers the following recommendations to rectify several shortcomings in the tool that bias results and impede future efforts.

1. Include decentralized composting systems in emissions factors
2. Consider increased soil water retention in composting emissions factors
3. Update research on compost’s ability to displace synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides
4. Factor bCO2 emissions (carbon dioxide emissions from biogenic materials) into emissions calculations
5. Update methane’s Global Warming Potential (GWP) to 80.8 – 82.5 over 20 years and an atmospheric life of 11.8 years to reflect IPCC’s 2021 Assessment Report (AR 6)
6. Reconsider utility CO2 emissions in combustion net emissions calculations
7. Report methane emissions separately from other GHGs

Furthermore, we urge EPA to strongly consider the copious additional benefits of composting not represented through emissions calculations when comparing solid waste management options. Excluding benefits such as improved climate resiliency and living natural systems creates an unfair disadvantage for closed-loop, nature-based solutions like composting. We thank you for your consideration of our recommendations.

Recommendations for Waste Reduction Model (WARM)

1) Include decentralized composting systems in emissions factorsWARM 16 models composting only in central composting facilities with windrow piles, citing a lack of data for small-scale composting and other large-scale operations as the reason. However, decentralized, distributed composting is a quickly growing part of the sector, warranting its inclusion in WARM to represent the field accurately. 90% of composting programs in our 2022 census launched since 2010, with over half launching since 2016. Of 2,987 composting facilities with scale data in a 2017 study, 79% were small-scale composters (composting less than 5,000 tons of feedstock per year). With this increase in decentralized activity, access to data should not be a barrier.

Decentralized solutions, such as composting at home, community gardens, urban and local farms, schools, and local government sites, are managed by local, distributed networks of independent businesses, worker cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, and local governments. Community-based composting operations often make and use compost within the same community where wasted food and other materials are generated. Keeping the processes and products as local as possible keeps benefits and profits local and within the community. Decentralized composting offers abundant co-benefits that protect the climate, build healthy soils, stimulate economic growth, enhance food security, and build more prosperous, equitable, and resilient communities. Omitting decentralized composting operations from WARM 16 has created emissions factor modeling inaccuracies.

• By excluding decentralized composting, emissions associated with transporting compost are inflated. Centralized composting operations are more likely than community composting operations to be located further away from the community where collection occurs, resulting in further distance traveled and higher transportation energy emissions. WARM 16 also assumes transport by a diesel short-haul truck. However, we are seeing a growth in clean energy modes of transportation in our network; a number of our community composting partners are using electric vehicles and bicycles (pedal and electric-powered) for collection. WARM should address the currently stated limitations that “did not allow for variation in transportation distances.”
• Leaving out decentralized operations renders emissions associated with turning equipment inaccurate. 44% of community composters did not use windrows for composting but used alternative methods with different levels of machinery (including manual labor only). Increasingly a number of community composters are powering aeration systems with solar and electric power and not fossil fuel energy. For example, LA Compost is moving toward electric-powered bobcats for their composting operations. Machinery emissions in the current model are likely inflated.

These discrepancies place decentralized composters at a disadvantage when utilizing WARM 16 for reporting and funding opportunities. The current version does not accurately reflect the impacts and benefits of their operations due to these inaccuracies.

2) Consider increased soil water retention in composting emissions factorsWARM 16 acknowledges that “compost use also has been shown to increase soil water retention; moister soil gives a number of ancillary benefits, including reduced irrigation costs and reduced energy used for pumping water.” However, these benefits and avoided emissions are not included in WARM 16. Composting emissions factors should address these energy offsets to represent emissions benefits accurately.

3) Update research on compost’s ability to displace synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticidesSynthetic fertilizers, fungicides, and pesticides collectively have an enormous greenhouse gas profile and should be accurately reflected in WARM. Outdated or inaccurate assumptions on composting’s ability to displace fertilizer can understate the value of composting and compost application. Only looking at NPK nutrients is insufficient to calculate the offset of fertilizers as the benefits of compost have to do with soil structure and beneficial biology. Applying high-quality compost to agricultural soil as a soil health management practice can be crucial for both rebuilding and protecting soil. Compost as a soil amendment improves soil structure, increases soil fertility, suppresses plant disease, improves nutrient cycling, prevents soil erosion, and increases soil resilience to drought and extreme weather. We know farmers that have stopped using synthetic/fossil fuel fertilizers altogether. Furthermore, not all compost is created equal. For example, vermicompost made from worms is higher in beneficial biology and growth hormones. EPA should take into consideration the use of vermicompost to adequately capture these advantages. This is an important issue that should be given continuous and adequate attention. The EPA should be looking to update WARM 16’s data on this issue, which is now a decade old, and use multiple studies to inform assumptions. EPA should conduct ongoing research to continuously update this information to most accurately reflect the value of composting and compost application.

4) Factor bCO2 emissions (carbon dioxide emissions from biogenic materials) into emissions calculationsWe support the excellent research of Energy Justice Network and Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) on this topic. As recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines: “if incineration of waste is used for energy purposes, both fossil and biogenic should be estimated… biogenic CO2 should be reported as an information item…Moreover, if combustion, or any other factor, is causing long term decline in the total carbon embodied in living biomass (e.g., forests), this net release of carbon should be evident in the calculation of CO2 emissions.”

Excluding bCO2 emissions causes bias in favor of incineration. WARM 16 assumes the carbon dioxide emissions from biogenic organic materials (e.g., paper and wood products, yard trimming, and food discards) do not count. The rationale is that plants and trees regrow, and carbon dioxide emissions return carbon to the atmosphere previously sequestered by photosynthesis and would cycle back eventually under natural conditions due to degradation processes. This assumption can exclude 90% of CO2 emissions from incineration but omits a smaller fraction of GHG emissions from landfill calculations (as the model counts methane but not CO2 emissions). Favoring disposal in an incinerator versus a landfill does not cause additional plant and tree regrowth. It is, therefore, biased to grant a large emissions discount to incinerators that does not equally apply to landfills. Although we promote the diversion of all organic materials from landfills or incinerators, WARM 16 incorrectly assumes incineration is better for the climate than landfilling. Along with its dire climate impacts, incineration has devastating air pollution, health, and environmental justice implications.

The exclusion of bCO2 emissions does not account for the time-sensitivity of climate change. WARM 16 assumptions acknowledge that “this approach does not distinguish between the timing of CO2 emissions, provided that they occur in a reasonably short time scale relative to the speed of the processes that affect global climate change. In other words, as long as the biogenic carbon would eventually be released as CO2, whether it is released virtually instantaneously (e.g., from combustion) or over a period of a few decades (e.g., decomposition on the forest floor) is inconsequential.” Human activity – including the release of bCO2 through deforestation, incineration, and more – has already altered the Earth’s climate, and severe impacts are anticipated within a decade. The timeframe of emissions impacts is exceedingly crucial, and the magnitude of GHG reductions in the short-term (by 2030) is increasingly of focus in climate mitigation strategies. Delaying the release of bCO2 for even short periods can help avoid overloading short-term atmospheric loading, which could trigger cascading tipping points in the Earth System.

Biogenic carbon in waste can also be stored for long periods. Wood can store significant fractions of biogenic carbon for up to 100 years; compost can trigger enhanced, long-term carbon sequestration in soil, etc. The IPCC acknowledges that 65% (range: 35-95%) of all biogenic carbon in landfills will remain in place for over a century.

5) Update methane’s Global Warming Potential (GWP) to 80.8 – 82.5 over 20 years and an atmospheric life of 11.8 years to reflect IPCC’s 2021 Assessment Report (AR 6)WARM 16 severely understates the global warming potential (GWP) of methane. WARM 16 uses the GWP factor from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2007 Assessment. As such, WARM 16 calculates methane’s GWP as 25, comparing methane to carbon dioxide on a 100-year basis. However, IPCC’s 2021 Assessment Report (AR 6) identifies methane as a short-lived greenhouse gas with a GWP of 80.8 – 82.5 over 20 years and an atmospheric life of 11.8 years. Methane to carbon dioxide emissions conversions may be a shorthand inventory tool, but WARM is intended for decision-making purposes and should model real-world behavior. WARM 16 assumptions understate the benefits of avoiding methane through organic management practices and are inconsistent with approaches to reduce short-lived GHGs to slow the rate of climate change. Indeed, all climate pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions should be adjusted to a 20-year climate horizon, not 100 years.

6) Reconsider utility CO2 emissions in combustion net emissions calculations We support Energy Justice Network‘s excellent research on this topic. WARM 16 assumes that electricity generated by combustion avoids using fossil fuels on the electric grid and, therefore, subtracts avoided fossil fuel emissions in net calculations. However, most incinerators are displacing renewable energy sources, not fossil fuels. At least two-thirds of U.S. trash incinerators that generate electricity operate in states where they are eligible to sell renewable energy credits (RECs) to electric utilities under state renewable energy mandates. Many of these incinerators are selling RECs in these markets, directly competing with actual renewable energy sources (mainly wind, solar, and hydroelectric). If utilities could not buy RECs from trash incinerators to meet state mandates, they would have to buy them from actual renewable energy sources. In these cases, trash incinerators are displacing renewable energy, not fossil fuels. Therefore, subtracting these emissions as avoided from combustion net calculations is inappropriate.

Additionally, the electric grid is rapidly shifting from coal to wind and solar. ILSR tracks this here. WARM 16 assumptions regarding fossil fuel avoidance are exceedingly outdated for waste planning purposes. Even if modeling with the most recently available data, WARM 16 calculations do not reflect fossil fuel’s share of the electricity grid looking forward. WARM must provide future projections (or a heavy disclaimer) if used to support long-term decisions and investments in waste disposal methods.

7) Report methane emissions separately from other GHGsWe support Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA)’s excellent research on this topic. Methane, along with other short-lived climate pollutants, is currently the focus of intensive work and investment. For example, the LOW-Methane initiative under the U.S. State Department is dedicated to reducing methane emissions from waste by 100 million tons in the next few years. The EPA’s recent report quantifying methane emissions from landfilled food waste further demonstrates the importance of measuring methane, especially in the waste management industry. The 2023 Global Methane Pledge Ministerial from COP28 states, “Achieving the GMP goal of cutting anthropogenic methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels is the fastest way to reduce near-term warming and is essential to keep a 1.5°C temperature limit within reach.” This effort requires accurate tools for both forecasting and monitoring interventions. Unfortunately, in its current version 16, WARM cannot serve these goals.

Rather than combine fossil CO2 and other GHGs into a single CO2e metric, WARM should follow the example of databases such as eGRID, which reports each gas separately. Separating measurements allows users to distinguish between short- and long-lived GHGs as needed. It also eliminates the need to recalculate CO2e as Global Warming Potentials are updated in reports – a problem that has already rendered many calculations outdated. For those users who prefer to use the single CO2e metric, calculating it from individual gasses can be included as an option.

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ILSR’s Composting for Community team has once again worked with Delegate Regina T. Boyce (District 43, Baltimore City) to introduce the Solid Waste Disposal Surcharge and Wasted Food Reduction and Diversion Fund and Grant Programs Bill (HB 1318) for Maryland’s 2024 legislative session. An earlier version of this bill was first introduced in 2022 as HB1070 and in 2023 as HB1139.

During the 2024 legislative session, this bill received significant support, though the opposition, largely representing the hauling industry, strongly opposed the disposal surcharge funding mechanism, resulting in its removal from the bill. The bill progressed further this year than in past years, being voted out of committee and receiving a favorable vote from the House, though only after the funding mechanism was stripped out. Unfortunately, the bill did not receive a vote in the Senate after its hearing, which prevented it from passing.

The bill addresses the critical need for investment into wasted food reduction and recovery programs and infrastructure in Maryland by establishing major grant funding programs based on a nominal surcharge on waste disposal. Numerous other states, such as those featured in our 2022 webinar, have similar successful grant programs in place with positive impacts on their local communities, economies, and the environment.

In Maryland, the grants could total more than $14 million per year to support local governments, small businesses, non-profits, schools, farmers, and more in their efforts to advance wasted food prevention, rescue, recycling, and composting projects and infrastructure.

Click here for a one-page summary of the bill’s proposed grant programs and click here to read FAQsUse our model legislation template to draft a policy like this for your own state or localitySince the bill’s first introduction in the 2022 session, there have been a number of changes based on conversations with numerous stakeholders to address their concerns and/or suggestions to improve this bill. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), with the guidance of Delegate Regina T. Boyce, has gathered input from numerous stakeholders in order to get this bill to fit Maryland’s unique landscape. Some of these stakeholders include the Maryland Association of Counties, Prince George’s County Department of the Environment, Maryland Clean Water Action, US Composting Council’s Maryland-DC Chapter, and others. More recently, ILSR collaborated extensively with the Maryland Department of Environment and Department of Agriculture to ensure the bill filled programmatic gaps and was implementable by the agencies.

As a result of these collaborations, major changes include:

• Dropping the per-ton surcharge on waste landfilled or incinerated from an original $5/ton to $2/ton.
• Focusing resources specifically on food waste reduction and diversion.
• Counties (including Baltimore City and the Mid-Shore) may apply to opt out of the statewide program if they set up their own disposal surcharge to fund waste reduction in the county. Opted-out Counties have the flexibility to tailor their program to their needs.
• Allocating funding equally between the Wasted Food Reduction Grant Program (administered by MDE) and the On-Farm Organics Diversion Grant Program (administered by MDA). This bill also allocates 4% of annual funding as support for the School Waste Reduction and Composting Program (administered by MSDE) until the program sunsets.
• Increasing the limit on funding to be used for administrative costs for all grants programs from 10% to 25%.
• Updating the implementation timeline to better align with existing agency processes and to allow for the agencies to avoid out-of-pocket costs when setting up the grant programs.

Why is funding for reduction and diversion of wasted food needed NOW in Maryland?

• Maryland is in need of expanded access to and capacity for food waste reduction, food rescue, and diversion of wasted food from disposal that benefits local communities. A major obstacle to development and expansion of food waste reduction infrastructure and programs is lack of funding.
• The Maryland Food Systems Resiliency Council’s November 2023 report makes recommendations to invest in cold storage, organics recycling of food residuals, food residual diversion sites and programs, and education and technical assistance to support reduction of food waste.
• Maryland has passed numerous policies supporting healthy soils, food waste recovery, recycling, and composting but funding to support effective development of these efforts is sorely lacking. A nominal per-ton waste surcharge will provide funding to support and expand food waste reduction and diversion throughout the state while also disincentivizing final solid waste disposal in landfills and incinerators.
• Expansion of composting and organics recycling infrastructure and the availability of high-quality, non-contaminated compost is crucial to supporting Maryland soils by reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers, increasing soil organic matter, and improving water and nutrient cycling.
• A 2021 report revealed that Maryland landfills were emitting four times more methane than previously estimated. Diverting organic waste from landfills, where anaerobic decomposition produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is a necessity for Maryland to achieve its goals of 60% emissions reductions by 2031 and net-zero in 2045.
• Maryland’s 2021 food waste diversion mandate law has increased demand for alternatives to food waste disposal. Expanded processing capacity is needed to meet food waste diversion goals and, without support for community-oriented and farm projects, Maryland may end up privileging industrial, large-sized facilities.

Pictured (L to R): Rachel Jones (MDA Director for Government Relations), Delegate Regina Boyce (District 43, Baltimore City), Brenda Platt (ILSR Composting for Community Director), Sophia Jones (ILSR Policy Lead) at the Maryland State House in Annapolis.

Watch the House Environment and Transportation Committee Hearing here

Read written testimony from our initiative director, Brenda Platt here

ILSR’s sign-on testimony was supported by over 30 organizations.

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Feature Image: The Maryland State House capitol building in Annapolis, Maryland. Credit: SerrNovik. iStock photo by Getty Images.

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How does the return on investment for community-based composting compare to that of centralized composting? What unique co-benefits do community composters bring to the table, beyond waste diversion? In this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast, we are joined by Kourtnii Brown, founder and director of Common Compost (Oakland, California) and CEO of the California Alliance for Community Composting. We discuss the immense potential of community composting to scale up and meet diversion goals and improve community resilience based on the findings of the Community Composting for Green Spaces (CCGS) 2021/22 pilot program.

Kourtnii Brown

CCGS aims to strengthen, protect, and develop small and medium composting projects across California while supporting and empowering the communities they serve. In 2020, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle) awarded the California Alliance of Community Composters (CACC), in collaboration with People, Food and Land Foundation (PFL), $1.54 million to launch the CCGS pilot program, supporting 125 community composting projects and establish 65 part-time employment opportunities. The pilot also observed a number of co-benefits: meaningful jobs in marginalized communities, increased organizational capacity, effective community education, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, and increased use of green spaces.

In this episode, Kourtnii Brown reflects on the impact participating initiatives had in their communities, the potential of community composters to help reach California’s ambitious waste diversion goal of 75% by 2025, and inspiration for other communities to launch similar initiatives.

By investing just a million dollars of any county or any city’s budget today to support launching a decentralized network, about a hundred community-based projects in public green space, low cost diversion capacity can be accomplished in under two years and it can be sustained for many more. In some rural counties it could provide the solution that would meet total capacity needed to reach zero waste goals.

If you look at the outcomes of this pilot program, [if] all 109 of those sites were able to maintain their current diversion levels and we were to just continue to invest $1 million annually into the sites themselves, we estimate that we could collectively continue to divert about 7 million pounds a year, produce 2,750 cubic yards of compost a year, reduce emissions by 550 metric tons of CO2 equivalent – so almost 200 cars off the road a year – we would achieve another million metric tons from applying that yummy compost to local gardens and farms and also 35 full-time equivalent jobs.

Related ResourcesCalifornia Alliance of Community Composters Website

CalRecycle Community Composting For Green Spaces Page

ILSR Webinar ft. Kourtnii Brown: Census of Community Composters – Key Findings, Challenges & Future Outlook

Why Community Composting Is Critical To California’s Infrastructure — BioCycle, February 20, 2023

Transcript

| Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Across the country, the community composting movement is growing. Small-scale composting provides communities immediate opportunities for reducing waste, improving local soil, creating jobs, and fighting climate change. You’re listening to the Composting for Community Podcast where we’ll bring you stories from the people doing this work on the ground and in the soil. | | Welcome back to the Composting for Community Podcast. I’m Linda Bilsens Brolis of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s Composting for Community Initiative. In this episode, I talk to Kourtni Brown, founder and director of Common Compost, a community focused food scrap recycling and composting service provider in Oakland, California. | | Kourtni is also a founding member, acting president and CEO of the California Alliance for Community Composting. The CACC is a coalition of community composters that form to strengthen, protect, and develop small and medium-scale composting projects across California while supporting and empowering the communities they serve. | | In 2020, the CACC secured a major win for community composting in the state. They, in collaboration with the People, Food and Land Foundation were awarded a one and a half million dollar grant from the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to pilot the Community Composting for Green Spaces Program. | | This episode offers a deep dive into the impact assessment of the program’s two-year pilot, which measured not only the organics diversion potential of community composting, but also a number of unique co-benefits that frequently go unaccounted for in conventional waste diversion initiatives. Kourtni lays out how this impressive program demonstrates that community composting is a wise, cross-cutting investment for California that can also serve as a model for communities around the country. Let’s dive in. | | Hello, folks. I’m joined now by Kourtni Brown. Welcome, Kourtni. | | Kourtnii Brown: | Thank you. Thanks for having me. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | So great to have you here. I want to talk to you about the California Alliance for Community Composting, but before we do that, I wanted to talk to you about your personal relationship with composting. How did you get started? What got you hooked? That kind of thing. | | Kourtnii Brown: | Yeah, sure. Well, it was the worms. I come from a background in environmental policy and I was on a work trip in Sri Lanka and actually saw municipal composting being done on a large scale with worms. And I immediately came home and asked my roommate if she would be interested in starting a worm bin on her back stairwell for composting our own food material at home, and she was totally in. And when I saw how easy it was, I was like, “We need to be sharing this idea with more people.” | | It started by actually doing the composting itself and trying to take it outside of my own home and do it more in my community, then we realized very quickly we needed a much bigger worm bin in order to handle that volume. Then I became more into manufacturing, building flow-through worm bin systems and started my own enterprise called Common Compost and worked on just building bins and trying to get them out into areas of our community where they would be best utilized. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | What a cool way to get started. Seeing composting abroad also got me hooked. I feel like in so many other parts of the world, localized composting is just so normal and the simple utility of it just seems so much clearer. And you come back to the US and our waste management systems seem so much bigger and more convoluted. So how did you grow Common Compost into what it is now? | | Kourtnii Brown: | I was working for a international development organization and I quit my position in the fall of 2014 to really take the leap and pursue, develop Common Compost. So I entered a hackathon, it was called Living the New Economy. It was coming up with sustainable business ideas that really could start to begin solving real issues in our communities on a whole wide scale of things that made them more economically resilient. | | So I took waste management as the topic that was most inspiring to me, and in that, food waste as part of an issue that is really compounding climate change and trying to look at how our own community was really managing that stream of material. So I won the hackathon part of it. It actually included a scholarship to Optima Business Bootcamp, which was a social entrepreneurship bootcamp for building out business ideas in this way. | | I really took Common Compost through the year of 2015, just to learn how to have organizational development behind an idea and to see where it could go, if it was profit driving. I think in this all, I made a lot of friends who were also community composters. | | So that process in the year of 2015 and into 2016 of trying to launch this business, we started running into some political barriers. And so I went back to those friends and asked them, “Did you deal with this during your organizational development as well?” | | And then found out we actually had a lot of the same political barriers in common. So formed just an unincorporated alliance to go to our local city councils, to go to state agencies, and just ask for a little bit more protections in the work that community-based organizations are doing to recover this material as a local resource. This is about between the fall of 2014 and the spring of 2017. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | What a journey for Common Compost. And in addition to running your own business, you’re also serving as the CEO of the California Alliance for Community Composting. How did that come about? | | Kourtnii Brown: | In the spring of 2017, the US Composting Council held their annual conference in Los Angeles and I applied for a scholarship through the Institute for Local Self-Reliance to attend that conference. And that’s actually where I met most of these folks in person for the first time, including Michael Martinez of LA Compost. We had a informal gathering to discuss how we could better work together in the State of California for our common goals, and that little evening soiree was the beginning of the California Alliance for Community Composting. | | For the next two years, we started showing up as individuals and as a cohort to workshops and working groups on SB 1383, the California State legislation that works to reduce short-term climate pollutants, methane being one of those. So that’s how it’s tied into food waste and food waste diversion. | | Really understanding how best to educate our policymakers to really understand that the solution is solvable at all scales, and this is an area where we’re working and this is what we’re doing and these are our benefits and impacts. And that as they considered roll-outs and general regulations that they considered in that, protections for small-scale and community-based operations. | | But understanding that we really couldn’t come together as an unincorporated alliance and advocate for common goals when a lot of us are farmers and gardeners and composters. We’re not policy makers, we’re certainly not lawyers. So just having the language once we got a seat at the table to effectively discuss what makes good policy for composters. It was really training our own folks to be able to have those dialogues as well as to have the dialogues themselves. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Yes, it’s so important, learning how to take a seat at the table and then also knowing what to do with it. It seems like your collective efforts have really carved out support for community composting within the state. It’s so impressive. | | On that note, let’s turn to an interesting and inspiring project that the CACC has been undertaking, the Community Composting for Green Spaces Program. Please tell us about it. | | Kourtnii Brown: | It’s the first ever of its kind pilot program that was funded by the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery. This is the state agency primarily tasked with drafting the regulations and administering the implementation of Senate Bill 1383. | | So as we sat at these tables and we negotiated for these protections, we also asked for financial investments in small-scale activities primarily because we’re so good at community education and outreach. So it turns out basically that our policy advocacy was quite effective and CalRecycle did dedicate some investment in small-scale solutions. So they ran a pilot program that was released in December of 2019. | | So at this point in time, none of the individual organizations and enterprises that were part of CACC could actually access this grant opportunity. You had to be 501(c)(3) nonprofit or you had to actually be a registered business entity, and I think a lot of us were still operating under the radar. | | So we decided to get a fiscal sponsor that was willing to accept, if we were to get the grant award, to accept the funding and allow us to actually administer the grant program as a conglomerate of organizations. Those original organizations were LA Compost with Michael Martinez, the Integrative Development Initiative with Elinor Cescenzi, we have Soilify with Lynn Fang, and myself as Common Compost. | | So we all got together and we wrote the winning proposal for the first pilot round of Community Composting for Green Spaces, where we really got to design how a state agency would be able to effectively, financially, and technically support community-based organizations to take on doing some of this diversion to reach the state’s targets. | | Community Composting for Green Spaces launched in October of 2020, and we all worked collaboratively with a expert advisory group of 12 additional individuals to create programming which was not only responsive to the needs of these communities, but was able to strengthen, empower, and protect the project works. And to learn something too about the best models, about best practices, about our impacts at this level, and be able to tell that story for the first time on a coordinated statewide level. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Wow, it’s super impressive. Could you talk to us about the impact of the programs to date? | | Kourtnii Brown: | With the Community Composting for Green Spaces, we took about six months to do community outreach to identify the groups that were going to work with us, to train them, and to work on their project site designs, installation, and launching them. | | So when everybody finally got up and running, it was September of 2021. For the next 18 months, we tracked key performance metrics at each site. We gathered and analyzed data on diversion, trees planted, jobs, tasks, and hours worked, and also the compost produced. | | Operators were using simple Google forms at first to do this data, but we also worked with the leadership team at Epic Renewal to begin the development of software and hardware that will be open sourced application for handheld devices that aims at making this data tracking on those core key metrics we need for every site, not only in our program, but it really helps with key development indicators in any compost hub. | | And then at 10 of the select sites we also worked with, WeRadiate to do remote sensing technology to start measuring key metrics on compost quality itself, so temperature, moisture, oxygen levels. And Lynn Fang also conducted a pre and post soil quality analysis at a dozen of the select locations to help measure the effectiveness of compost application on soil health. And Elinor Cescenzi and a team of contractors also conducted community compost hub health assessments. | | And this was basically to begin looking at all the other co-benefits that happen here outside of just diversion. So economic resilience, food systems, organizational capacity, community education, and also overcoming barriers to use of green spaces, genuinely looking at compost hubs as a way to overcome unhealthy and unjust systems and inspire places where people can come and to gather and to learn and to benefit, and also to walk away with good, healthy and nutritious fresh produce. | | We supported 12.5 full-time jobs through the course of the program. That boiled down to about 9 full-time jobs every quarter. These were folks who were from disadvantaged and low-income communities working at projects that were stewarded within those communities, owned, operated, and supported by those communities as well. The jobs were shown to be fun and fulfilling and engaging and really helped bring in over thousands of volunteers to put hands-on work into these projects. | | And so when those happen, I think the biggest benefit of what is going on in the community composting world is they go home to their house and they do a much better job with source separation and with diverting that material in whatever the municipal solid waste service system that is happening back at home. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | That’s a great point. And overall, you outlined a lot of co-benefits of community composting that I think are frequently overlooked. | | We’ll be right back after a really short break. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast. If you’re enjoying it, please consider supporting our work with a donation by going to ilsr.org/donate. Your donations make this show and all the work we do here at ILSR possible. Visit ilsr.org/donate to make your contribution today. Any amount is sincerely appreciated. And if you’re looking for other ways to support us, consider rating or leaving a review of this show wherever you listen to your podcast. These reviews help us reach a wider audience. Thanks again for listening. And now back to the show. | | So you just touched on some co-benefits of community composting that you observed through the green spaces pilot, those that relate to job creation and chronically underserved communities, meaningful community engagement and education and access to green spaces. Could you speak a bit more on what you observed as to the cost-effectiveness of community composting as it relates to waste diversion? | | Kourtnii Brown: | Oh, yes. Thank you for this question. I am really excited to dive into these numbers in a little bit more detail. For the 18 months when sites were actively composting, we supported 117 projects and we spent about $930,000 on 109 of those project sites that actually reported diversion. They reported 10.5 million pounds between food material and green material diverted from landfills in California. That boils down to 5,233 tons. That is equivalent to taking 200 cars off the road for one year. | | So we’re really proud of the greenhouse gas emission reductions that we were able to accomplish through this program. But I think there is another layer of the onion that we need to peel back here with the cost investments at a decentralized and small-scale level. And that’s if you look at the work that was being done at these 109 project sites and the amount of material that was diverted through them, it cost us $178 per ton of material in operations, equipment, and providing all of the other community co-benefits like farming, volunteer engagement, and education to manage that amount of material. | | And I think this is a very cost-effective and competitive price point for diverting organics from landfill. Because if you look at California right now and what the state has projected that it will cost to meet their very ambitious diversion target, which is 75% reduction by 2025, that’s next year, and we are nowhere close to meeting this goal. | | California has projected that it will cost them $17.4 billion to build about 85 centralized facilities in order to divert 26.8 million pounds annually from landfills. But if we were to take just 1% of that projected $17.4 billion and we invested it in decentralized-scale solutions in combination still with the larger-scale solutions. So for 1% that is equivalent to $174 million. | | Now taking the data that came out of this pilot project, let’s round up to spending $1 million on 100 projects per year and we’ll round down with our total diversion to 5,000 tons per year. So for $1 million, you get 100 projects and you get 5,000 tons. These are very good even numbers to use. | | So with that math, if we had 5,000 tons for every $1 million invested and we were to take 1% of the 17.4 billion, so that’s 174 million, we would be able to divert 870,000 tons of material for just 1% investment. But if you look at 870,000 tons as a percentage of the 26.8 million in total that needs to get diverted annually, that turns out to be 3.25% of California’s annual capacity needed to do this work. So for 1% investment, you get a 3% capacity return. | | Now if we take even the next layer of the onion and we look at what it costs to divert that amount of pounds, the average for commercial operators in California today is $374 per ton of material, to move it and to take it to centralized facilities. But for ours, it cost us $178 per ton of organics to move that material. Included in that cost is the equipment itself, is also labor, and is also these co-benefits. | | So we’re looking at a capacity return of 1% of investment to 3.25% of the capacity, but we’re also looking at a price point return of 1/3 the cost of a commercial operator to provide the same services for a jurisdiction. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Wow, that all is super compelling. Can you help us understand how all that translates to greenhouse gas emissions reduction potential of community composting? | | Kourtnii Brown: | Yes, absolutely. So we are a two for one deal in this aspect because we divert the material. And so, we get a metric ton of CO2 equivalent in greenhouse gas emission reduction just from diversion, but we also create compost and we apply it right there at the sites where we are diverting the material. So we get an additional greenhouse gas benefit from putting organic matter on the ground, making that soil healthier so that it can actually hold more carbon and draw more carbon out of the atmosphere. | | So with this program at 109 of those sites, they were able to produce 4,420 cubic yards of compost and apply it on site or distribute it in their very local network of community gardens and parks. We also planted 488 trees in these compost hubs to green spaces. Most of them were fruit bearing trees, so also to feed people. And that afforded us an additional 3 million metric tons of CO2e over a 40-year period too. | | So if you really look at what our price per metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent for diverting material at a community compost hub where you’re also greening the spaces and growing food, we drop down to $353 per metric ton of CO2e. That’s diversion, trees, and compost application. | | I think it’s also relevant to note that these impact stats haven’t yet taken into consideration the additional GHG emissions avoided from composting locally in terms of the foregone vehicle miles traveled in order to divert the same material at far away compost facilities that are usually located outside of this 200 mile sustainability radius. | | So when we’re looking at the cost to human health for cleaner air and by decreasing truck congestion on the roads and the maintenance for those roads, these externality costs would actually make us even more cost-effective. The cost of these externalities actually make our programs that much more beneficial for local investments. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Wow. That’s really why I was so excited to talk to you because you have data to back up the benefits that we often tout as being associated with community composting, such as their being more cost-effective and being quicker to bring online and getting all these co-benefits that go with that you might overlook if you’re just focusing on bigger, more centralized infrastructure. It’s just really exciting that you have this great data to back that up. | | So now, if another community in another part of the country was looking to replicate something like the Community Composting for Green Spaces Program, what would you recommend? | | Kourtnii Brown: | Great question. If you look at the outcomes of this pilot program and all 109 of those sites were able to maintain their current diversion levels and we were to just continue to invest $1 million annually into the sites themselves, we estimate that we could collectively continue to divert about 7 million pounds a year, produce 2,750 cubic yards of compost a year, reduce emissions by 550 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, so almost 200 cars off the road a year. And we would achieve another million metric tons from applying that yummy compost to local gardens and farms and also 35 full-time equivalent jobs. | | So this means it is more cost-effective for every dollar that you invest in waste diversion to be directed towards developing community-scale solutions across all states and all municipalities, because community composting provides three times more throughput capacity for every dollar spent. And because our costs also include jobs for at least two years, local compost hubs, access to education, access to green space, healthy compost, healthy soil, and healthy food. | | So I think how that boils down at a local level is by investing just $1 million of any county or any city’s budget today to support launching a decentralized network, about 100 community-based projects in public green spaces, low cost diversion capacity can be accomplished in under two years, and it can be sustained for many more. And in some rural counties, it could provide the solution that would meet total capacity needed to reach zero waste goals. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Awesome. That seems like it should be attainable for many communities around the country, especially with support from the EPA and the USDA. | | At this point, what are some of your goals for the coming year, whether it’s for you personally or for CACC? | | Kourtnii Brown: | So we were the successful award recipients for the second round of this program, CCGS-2. It will run July 2023 through April 2025. CalRecycle invested an additional $5 million in the program. They are allocating a specific $510,000 for tribal entities to do this program as their tribal nations, and then the other 4.5 million for community-based groups. So CACC the successful award recipient in seven of the eight regions. So even though we will be coordinating it statewide, it is very much now broken down into a regional program. | | My focus is, the next 20 months, to really take what we started during the first round of Community Composting for Green Spaces and apply it with that nuanced regional level where the sites that are launched, the technical support that we offer, and the regional coordinators who are shepherding these participants through the program really get very localized, but still having the access and the benefits to statewide knowledge networks and statewide training opportunities. | | We’re really moving this program from state level down into the regional level. And then we can expand there and then hopefully focus that even further down into the city and to the local level. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Well, that’s super exciting. I’m looking forward to following that trajectory, and it sounds like you all continue to create a model that can hopefully be exported elsewhere. | | At this point, any other thoughts or words of wisdom specifically for composters and advocates looking to secure funding for the community composting efforts? | | Kourtnii Brown: | Yes. There are several state and federal funding opportunities for compost programs that are related to more than just food material diversion to qualify for these activities such as climate mitigation grants, healthy soils initiative, sustainable cities networks, city urban greening programs, habitat conservation, and food rescue grants. So a lot of way, all of these are very related to food treated as a resource that needs to be recovered to create more food. | | So it’s really important to begin educating your policymakers or engaging with those agencies that are offering these funding opportunities as early as possible, letting them know what you do for your work, how that is related to these programs and whatnot. And then secondarily, applying for those grants and those opportunities. The more the community composters are able to be eligible and also show up for contracting, bidding, and RFA processes with large-scale agencies, the more that we can start funneling these resources into growing this network and strengthening this network. | | A lot of that is maybe first starting with yourself, educating yourself on just how to have a grant language, policy language, how to go to state agencies, how to make introductions. But then once you’re there, to really talk from your heart about the work that you do so that you can create a space for you to be able to work in those areas and those opportunities. | | All too often, I think that they are designed and geared towards having large-scale, one-size-fits-all models, for-profit models, and that can make it really hard and create a lot of barriers just to get access to these opportunities. Before they’re even designed, it’s really important to be part of that process. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | That’s fabulous and very much resonates with our experience. And I think once policymakers who might not be familiar with the composting space, get to see what community composters bring to the table, when they really understand the roles that community composters and other community-based enterprises play. That changes the understanding of what you really are getting as part of that package. | | It might seem easier to go with one big project that you have to keep track of, but you’re missing out on this opportunity for all these other co-benefits. And I think that the data that you all have calculated from your project really can help other community composters make these points or policy makers in their own communities. | | So to close, I wanted to ask if you have any advice or lessons learned for composters that are just getting started in this space or something that’s inspired you along your path? | | Kourtnii Brown: | Well, I would say compost is very forgiving when you’re learning. The decomposition process by nature is a very slow process, so sometimes it can make that learning very slow, and sometimes mistakes can be made and corrections to those mistakes do take some time. | | It’s a wonderful thing to be a part of because after you really meet your own best practices, you can take it to this next level of craft compost and this level of quality where we can control every input and every part of the output when we do it in such small batches that it really becomes like a family member, an extension of yourself. You get very sentimental about your compost piles. | | So just to remember that the compost pile itself is a really loving, forgiving, accepting, and nurturing, and also giving part of your life. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | That’s a beautiful way of thinking about a compost pile. I love that. Kourtni, thank you so much for taking time from your very busy schedule to tell us about your work and the Community Composting for Green Spaces Program. And just I’m super excited to see what you guys do next. | | Kourtnii Brown: | Yes. Thank you so much, Linda, for having me. Thank you for the support from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. They’ve not only been a mentor and an inspiration to a lot of what we’re trying to create as well. So very grateful for this partnership and wonderful to talk to you again. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Thanks for listening to this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This episode was produced by Drew Birschbach and ILSR’s composting team. Our theme music is I Don’t Know from Grapes. Be sure to check out the rest of the ILSR podcast family, including Building Local Power, Local Energy Rules, and Community Broadband Bits at ilsr.org. |

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSSListen to this episode, then check out more episodes of the Composting for Community Podcast.

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If you have show ideas or comments, please email us at info@ilsr.org.

Audio Credit: I Dunno by Grapes. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license.

Image: Desert Compost Volunteers, SURF Farm Smart Stack Build Demonstration, University of Redlands

Image Credit: Inez Gonzalez

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BenefitsComposting is an age-old practice that is intrinsically tied to food production and consumption. Farmers who have intimate knowledge of their soils and want access to high-quality compost are ideal stewards of the composting process. Farms often have equipment that can be repurposed for composting, may be able to produce compost less expensively than purchasing it, and can tailor their composting recipes for their specific soil and crop needs. Composting recycles nutrients and organic matter from farm residuals, manures, and animal mortalities, but food scraps from off-site can be used to improve composting recipes. On-farm composting adds to local composting capacity and facilitates the use of compost in agricultural soil – which can reduce the amount of synthetic fertilizers a farm needs – and may provide additional sources of income to farms via tipping fees and compost sales.

The benefits of composting also extend to the broader environment, the climate, and society. Food alone often makes up a significant portion of a community’s waste, while all compostable materials combined make up the single largest component of waste generated. Whereas materials thrown in the trash end up in polluting landfills or incinerators, composting food scraps and other organic materials avoids emissions associated with disposal, which is “a climate game changer.” Adding compost to soil provides essential organic matter and is another key short-term climate strategy as compost enhances soil’s ability to store carbon, especially in degraded soils. Composting further creates local jobs and local production of compost contributes to more localized, resilient food systems.

SurveyAre you a farmer interested in composting or using more compost on your farm? What are the barriers standing in your way? Help us advocate for local composting to make more high-quality compost available for agricultural use by completing this survey. (Information can be shared anonymously).

Resources1. ILSR On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series * These webinars are among the resources ILSR offers to support a distributed and diverse composting infrastructure that includes community-scale and on-farm composting. This series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use, as well as policies that are advancing on-farm composting. 2. Mid-Atlantic Better Composting School Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series * In 2017, the Mid-Atlantic Better Composting School hosted & recorded a series of webinars that mirrored its compost operator training (minus the hands-on components) and prepared participants for regional compost facility operator certification examinations: + Science of Composting + Compost Feedstocks & Recipe Development + Composting Systems & Methods + Site Selection & Design + Equipment + Composting Management – Water & Problem Feedstocks + Composting Management – Odor + Health & Safety + Regulations + Compost Quality & Standards + Compost Use & Safety + Compost Marketing & Integration 3. More resources coming soon!

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On Tuesday, February 6th from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m., ILSR will host a pre-conference workshop, Community Composting Systems: New Projects and Scaling Up Existing Projects, as part of the US Composting Council’s 2024 Conference and Tradeshow in Daytona Beach, FL. The workshop will cover composting systems for farm and community settings from DIY solar-powered systems to branded ASP systems. Small- to medium-sized equipment providers will guest speak. Also featured will be screeners for community compost sites such as the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s new electric trommel design (in collaboration with Bruno Navarro). The cost of the workshop is $260 for USCC members / $292 for non-members. You do not need to attend the rest of the conference. Learn more about the workshop here, register here.

Agenda12:45 – 1:00 p.m.Check-in

1:00 – 1:30 p.m.Introductions

1:30 – 1:45 p.m.Overview of community-oriented and farm-scale composting systems (ILSR)

1:45 – 3:00 p.m.Panel 1: Systems and Scaling Up – Deep Dive on Three Community Composters

• Khari Diop, Think Green / Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture (solar ASP hexagonal bin system and ASP bunker system)
• Domingo Morales, Compost Power (Passive Aerated Systems)
• Michael Martinez, LA Compost (urban farm scale systems)

3:00 – 3:15 p.m.Break

3:15 – 4:25 p.m.Panel 2: Systems and Scaling Up – Roundtable w/ Systems Providers & Designers

• Jennifer Perry, ADK Action / Compost for Good (farm-scale in-vessel rotating drum)
• Brian Jerose, Agrilab Technologies (AGT Mini System)
• Betsy La Force, Green Mountain Technologies (Earth Flow in-vessel system)
• Bruno Navarro, Nexusbau (DIY electric trommel screeners)

4:25 – 4:30 p.m.

Wrap-up

Lead Instructors

| Brenda PlattDirector, Composting for Community Initiative, ILSRBrenda directs ILSR’s Composting for Community project, which is advancing locally based composting in order to create jobs, enhance soils, sequester carbon, reduce waste, and build more resilient and healthy communities. She has worked 33 years fighting trash burners and promoting waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting, particularly recycling-based jobs. | | Linda Bilsens BrolisAssociate Director for Education & Advocacy, Composting for Community Initiative, ILSRLinda manages ILSR’s Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program and led the development of ILSR’s new Community Composting 101 Online Certificate Course. She also leads ILSR’s work advancing on-farm composting and its participation in the Million Acre Challenge, a collaborative focused on expanding the implementation of regenerative soil health practices in Maryland and the Chesapeake Region. | | Khari DiopFounder & CEO, Think Green Inc.Khari is an environmental educator, food security activist, and fifth-generation food grower from Atlanta. Khari is the founder and CEO of Think Green Inc. and the Community Compost Learning Lab Manager at the Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture. Khari designed a solar-powered ASP hexagonal bin system that is being built at sites around Atlanta, and manages the TLW ASP bunker system which processes more than 200 tons of material annually. |

Panelists

| Domingo MoralesFounder, Compost PowerDomingo Morales, a NYC native, Green City Force (GCF) alumnus and inaugural winner of the David Prize, is the founder of Compost Power and serves as a compost consultant. His leadership and passion for a healthier and more environmentally-just city was born out of lived experience. As a former public housing resident, he saw first-hand how residents of underserved neighborhoods and public housing suffered from poor access to healthy food and a lack of sustainable infrastructure. Today, Domingo manages 9 community composting sites, supports GCF and the NYC Housing Authority as an expert on composting and waste diversion programs, and coaches’ others to implement best practices across the city. Domingo is laser-focused on making composting cool and accessible for everyone. | | Michael MartinezFounder & Executive Director, LA CompostMichael is a former elementary school teacher, a father of two. He has grown LA Compost from a group of volunteers collecting organics using bikes, to a decentralized network of community compost hubs that span across the most populated county in the country. LA Compost has supported over 50 compost hubs over the past 10 years, all in partnership with existing communities, nonprofits, and organizations committed to healthy ecosystems inclusive of food access and healthy community engagement. The mission of LA Compost is to restore lost connections to the soil and one another. | | Jennifer PerryADK Action / Compost for Good (farm-scale in-vessel rotating drum)Jennifer Perry wears multiple hats in the community composting world. She is a cofounder of the Compost for Good (CFG) initiative which provides responsive support for a broad range of community scale composting efforts through technical assistance, microscopy consultations, guidance documents, educational videos, peer to peer connections, grant assistance, and more. CfG is part of the Adirondack North Country Association (ANCA) – a rural community development organization in the NY North Country. She recently transitioned from a 12 year position promoting clean energy programs, creating ANCA’s Organics Recycling Coordinator position, which is her forever home. Additionally, Jennifer owns and operates River Valley Regeneratives – a food scrap hauling, composting, and market garden business in the Adirondack Mountains. | | Brian JeroseAgrilab Technologies (AGT Mini System)Brian Jerose has been President of Agrilab Technologies Inc. (AGT) since 2012. Based in Vermont, Brian works on a range of environmental and agricultural projects, with a focus on compost aeration and heat recovery (CAHR) systems. AGT has equipment installations in VT, NY, NH, MA, CT, CA and MI, and has provided technical and consulting services to national and international clients. Brian is a founding Board member of the Composting Association of Vermont and currently serves at VP. He has a BA from SUNY Geneseo and a MS in Environmental and Resource Engineering from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Brian lives in Fairfield, VT with his wife Joanna and daughters Maya and Lucy. | | Betsy La ForceGreen Mountain Technologies (Earth Flow in-vessel system)Betsy La Force is a Sales & Business Development Manager for GMT. She has nearly a decade of compost industry experience from the realms of hauling, environmental advocacy, and project management. Betsy is a longtime compost enthusiast and passionate home gardener. A native of South Carolina, she is a graduate of the College of Charleston, Betsy has since earned relevant certifications in Permaculture Design from the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center in California, Master Naturalist training from Clemson University, and & Climate Leadership training from the Al Gore Climate Reality Project. Outside of work, you can find Betsy at the beach, doing yoga, or riding her bike to the farmers market and local breweries. Her favorite compost recipe is a 2:1 C:N ratio using bagged leaves at the curb and/or wood chips from local tree care companies layered with kitchen food scraps in her backyard pile. | | Bruno NavarroNexusbau (DIY electric trommel screeners)Bruno Navarro is a New York-based maker, designer, and video producer. He enrolled in The Cooper Union 2003 and graduated in 2008 with a B.S.Arch degree. In 2010, he formed a design/build company called “NexusBAU” in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn which focuses on unique and singular custom works. Since then he has worked not only with private clients but nonprofit organizations, community gardens, The New York City Department of Parks and Recreations, and taught classes on “How To” to individuals who have been marginalized in our society. |

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ILSR developed these Composting Learning Activities under its Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program to assist community composting sites in training their own community participants. These Learning Activities provide a hands-on complement to our Community Composting 101 Online Certificate Course, which prepares participants to establish and manage composting projects that both engage and serve their communities. These Learning Activities are available for free! Please take a moment to tell us about how you will use these resources, provide feedback, or give input on future resources.

| | Composting 101 Training GuideThis 6-page training guide covers the fundamentals of composting, including benefits of composting, building and managing a compost pile, and troubleshooting. |

The following Learning Activities cover different aspects of the composting process. Each Learning Activity covers: duration, appropriate age group, learning objectives, materials needed, and instructions.

| | Identifying Compostable MaterialsDuration: 20-minute minimumAge Group: All ages | | | Building Piles and Measuring Bulk DensityDuration: 2 hoursAge Group: High school age and older | | | Hand Squeeze Moisture TestDuration: 15 to 30 minutesAge Group: All ages | | | Demonstrating the Water-holding Benefits of CompostDuration: 15 minutesAge Group: All ages | | | Seed Germination Test to Determine MaturityDuration: 5 days to 2 weeks (depending on seeds used)Age Group: All ages |

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Recognition is growing that in order to meet waste reduction and climate goals, the U.S. needs to tackle its wasted food problem. For many local government organics recycling programs, the solution is simple: focus on maximizing tonnage diverted from landfilling and incineration. New York City was different.

NYC has long been a leader not only in composting, but community composting – a distributed, decentralized approach that keeps the composting process and compost use local, while offering community engagement and education opportunities. According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s 2022 Community Composter Census, New York is home to the largest concentration of community composters in the country – a thriving ecosystem of local businesses, environmental nonprofits, and neighborhood gardens.

NYC’s 2014 Community Composting Report was the first by a major city to center community composting as a part of its municipal waste diversion strategy. Founded in 1993, the NYC Compost Project (NYCCP) supports seven composting nonprofits across the city in providing local composting services, education, and outreach to thousands of New Yorkers. The program has been uplifted as a trailblazing model for community composting not just coexisting with, but actively supporting a city’s curbside organics collection.

Youth employees process food scraps at BK ROT, an NYC community composter. Photo credit: ILSR.

When earlier this year the City finally passed a bill making residential organics collection mandatory in all boroughs by 2024, composting advocates celebrated the expansion as one more step in the right direction. But there wasn’t long to celebrate before the Mayor’s Office announced a revised November 2023 budget that promises to eliminate the community composting program entirely.

In fact, the community composting cuts are just the latest in a series of issues New Yorkers have raised with their changing organics recycling program – many of which are resonating across the country as local governments begin using the billions recently allocated towards infrastructure and climate projects to start or expand similar projects. From New York, to Massachusetts, to Alaska, what at first appear to be isolated problems with government organics recycling programs are revealing themselves to be concerning national trends.

Trend 1: Government programs aren’t composting – they’re greenwashingIn New York, much of what goes into bins labeled “compost” doesn’t actually get composted. While the city’s curbside composting program slogan is “make compost, not trash,” currently all collected organic material is trucked to a wastewater treatment facility. There, it undergoes anaerobic digestion (AD), a process by which organic material is broken down into biogas and a digestate made up of the leftover organic liquids and solids.

New York City recently announced that its digester would use the biogas to heat homes, rather than flaring off 60 percent of it into the atmosphere as they had been for a decade. But the city’s struggles to execute this plan are reflective of a national problem: as of 2017, only a third of U.S. wastewater treatment facilities with an on-site anaerobic digester (also called co-digestion facilities) were actually able to use the biogas produced for energy.

Lor Holmes, former manager of worker-owned composting cooperative CERO, saw pushback for this model when Cambridge, Massachusetts, rolled out its curbside organics recycling program. Residents thought that they were composting their wasted food, but actually it was sent 30 miles away to a wastewater treatment facility located in an environmental justice community. Holmes called the plan “a recipe for turning food into sewer sludge.”

“Yes they’re making energy,” says Holmes. “But we’re losing all the value in that food waste, instead of it being viewed as a resource to replenish soils and to feed people.’”

Anaerobic digester eggs at a wastewater treatment plant in Boston. Photo credit: HABesen

The leftover solids are also a big concern. As of 2021, more than half produced by wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S. go to landfills and incinerators, rather than towards land application. Even when the leftovers are used as a soil amendment, contamination problems abound. In Cambridge, the fertilizer pellets produced from co-digestion were found to be toxic to human health and a source of pollution.

In New York City, it is unclear what percentage of digestate produced even makes it to a composting facility and, if it does, the quality of the end product is still a question. Separating anaerobic digestion (AD) from the sewage treatment process would be a step in the right direction, but advocates of community composting say that if wasted food is processed on an industrial, centralized scale, contamination will always be a problem.

“It’s not that AD is the technology we want to be against,” clarifies Holmes, “It’s really about, what you put in is what you get out. Garbage in, garbage out.”

Contamination and quality issues in organics recycling are the last thing the country needs as it faces the twin crises of toxic chemical pollution and degraded national soils. Land application of high-quality compost has the potential to not only address these problems, but also to combat climate change by sequestering carbon and building climate resilience.

In New York, a passionate group of composters, gardeners, and activists called Save Our Compost are raising awareness of the difference between industrial anaerobic digestion and composting. Although the group formed initially in 2020 to advocate for mandatory citywide organics recycling, now they have a new rallying cry: “Don’t frack our food scraps!”

Trend 2: Government programs are replicating equity and monopoly issues in the conventional waste industryEnvironmental racism and corporate malfeasance in the waste industry notoriously formed the impetus for the modern environmental justice movement. Governments have the opportunity to turn over a new leaf when it comes to organics recycling. Unfortunately, in New York, this is proving to be a struggle.

In 2018, just three neighborhoods in NYC bore the burden of processing 75 percent of the city’s waste destined for landfill, incineration, anaerobic digestion, and composting. Now, the 200 tons daily of food scraps collected in compost “smart bins” from every borough besides Staten Island are all processed at a single Williamsburg transfer station owned by Waste Management. Environmental justice groups have fought hard against this exact facility for years, arguing that waste transfer stations cause noise pollution, toxins, and unsafe traffic, as well as disproportionately burden low-income and non-white communities.

New York’s situation is not unique. In Wilmington, Delaware, similar concerns led to the 2014 shutdown of a large industrial composting facility. When Waste Management became its largest individual owner, poor management practices led to contamination and odor problems for the surrounding majority Black population. As a result, the state refused to renew its permit – a serious blow to the region’s composting infrastructure.

Baltimore Compost Collective; Marvin and Kenny pose in front of their new electric vehicles, 2022

Avoiding exacerbating environmental burdens in already vulnerable neighborhoods, is one reason community composting advocates push for local, distributed composting infrastructure that leads to less traffic and emissions. The Baltimore Compost Collective in Maryland is one of the over one in ten community composters that offer a bike-powered hauling service. Program manager Marvin Hayes says this is specifically to reduce emissions in a neighborhood heavily impacted by waste industry pollution. “During Covid, we had the highest mortality rate because people already had pre-affected respiratory systems,” Hayes explains.

Local, community-oriented operations like Hayes’ draw a sharp contrast to the national corporate conglomerates that are winning government organics recycling contracts. Waste Management, for example — aforementioned owner of the controversial Williamsburg transfer station and largest shareholder in the failed Wilmington composting facility – is also the biggest player in the U.S. waste collection industry.

Because waste companies make money for every pound of material handled, new regulations that require wasted food to be diverted from landfills and incinerators threaten their bottom line. Kirstie Pecci of Just Zero, a zero-waste nonprofit, says that their response is to pursue vertical integration in the composting industry to maximize control and profits. This dominance across sectors creates little incentive for good resource recovery.

“If something is too contaminated to be recycled or composted, they can just throw it in the landfill and incinerator, and they’ve already gotten their per ton fee.” Pecci explains. “So they’ve already made their money, they don’t care if the system actually works or is truly circular.”

The influence of these powerful corporations on the organics recycling industry is only set to grow. A fund managed by BlackRock Real Assets recently acquired Vanguard Renewables, a leader in the anaerobic digestion industry, with the goal of rapid expansion and the commission of over 100 new anaerobic digesters across the U.S. BlackRock is the world’s biggest asset management firm with hundreds of billions invested in fossil fuels, and in 2022 was nominated for Corporate Accountability’s Corporate Hall of Shame.

For Pecci, corporate giants’ expansion into the organics recycling industry raises serious concerns. “They don’t want to make a little bit of money,” she warns. “They want to make all the money.”

Trend 3: Government organics programs are drawing support away from community compostingIf powerful corporations are looking to corner the market as governments roll out their new organics recycling programs, what will happen to the small businesses and nonprofits that have been working in their communities for years?

In New York, in addition to the threat of the recent budget cuts, the city curbside program’s misleading claim to compost food scraps for free threatens the bottom line of small businesses that actually are composting. BK ROT, a Brooklyn-based and bike-powered composter that employs local youth of color, reported losing 200 customers after the City’s smart bin rollout, and expects more will be on their way out soon.

When a city’s mandatory organics recycling program isn’t free, that creates its own set of problems for community composters. Monique Figuereido of Compostable LA says her company has lost 30% of its residential customers after LA’s rollout of “green bins.” Residents are required to pay for the City’s composting service and there is no fee waiver for her clientele.

“I had so many members say, we love you, we love your service, but we just can’t justify paying for two things,” says Monique. “And I can’t argue with that.”

For community composters looking to avoid this kind of competition, collaboration with government programs isn’t always easy. In Alaska, Lisa Daugherty, owner of Juneau Composts!, says that her local government claims their new plans for citywide composting aren’t competing with her because she can bid on an RFP to run their composting facility.

“They won’t listen when I explain that means me giving up all ability to make business decisions – ranging from financial to product quality control – in order to execute the manual labor of their facility as a contractor,” says Lisa. “And that Juneau Composts as it exists now wouldn’t be possible.”

Even when the terms of government contracts are ideal, winning them can be impossible for community composters that are expected to meet requirements written with industrial facilities, full-array trash and recycling services, or deep pocket companies in mind. In many places these conditions are coupled with the creation of solid waste franchise districts that grant contractors exclusive waste hauling rights, meaning that community composters unable to secure government contracts actually face cease and desist orders if they dare to continue providing their services.

Summer Youth Program at ECO City Farms, where students learn about composting as one part of the food cycle. Photo credit: ILSR

Moreover, contracts and zero waste plans that emphasize diversion metrics don’t often factor in – let alone prioritize – the holistic benefits of composting that many community composters offer, including engaging and educating the community, building healthy local soils, increasing food security, greening neighborhoods, and more. Advocates like Pecci say that if given a fairer playing field that prioritized these values, community composting would come out on top.

“If we set regulations that require composting to be done safely and sustainably in a truly circular fashion, community composters will be far ahead of any other composters,” says Pecci. “Community composting, because it comes from that ethos, has a huge advantage over these large corporations that are used to and in fact insist on, cutting corners and honestly, poisoning people, to make mega profits.”

There are hopeful examples of this in action: from Montana, where a USDA grant is funding a partnership with the City of Bozeman and food scraps hauler Happy Trash Can, to D.C.’s launch of curbside collection in collaboration with two local composting businesses, to the suburb of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin changing its zoning code to allow the creation of Green Box Compost.

And it’s not too late for New York City to change course. Given the city’s low participation rates in other recycling initiatives, community composters and allies are hopeful that the City will recognize (as it has in the past) that community-based programs are essential to successful recycling outreach and education.

“At the launch of curbside collection, they’re cutting the outreach team that’s talked to over 75,000 people this year, has knocked on over 35,000 doors.” Justin Green of NYC partner Big Reuse said at a Save Our Compost rally last week. “None of this makes sense. In a time of growing climate crisis, with COP28 happening, with wildfire smoke hitting the city, with record rainfall, with neighborhoods flooding, this is not the time to cut green jobs.”

39th District Council Member Shahana Hanif was one of almost a dozen NYC Council Members who spoke at last Wednesday’s Save Our Compost Rally. She assured the crowd, “We will do everything in our power to restore those cuts, and add more money.” Credit: Dario Carrascosa Hidalgo.

New Yorkers seem to agree. In the days since the budget cuts announcement, over 45,000 NYC residents signed a petition calling on their government to save the community composting program. Advocates point out that if the City can afford a new encrypted radio system for its police force that costs $500 million – over 20 times the yearly cost of the entire composting program – it’s clear that it can also afford to support community composting.

Across the country, community composters and their allies are challenging local governments to think more creatively than handing big corporations money to send food scraps out of sight and out of mind. They are asking them to lean into a growing national movement for local and distributed composting, and recognize that not only is a better way possible, it is already happening. It just needs a fair shot.

About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a national nonprofit research and educational organization founded in 1974. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power to fight corporate control. We believe that democracy can only thrive when economic and political power is widely dispersed. Whether it’s fighting back against the outsize power of monopolies like Amazon or advocating to keep local renewable energy in the community that produced it, ILSR advocates for solutions that harness the power of citizens and communities.

Image: NYC Save Our Compost rally against the budget cuts. Photo credit: Dario Carrascosa Hidalgo

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The CPR Campaign is a joint effort of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Zero Waste USA, and the National Recycling Coalition to uplift waste reduction and materials conservation projects under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction (CPR) Grants Program. On this page, we offer guidance for advocates, government officials, and community organizations on taking action to get Zero Waste solutions funded.

Watch the Webinar recording on Youtube.Check out coverage of our CPRG Webinar in WasteDive.Our Resources CPR Coalition’s Vision Statement Connecting Waste to the Climate * ILSR’s Community Composting and Priority Climate Action Plans Guide + Model composting measures and template language to incorporate community composting and equity priorities into PCAPs + This guide was updated February 2024 to include additional model climate action plans. * ILSR’s Advocacy Resource on Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) + CPRG program information and guidance for the inclusion of local composting in PCAPs, including model PCAPs for composting, example language, and EPA resources * Webinar Recording: Funding Zero Waste Projects Under EPA’s CPRG Program + This webinar highlighted strategies for funding Zero Waste projects under EPA’s CPRG program. * Webinar Recording: California Climate Pollution Reduction + This webinar covered strategies in California for accessing funding under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program, qualifying for funding, and getting involved in local climate action plans. Although focused on CA, the King County, and Blauvelt, presentations are applicable nationally. It was hosted by California Resource Recovery Association, Californians Against Waste, California Product Stewardship Council and Zero Waste USA on January 31, 2024. + Access to webinar chat * Zero Waste USA CPRG Summary & Resources for Action + General information and resources to advocate for Zero Waste projects in local PCAPs + Includes state and local CPRG websites and contact information + This resource has example language and project ideas to include in PCAPs and implementation grant applications * Resource for Reuse Programs and CPRG + Information on reuse and climate change, including supportive data and research, co-benefits of reuse, and a sample budget for reuse programs * Community Composters and Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Guidance + Guidance for Community Composters on becoming eligible and applying for project funding through CPR Grants. * ILSR’s Advocacy Resource to Submit Public Comments* + Step-by-step guidance and draft language to submit comments to states and localities * Zero Waste USA Survey on PCAP Advocacy + Tell us what you are doing to ensure Zero Waste projects are included in local PCAPs and how can we support you

Additional Information & Resources

• FAQs and Answer from EPA (updated March 22, 2024)
  • This most recent version of FAQ’s includes information on CPRG’s application process and timeline; eligible applicants; eligible measures; contracts, sub-awards, and participant support costs; competition structure; and evaluation and awards
• Application Submission Checklist
  • See Appndix D (page 69) in EPA’s Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
• NRDC’s CPRG Blog post
  • Information on the grant application process, recommendations for including food waste reduction in PCAPs and implementation grants, and a list of potential project ideas
• Zero Food Waste Coalition CPRG Toolkit
  • Resources for organizations and municipalities submitting comments for the CPRG program
  • Includes a sample email, talking points, and a compiled list of state agency contact and public contact information
• Rocky Mountain Institute & Industrious Labs Guide
  • Guide for including organic waste and landfill methane strategies into Priority Climate Action Plans
• Environmental Law Institute’s Toolkit for Incorporating Food Waste in Municipal Climate Action Plans
  • Reviews model provisions to help incorporate food waste measures into municipal climate action plans
• US Composting Council Resource
  • Resources to make composting part of your community’s climate action plan
• CPRG Resources from the EPA
  • Webinar: January 16 at 1 p.m. ET – Getting Ready to Apply for the CPRG Implementation Grants – General Competition
  • Webinar: January 24 at 4 p.m. ET – Getting Ready to Apply for the CPRG Implementation Grants – Tribes and Territory Competition
  • Q&As for General Competition and Tribes and Territory Competition
• Funding Opportunities Guidance by the Environmental Protection Network
  • Guidance and information on federal funding opportunities for air pollution, climate change, community change grants, and more

The mission of the CPR Campaign is to uplift waste reduction and materials conservation projects for this historic funding opportunity. A Zero Waste framework embedding waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting strategies rooted in and serving local communities will protect the climate while enhancing social equity, economic opportunities, food systems resilience, and quality of life.

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On January 24th, 2024, this webinar highlighted strategies for accessing funding under EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program. The CPR Campaign: Resuscitate the Climate is a joint effort of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Zero Waste USA, and the National Recycling Coalition, which are hosting this event.

Presentations covered strategies to strengthen Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) and submit strong applications with Zero Waste projects. Featured speakers from CPRG lead organizations and key advocacy groups, and a presentation by an EPA CPRG Leadership Team representative shared program information, approaches to developing holistic PCAPs, managing applications, and collaborating across sectors. Presenters also reviewed model language for PCAPs, a key step in qualifying for funding, and strategies for receiving high scores on implementation project proposals.Date: January 24, 2024Watch the RecordingPresenters:

• EPA Guidance: Rich Damberg, Senior Policy Advisor, USEPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, EPA’s CPRG Leadership Team
• MT State Advocacy Efforts: Jeremy Drake, Principal, Strategy Zero Waste Solutions, Missoula, Montana
• HI State CPRG Efforts: Kristine Kubat, Executive Director, Recycle Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii
• MSA PCAP and Grant Application: Sandra West, Sustainable Waste Specialist, Sustainability Office, City of Albuquerque, NM
• PCAP Model Language for Sustainable Materials Management: Brenda Platt, Composting for Community Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Washington, DC

EPA’s CPRG Program has $4.6 billion in competitive grants to fund projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, benefit local communities, and deliver cleaner air. Nearly every state, dozens of metro areas, and many territories and tribes are drafting PCAPs with strategies and projects to serve as a framework for competitive CPRG applications.

The mission of the CPR Campaign is to uplift waste reduction and materials conservation projects for this historic funding opportunity. A Zero Waste framework embedding waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting strategies rooted in and serving local communities will protect the climate while enhancing social equity, economic opportunities, food systems resilience, and quality of life. Learn more about our vision here.

Additional information and resources on the CPR Campaign can be found here.Speakers

| Rich DambergSenior Policy Advisor, USEPA Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Triangle Park, NCRepresentative, EPA’s CPRG Leadership TeamRich Damberg is a senior policy advisor in USEPA’s Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards in Research Triangle Park, NC. He currently serves on the leadership team for the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. In his 33 years with USEPA, Rich has served as manager of the State and Local Programs Group, providing national leadership for implementing the national ambient air quality standards. He has also served as a team leader for the PM2.5 implementation and regional haze programs, and worked on a number of international air quality and climate related projects. | | Jeremy DrakePrincipal, Strategy Zero Waste Solutions, Missoula, MontanaJeremy Drake is a Zero Waste consultant with over 10 years of experience in community Zero Waste planning, project management, program design and implementation, collection system procurement, stakeholder engagement, technical assistance, and education. He holds an MA in Urban Sustainability from Antioch University Los Angeles and is a Zero Waste USA-certified Zero Waste Associate. After a decade in the nonprofit sector supporting youth musical development and building materials reuse — as well as a brief stint driving a food scraps collection truck — Jeremy is now principal of Strategy Zero Waste Solutions, a Missoula-based firm specializing in optimizing systems to reduce waste.Jeremy will describe the cross-sector approach that activists are using to engage in the PCAP process. Collaboration amongst a sectorally and geographically diverse group of individuals and entities resulted in the submission of ideas from a broad-based partnership offering a holistic vision for climate pollution reduction in Montana. | | Kristine KubatExecutive Director, Recycle Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii Born and raised in rural Pennsylvania, Kristine is a 40-year resident of Hawaii who lives in Hilo in close proximity to her two children and five grandchildren. Kristine comes to the National Recycling Coalition Board with a lifetime of involvement in environmental and social justice activism. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Recycle Hawaii where she puts a wide ranging background in politics, advocacy, journalism, project management and community outreach in service to the organizations’ mission. | | Brenda PlattDirector, Composting for Community Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Washington, DCBrenda Platt leads the Composting for Community Initiative at the national nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance, where she has worked 37 years promoting zero waste, non-burn solutions to trash. She has authored dozens of reports including Stop Trashing the Climate and Growing Local Fertility: A Guide to Community Composting. Brenda is nationally known for her work documenting the jobs through reuse, recycling, and composting. Her current focus is advancing local composting options. She emphasizes the power of compost to enhance soils, protect the climate, and foster healthy communities. In 2017, the US Composting Council awarded her its H. Clark Gregory Award for outstanding service to the composting industry through grassroots efforts. In 2019, BioCycle magazine featured Brenda as one of its organics recycling trailblazers. In 2022, the U.S. EPA recognized ILSR for advancing community composting in the Mid-Atlantic. She has a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from The George Washington University.Brenda’s presentation will focus on model composting measures and sample equity language for PCAPs. | | Sandra WestSustainable Waste Specialist, Sustainability Office, City of AlbuquerqueSandra West is the City of Albuquerque’s Sustainable Waste Specialist. She is serving as the interim grant manager for EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant for the Albuquerque metro area and leading the effort to include waste prevention in their Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and subsequent funding application. Since joining the City in April 2022, Sandra has expanded her waste reduction work to include community composting and food waste prevention while collaborating across agencies and community-based organizations. She has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and a master’s in biology. Sandra has worked for municipalities, non-profit organizations, and contractors. She has helped start a zero waste program, taught zero waste activities in schools and for groups of all ages, and led winning federal grant applications. |

Moderator:

| Leslie LukacsExecutive Director, Zero Waste SonomaPresident, National Recycling CoalitionLeslie Lukacs has worked for over 20 years in the solid waste and resource management industry. She is the Executive Director of Zero Waste Sonoma, formally known as the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency, and oversees household hazardous waste, recycling, organics, and Zero Waste programs for 10 jurisdictions in Sonoma County. Prior to this appointment, she was the Director of Zero Waste at SCS Engineers, a solid waste, recycling, and organics management consulting firm, for 13 years. Leslie also had her own Zero Waste consulting company for 7 years. Leslie currently serves as President of the National Recycling Coalition, is on the Board of Directors of Californians Against Waste and the Zero Waste International Alliance, and is an Advisor to Zero Waste USA. She is also the founder of numerous stakeholder groups including the California Resource Recovery Association’s Green Initiatives for Venues and Events (GIVE) Council, Compost Coalition of Sonoma County, Sonoma County Zero Waste Task Force, and the Zero Waste North Bay Symposium. |

Photo Credit: Steve Snodgrass via Flickr

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Climate Pollution Reduction (CPR) Grants need to fund distributed recycling and composting. Tell your state and local government to include zero-waste solutions and local composting in their Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) today!State and local government agencies are currently writing Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) to reduce GHG emissions and other harmful pollutants. Only activities included in these plans will be eligible for billions in federal funding through EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction (CPR) grants program. Submit public comments calling for the inclusion of Zero Waste solutions before the window closes!

On this page:

• Step-by-step guidance to advocate in your state
• Step-by-step guidance to advocate in your locality
• Draft language to submit public comments
• Our vision statement connecting waste to climate action

The CPR: Resuscitate the Climate – Stop Trashing It! campaign is a joint effort from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Zero Waste USA, and the National Recycling Coalition.

How To Support Equitable Climate Solutions

| Before you start: identify where you can advocate* Find the participating state or locality (referred to as MSAs) closest to you * You may be able to advocate in both your state and local MSA! |

To Advocate in StatesStep 1: Submit a public comment online, by email, or by joining a public planning event

• Option 1: Locate your state’s survey or website to submit public comments
  • See Columns J – L on this spreadsheet for website and survey information (created by Zero Food Waste Coalition)
  • If your state website is not located on the above resource
    • Check out this EPA resource with state websites, or
    • Google the state name or the state’s lead organization, along with keywords like “climate action plan” or “climate pollution reduction grants” or “CPRG”
• Option 2: If a state website is unavailable, reach out directly by emailing a public comment to the CPRG contact
  • See Column H & Column I on this Spreadsheet (created by Zero Food Waste Coalition)

Step 2: Sign up to receive information and stay updated on priority climate action plans and CPRG grants

• See Column M on this Spreadsheet (created by Zero Food Waste Coalition)
• State websites may also have links to subscribe

Step 3: Follow state social media pages to remain informed on available opportunities to participate

To Advocate Locally in MSAsStep 1: Submit a public comment online, by email, or by joining a public planning event

• Option 1: Find the MSA website
  • See if your MSA website is on the “MSAs” tab of this spreadsheet
    • Visit the local website to identify opportunities to submit public comments, join public planning events, or find contact information to reach out directly
  • If your MSA website is not located on the above resource, google the region/city name or the lead organization, along with keywords like “climate action plan” or “climate pollution reduction grants” or “CPRG”
• Option 2: Locate Main Campaign Contact
  • If there is no website or the website does not provide information to comment
    • Look up the lead organization for your MSA and the contact information here
    • Reach out directly to the contact person with comments

Step 2: Sign up to receive information and stay updated on priority climate action plans and CPRG grants

• Websites may have links to subscribe (or you can sign up for your state’s updates)

Step 3: Follow MSAs and lead organizations on social media to remain informed on available opportunities to participate

Draft Language You Can Use in Public Comments“As a concerned citizen of [INSERT STATE/LOCALITY], I urge you to prioritize a zero-waste framework embedding waste prevention, reuse, recycling, and composting strategies rooted in and serving local communities in your Priority Climate Action Plan. These efforts will protect the climate while enhancing social equity, economic opportunities, food systems resilience, and quality of life.

Specific zero-waste and local composting measures to include in the Priority Climate Action Plan:

• Adopt zero-waste goals as a cross-cutting climate solution that builds equity and local economic development opportunities
• Acknowledge the importance of reducing waste and materials consumption to climate protection
• Support local decentralized food rescue and composting
• Help urban and rural farmers in producing and utilizing compost
• Build an understanding of the connections of healthy soils to food system resilience
• Fund and contract with existing independent reuse, recycling, and composting enterprises
• Educate the public to reduce and conserve materials
• Embrace a transition from single-use to durable products
• Encourage reuse, repair, and repurpose projects
• Commit to closing any trash incinerators and stemming the flow of materials to landfills
• Promote reuse of building materials and reduce construction and demolition waste

Our VisionTake a look at our vision statement highlighting the need for zero-waste goals and circular communities in climate action.

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We are excited to announce the release of three short videos highlighting the economic, environmental, and social benefits of community composting, created by ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. To accompany the videos, EPA has created a Community Composting page with the help of ILSR. This is a significant step towards national recognition of the importance of community composting and EPA’s commitment to equitable climate and soil solutions that put community benefits first.

These short, accessible videos posted on EPA’s YouTube channel showcase the diversity of location, age, size, community, and operation of community composters. Feel free to share with your network, embed in your website, and use in your training materials. We also developed a series of graphics highlighting these same benefits, to be downloaded and used with attribution.

Local Environmental BenefitsThe environmental benefits of community composting include reduction of food waste, soil rejuvenation, carbon sequestration, emission reductions, building climate resilience, and more.

This video features footage and interviews from BK ROT, Baltimore Compost Collective, Compost Crew, Hidden Harvest Farm, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, and ECO City Farms

“With our Community Compost Initiative, we use our solar powered trikes in order to collect food scraps, food waste, from the community, and return it back in the form of healthy greens and vegetables. It’s all, you know, a closed loop.” – Nicholas Koopman (Radix Ecological Sustainability Center)

Local Social BenefitsThe social benefits of community composting include education, strengthening of community ties, cultural restoration, improved access to healthy food and green space, and more.

This video features footage and interviews from BK ROT, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, LA Compost, ECO City Farms, and Baltimore Compost Collective

“Youth of color especially have a lot of anxiety around the impacts of climate change, it will be a problem we can’t escape. You’re just sitting there thinking, I can’t really do anything about the situation. It’s out of my hands. This work physically puts the power back into the hands of young people. ” – Karina Santara (BK ROT)

Local Economic BenefitsThe economic benefits of community composting include job creation, small business development, workforce education, support of local circular economies, and more.

This video features footage and interviews from Hidden Harvest Farm, Radix Ecological Sustainability Center, ECO City Farms, LA Compost, Fertile Ground Cooperative, Rust Belt Riders, Food Plus Detroit, Compost Power, Truly Living Well, BK ROT, Compost Crew, and Happy Trash Can

“We were the first company to offer food scraps collections here in our community. Our end goal was always to partner with the city. We want to strategically invest our dollars to create a robust composting organics recycling program that will have long term benefits for years to come.” – Ryan Green (Happy Trash Can Compost)

Additional Resources* EPA: Community Composting * ILSR: What is Community Composting? * ILSR: Infographic: Compost Impacts More Than You Think * ISLR: Poster: What is Composting?

Header image: Youth employees process food scraps at BK ROT, an NYC community composter. Photo credit: ILSR.

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An opportunity for Community Composting to access EPA fundingThe US EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (CPRG) provides funding to states, municipalities, territories, and tribes to (1) develop and (2) implement climate action plans to reduce GHG emissions and other harmful pollution. Nearly every state, dozens of metropolitan areas, and many U.S. territories and tribes have received funding for CPRG’s Phase 1: to develop a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) with input from citizens and stakeholders.

Only projects, policies, and strategies explicitly included in PCAPs will be eligible for $4.6 billion available through competitive implementation grants in Phase 2. PCAPs are currently being drafted and are due to the EPA before March 1, 2024. ILSR is providing guidance for the inclusion of community composting in PCAPs as a nature-based solution with cross-cutting benefits that fight climate change, advance equity, and cultivate self-reliant communities.

| Download the GuideCheck out our Community Composting and Priority Climate Action Plans Guide: Model Measures and Template LanguageThis guide outlines template PCAP language for community composting, model composting measures, equity and community considerations, existing examples, and more. It was updated February 2024 to include additional model climate action plans. |

How to Get Involved→ Watch the recording of our January 24, 2024 webinar for policymakers, advocates, and anyone interested in including composting in their local PCAPs.

→ Sign up here if you’re interested in incorporating community composting into your local or state PCAP and staying informed with ILSR’s guidance

→ Find the participating locality closest to you and contact the lead organization to participate

→ Review the guidance and information below (which will be updated regularly with new resources)

Additional Guidance and InformationClimate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (CPRG) InformationBackgroundThe Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 made historic investments in climate action, including more than $10 billion in program funds to achieve three broad objectives:(1) tackle climate pollution,

(2) advance environmental justice, and

(3) deliver cleaner air.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is central in administering these programs. The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (CPRG) General Competition provides $4.6 billion to states, Puerto Rico, DC, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), U.S. territories, tribes, municipalities, and air pollution control agencies to develop and implement ambitious Climate Action Plans.* The program aims to reduce GHGs and other harmful air pollution and is organized in two phases: planning and implementation.

Phase 1: $250 million for Noncompetitive Planning Grants

• Provides funding to jurisdictions to develop Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAPs) that incorporate measures, policies, activities, and strategies to reduce GHG emissions
• Projects must be referenced in Phase 1 PCAPs to be eligible for funding through Phase 2 (Implementation Grants)
• Participating jurisdictions must designate a lead organization to manage grants
• Funding for plan development was awarded to those who applied in summer/fall 2023:
  • List of participating entities

Phase 2: $4.3 billion for Competitive Implementation Grants

• Grants to implement GHG reduction programs, policies, projects, and measures (collectively referred to as “GHG reduction measures” or “measures”) identified in PCAPs developed under the CPRG Planning Grant
• Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) outlines grant application details, deadlines, and processes
• Competitive grants that will only be awarded to select projects outlined in PCAPs
• Eligibility: Applications can be submitted and funding awarded not only by/to “lead organizations” that received planning grant funds but also sub-recipients and contractors to assist with specific projects or to implement one or more measures included in an applicable PCAP.

*U.S. territories and tribes can apply to either the General Competition or the Competition for Tribes and Territories.

What are Priority Climate Action Plans?A Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) is a documented plan reflecting a jurisdiction’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).* Plans must include a focused list of near-term, high-priority, and implementation-ready GHG reduction “measures” * Measures include projects, programs, policies, activities, strategies, series of steps, and actions to achieve plan goals * Stakeholders, relevant entities, and eligible applicants should participate in the PCAP development process (Phase 1) to provide input on priority measures and best practices to include in the plan

Funding from the Implementation Grants General Competition ($4.3 billion) will ONLY be allocated to “measures” (projects, programs, activities, strategies, etc.) explicitly included in a jurisdiction’s Priority Climate Action Plan (which are due March 1, 2024 for the general competition).**

Key sectors generally used in PCAPs:

1. Electricity Generation/Electric Power
2. Industry
3. Transportation
4. Commercial & Residential Buildings
5. Agriculture
6. Natural and Working Lands
7. Waste, Water & Sustainable Materials Management

**PCAPs for the Competition for Tribes and Territories are due April 1, 2024.

What the EPA Is Looking ForCPRG has specific goals, priorities, and evaluation criteria to guide grantmaking. Measures aligning with these goals and criteria will be prioritized for funding awards. Details on evaluation criteria can be found on page 50 of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Implementation Grants General Competition.Key Priorities & Evaluation Criteria

1) Reduce GHG EmissionsAchieve significant, long-lasting GHG Reductions
Enhance carbon removal

2) EquityBenefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities (without negative impacts)
Advance Justice40 goals to deliver 40% of benefits to disadvantaged communities
Ensure accountability by providing clear guidelines/information

3) Community Benefits & EngagementAchieve community benefits (e.g., reduce air pollutants)
Engage community through meaningful involvement and participation

4) Job Creation & EmploymentJob creation and economic growth opportunities
Support equitable workforce development and training
Emphasize job quality and high labor standards

5) Transformative ImpactScalability across multiple jurisdictions
Replicable approaches for even greater reductions
Deployment and adoption of emerging technologies and practices

6) EfficiencyAccelerate decarbonization across one or more major sectors
Cost-effectiveness
Leverage other funding sources to maximize potential

Community Composting & PCAPsWe aim to ensure the inclusion of local and community composting into PCAPs as a cross-cutting and multi-sector strategy.Climate action plans generally include composting strategies to reduce GHG emissions from landfills and are often confined to the waste sector. Strategies to sequester carbon occasionally include compost procurement and use but are usually limited to agricultural efforts. However, policies supporting diverse, distributed, and local composting infrastructure have numerous benefits beyond emissions reductions and the waste sector.

| Grant Priorities & Evaluation Criteria | Cross-Cutting Benefits of Community Composting | | Reduce GHG Emissions | Reduces GHG emissions through: Waste diversion from polluting landfills * Carbon sequestration in compost * Curtailing use of carbon-intensive fertilizers * Cutting travel distance for hauling and transporting | | Equity | * Provides alternative to landfills and incinerators disproportionately affecting poor and Black neighborhoods * Low-tech and inexpensive systems build capacity in minority and low-income areas * Enhances resiliency for frontline communities hardest hit by extreme weather and natural disasters * Creates jobs and facilitates social engagement in underserved communities * Provides green space and natural environment in underserved neighborhoods | | Community Benefits & Engagement | * Promotes health and safety + Physical and outdoor activity + Diversion from landfills emitting harmful pollutants * Enhances community climate resiliency + Mitigates stormwater run-off via improved rainwater infiltration + Combats soil erosion via improved soil aggregation * Strengthens food systems and security * Benefits are kept local and in the community * Creates opportunities for citizen engagement and experiential learning for all ages | | Job Creation & Employment | * Creates more jobs than landfills or incinerators * Stimulates local economy and supports small businesses and local farmers | | Transformative Impact | * Can be implemented quickly, is scalable, and is replicable * Improves agricultural practices & builds healthy soil * Enhances carbon sequestration | | Efficiency* | * Cost-effective and less expensive than landfills & incinerators * Accelerates decarbonization across multiple sectors * Facilitates sustainable materials management developing a local circular economy |

Example Language and Model PCAPs to ReferenceDefinition of Community CompostingCommunity composting is making and using compost within the same community in which the wasted food and other organic materials are generated. Community composting (1) keeps the composting process and product as local as possible and (2) engages the community through participation and education.

While many policies (particularly concerning waste) prioritize large haulers and processing facilities – anaerobic digestion (AD), composting, and recycling can be managed by local, distributed networks of independent businesses, worker cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, and local governments. Community-scale solutions include composting at home, community gardens, urban farms, schools, non-profits, micro-scale facilities, social enterprises, and local government sites.

See ILSR’s Hierarchy to Reduce Food Waste and Grow Community

Example Summary of Community Composting as a Cross-Cutting Strategy

Prioritizing the expansion of composting and compost utilization can accelerate reaching net-zero goals while building more prosperous, equitable, and resilient communities. Specifically, climate efforts should (1) increase waste diversion from disposal by expanding mandates and investing in diverse and distributed composting infrastructure, and (2) promote the production and utilization of high-quality compost to build healthy soils. Composting is far less expensive than landfills or incinerators, can ultimately lead to long-term savings, and has numerous cross-sectoral benefits. Composting reduces GHG emissions by diverting waste from polluting disposal, increasing carbon storage in soils, and curtailing carbon-intensive fertilizers. An alternative to landfills and incinerators that disproportionately affect poor and African American neighborhoods, composting also improves climate resiliency against extreme weather and natural disasters that often hit frontline communities hardest. On-farm composting cultivates a more economical and resilient food system, encourages community reliance, and enhances food security. Composting operations also stimulate the local economy by creating new jobs, promoting business and workforce development, and supporting local farmers and small businesses.

Community composting reduces GHG emissions, cuts food loss, enhances soils, supports local food production, and protects the climate while addressing community prosperity and equity issues. Community composting efforts are also cost-effective, can be launched and scaled up quickly, and activate community engagement.

Model Measures in Climate Action Plans

| Climate Action Plan | Model Measures | | City of Santa MonicaClimate Action & Adaptation Plan 2019 | Relevant GoalsZero Waste: divert 95% of materials from landfillsIncrease community resilienceProtect vulnerable groups from impactsLow-carbon food & ecosystemsZero Waste (pg. 26)ZW1: Implement Citywide Organics Recycling (pg. 27)ZW2: Zero Waste Outreach & Education (pg. 28)ZW4: Implement Pricing Signals to Increase Diversion (pg. 28)ZW5: Increase Construction & Demolition Debris Diversion Requirements (pg. 28)ZW6: Implement Material and Landfill Bans (pg. 28)ZW11: Explore Waste-to-Energy Conversion Technologies (pg. 28)Sustainable Mobility (pg. 29)SM5: Sustainable Goods Movement & Delivery Services (pg. 31/33)Low-Carbon Food & Ecosystems (pg. 53)LCFE2: Increase Productivity of Public & Private Lands (pg. 56)LCFE5: Climate Resilient Forest & Landscape Management (pg. 56)LCFE7: Local Carbon Sequestration (pg. 56)Program Spotlight: “To Rot or Not” Main Street Pilot (pg. 26) | | New York State Climate Action Council Scoping Plan 2022 | Agriculture & Forestry (pg. 271)AF8. Advance Alternative Manure Management (pg. 287-291)Waste (pg. 315)W1. Organic Waste Reduction and Recycling – Components (pg. 324-325)W2. Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling – Components (pg. 325-328)W8. Recycling Markets – Components (pg. 335-336) | | Phoenix, AZClimate Action Plan 2021 | Waste as a Resource (pg. 94)WR1: Implement programs to reduce waste, increase the reuse, recycling and recovery of waste materials and promote social and economic value.* WR1.4. (pg. 104)

WR3: Increase waste-diversion participation by all residents and businesses.* WR3.1 (pg. 108), WR3.2 (pg. 109), WR3.3 (pg. 110)

WR4: Transition to green alternatives from environmentally hazardous materials.* WR4.3 (pg. 113)

Local Food Systems (pg. 128)LFS1. All people living in Phoenix will have enough to eat and have access to affordable, healthy, local, and culturally appropriate food (pg. 140-141)LFS2. Businesses that produce, process, distribute, and sell local and healthy food will be recognized as integral to the economy and encouraged to grow and thrive in Phoenix. (pg. 142-143)LFS3.Growing food in Phoenix and the region will be easy and valued, for personal or business use. (pg. 144-146)LFS4.Food-related waste will be prevented, reused, or recycled via sustainable food production practices that maintain a healthy environment. (pg. 147-148)Program Spotlight: Zero Waste Team education & outreach (pg. 108) & Green Business Leader Program (pg. 110) | | Memphis, TNMemphis Area Climate Action Plan 2019 | Waste (pg. 126)W.1 Divert Greater Amounts of Organic Waste from Landfills (pg. 132-136)* Implement a municipal curbside composting program for yard waste that includes fee changes to incentivize composting. * Expand municipal composting facility capacity or consider contracting with a private composting facility for this service. * Revise yard waste procedures to generate higher-quality organic compost products. * Incentivize the markets for compostable materials, especially in industry and commercial settings, in order to support a circular economy and reduce waste. * Advocate for updated state-level landfill regulations that discourage and/or phase out disposal of organic waste in landfills.

W.2 Reduce the Overall Amount of Waste Generated (pg. 138-142)* Explore the development of programs and incentives to encourage increased paper/cardboard recycling and food waste composting for commercial, institutional, and industrial sectors, including specific use- or industry-themed competitions or challenges. * Collaborate and coordinate with private waste hauling companies to meet waste reduction goals. * Consider new regulations that require private waste hauling companies to offer recycling and food waste composting services * Advocate for updated state-level landfill regulations that discourage and/or phase out disposal of food waste in landfills. * Explore future implementation of a municipal curbside composting program for food waste that would increase food waste composting from the residential sector

W.5 Expand Education & Outreach Efforts to Encourage Behavior Change (pg. 158-162)* Launch outreach and education campaigns to inform and support residents about waste management in their community, including programs they can take part in and information regarding how to properly dispose of waste. |

EPA Examples of GHG Reduction Measures“EPA has prepared the following illustrative list of potential GHG reduction measures for which applicants may choose to seek CPRG implementation grant funding. This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive with respect to the measures that may be included in competitive applications under this NOFO.”We have highlighted specific measures below that could connect to advancing composting.

“EPA has prepared the following illustrative list of potential GHG reduction measures for which applicants may choose to seek CPRG implementation grant funding. This list is neither exhaustive nor definitive with respect to the measures that may be included in competitive applications under this NOFO.”

We have noted specific measures in bold below that could connect to advancing composting.

Transportation Sector

• Programs to increase the share of electric light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles and to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure
• Electrification requirements for state, municipal, territorial, and tribal vehicle, transit, or equipment fleets
• Transportation pricing programs that reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT), such as parking pricing and congestion and road pricing
• Policies to support transportation management incentive programs to reduce vehicle trips or travel and expand transit use, such as van-pool programs, ridesharing, transit fare subsidies, and bicycle facilities
• New or expanded transportation infrastructure projects to facilitate public transit, micro-mobility, car sharing, bicycle, and pedestrian modes
• Incentive programs to purchase zero-emission vehicles and equipment to replace older heavy-duty diesel vehicles and equipment
• Programs to increase efficiency and reduce GHG emissions at ports and freight terminals, such as vehicle or equipment idle reduction, vessel-speed reduction, equipment electrification, and shore power
• Update building and zoning codes to encourage walkable, bikeable, and transit-oriented development
• Encourage mode shift from private vehicles to walking, biking, and public transportation (e.g., complete streets, bike share programs, bike storage facilities, low-speed electric bicycle subsidies, public transit subsidies)

Electric Power Sector

• Renewable portfolio standards and/or clean electricity standards
• Energy efficiency portfolio standards
• Emission trading systems (e.g., cap-and-trade programs) and carbon pricing measures
• GHG performance standards for electric generating units
• Installation of renewable energy and energy storage systems on municipal facilities
• Programs to support smart-grid and/or behind-the-meter technologies to reduce power losses, reduce peak demand, and enable consumer participation in distributed generation
• Targeted incentives for installation of renewable energy and energy storage systems on commercial and residential buildings, such as net metering, tax credits, rebates, and streamlined interconnection standards
• Policies and measures to streamline permitting for renewable energy projects
• Development of distributed or community-scale renewable energy generation, microgrids, or vehicle-to-grid infrastructure in disadvantaged communities, including remote and rural regions

Building Sector

• Adoption and implementation of the most up-to-date building energy codes or stretch codes for new commercial and residential buildings
• Implementation of a clean heat standard
• Incentive programs for implementation of end-use energy efficiency measures in existing government-owned, commercial, and residential buildings
• Incentive programs for the purchase of certified energy-efficient appliances, heating and cooling equipment, lighting, and building products to replace inefficient products
• Programs and policies to promote electrification of government-owned, commercial, and residential buildings
• Programs and policies to accelerate the incorporation of efficient electric technologies and electric vehicle charging at new single-family, multi-unit, or affordable residential buildings and commercial buildings, including building codes related to electric vehicle charging Implementation of a building energy performance management program for government-owned buildings
• Implementation of a new benchmarking and building performance standards
• Programs to promote recovery and destruction of high-global warming potential (GWP) hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in existing appliances, air conditioning systems, and commercial chillers

Industrial Sector

• Standards addressing GHG emissions from industrial facilities and from energy production sectors, including emissions from industrial process heat and industrial processes
• Programs to support or incentivize implementation of energy efficiency measures in industry, including energy audits, strategic energy management, equipment upgrades, and waste heat utilization
• Programs to support or incentivize GHG reductions in industrial energy use and industrial processes, including use of low/no carbon fuels, electrification, renewable energy, and process improvements
• Programs to develop, expand, and support markets for low-embodied carbon materials and products, such as cement and steel

Waste, Water, and Sustainable Materials Management Sector

• Standards and incentives to reduce methane emissions from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities, including through collection for use or destruction
• Programs and incentives to reduce or divert waste (including food and/or yard waste) through improved production practices, improved collection services, and increased reuse or recycling rates
• Programs and incentives to reduce GHG emissions associated with plastics production, use, and waste management
• Programs to expand composting and bio-digestion infrastructure to reduce GHG emissions and increase beneficial use of organic waste
• Policies and programs to reduce construction and demolition waste through building reuse, deconstruction, and material diversion and reuse
• Installation of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures at wastewater treatment facilities

Agricultural Sector

• Incentive programs to fund electric agricultural equipment technologies
• Incentives for technologies and techniques that reduce nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer application
• Incentives to promote anaerobic digesters to capture methane and generate renewable energy or produce renewable fuel

Carbon Removal Measures

• Policies to promote improved forest management to enhance carbon stocks on forested land
• Urban afforestation and green infrastructure programs and projects
• Restoration of degraded lands (e.g., brownfields, mine reclamation) and forested lands to enhance carbon sequestration
• Policies to enhance carbon stocks in coastal estuaries, such as wetlands and mangroves. Additional ResourcesEPA CPRG Resources for General Competition * EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
• EPA CPRG Training, Tools and Technical Assistance
• EPA Planning Information
• EPA Planning Program Guidance
• EPA Planning FAQs
• EPA Implementation Program Information
• EPA Implementation Program FAQs

EPA CPRG Resources for Competition for Tribes and Territories Only

• EPA Planning Grant Guidance
• EPA Implementation Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
• EPA Implementation FAQs

Additional EPA Resources

• EPA Example Action Plans Addressing Materials Management and Waste
• EPA Climate Action Measures (State Directory & Local Directory)

Policy Resources from ILSR

• Healthy Soils and Compost Policy Guide: Synergies and Opportunities
• Policy Examples for Soil Health & Carbon Sequestration
• Examples of On-Farm Composting Rules & Permit Exemptions
• Policy Examples for Compost Procurement
• Policy Examples for Compost-Amended Soil Requirements
• Model State Legislation: Funding Waste Diversion and On-Farm Composting via a Disposal Surcharge
• Policy Examples for Waste Surcharges as Funding Mechanisms
• Policy Examples for Bans on Yard Trimmings in Landfills
• Policy Examples for Food Scrap Recovery
• Policy Examples for Zoning for Community-Scale Composting
• Examples of Performance-Based Composting Permit Regulations
• Policy Tools for Composting

Additional Resources

• Rocky Mountain Institute & Industrious Labs: Priority Climate Action Plan Guide: Organic Waste & Landfill Methane Strategies
  • Including Tools & Resources List on Page 9
• US Composting Council Resources
  • Resources to make composting part of your community’s climate action plan

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For media inquiries, please contact: Reggie Rucker, ILSR Communications Director

(November 28, 2023) – Brenda Platt, Director of the Composting for Community Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), made the following statement on the New York City Mayor’s Office budget cuts that promise to eliminate the community composting program:

“The Mayor’s budget cuts are a devastating blow to New York City’s organics recycling infrastructure. Every year, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers benefit from the environmental education, local jobs, healthy local food, and greener, more beautiful neighborhoods that community composters provide. Before the City was clued into the importance of composting, these same operations were the ones that made sure that their communities had an alternative to burning or burying wasted food.

“The NYC Compost Project has long served as a model for local government support for community composting, showing that the two can work in tandem to reduce waste while maintaining a commitment to equity and community service. This recent decision throws that decades-long partnership away. And, it will have serious consequences for the community composters left in the lurch, who will have to deal with half-finished projects and a severely limited operating capacity.

“While the City’s new plans for dealing with organic materials continue to hit roadblocks and generate controversy, community composting remains its greenest solution to managing wasted food. In fact, without the outreach and education provided by community composters, successful adoption of curbside composting is itself in jeopardy.

“The six community composting sites facing the chopping block do much more than divert millions of pounds of food scraps from landfills. Through education and leadership training, they seed dozens of other community composting projects throughout New York City, fostering healthy soils, climate resiliency, gathering spaces, social inclusion, and empowerment. The Queens Botanical Garden’s program alone supported composting at more than 36 community sites from churches and gardens to universities and vacant lots.

“We strongly urge the Mayor and City Council to halt these short-sighted cuts and commit to long-term funding of the NYC Compost Project and GrowNYC. Indeed, we call for expanding funding to community composting projects in the city.”

Clarissa Libertelli, coordinator of the national Community Composter Coalition with the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (and a Brooklyn resident), also weighed in on the budget cuts:

“These cuts come at a time when the climate crisis is becoming an increasingly scary reality for New Yorkers. In confronting the worsening impacts of climate change–from the heat island effect to record-breaking flooding — the City needs to invest more in local composting solutions, not less. If they neglect this duty, they will have to answer to the harsh reality that the negative impacts of climate change and depleted local soils will be borne by the City’s most vulnerable residents.

“Failing to account for the importance of community composting in building a resilient, thriving, and equitable New York, is a mistake that will ultimately cost the city more in the long run. It’s time for this to be reflected in the City’s budget. We urge for not only a reversal of the most recent budget cuts, but also a commitment to substantial long-term funding for community composting in New York City.”

If you live in New York City, sign and share the petition today to express your opposition to the Mayor’s budget cuts.

Relevant Links:

• What is Community Composting?
• Podcast: The Case for Government Support of Community Composting (feat. Queens Botanical Garden)
• Hierarchy to Reduce Food Waste & Grow Community
• A Growing Movement: 2022 Community Composter Census

About the Institute for Local Self-Reliance

The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) is a national nonprofit research and educational organization founded in 1974. ILSR has a vision of thriving, diverse, equitable communities. To reach this vision, we build local power to fight corporate control. We believe that democracy can only thrive when economic and political power is widely dispersed. Whether it’s fighting back against the outsize power of monopolies like Amazon or advocating to keep local renewable energy in the community that produced it, ILSR advocates for solutions that harness the power of citizens and communities.

Image Credit: Queens Botanical Garden

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On America Recycles Day, November 15th, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 25 selectees to receive over $33 million in Recycling Education and Outreach grants. These grants, which are part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, will expand education for reducing and recovering waste across the country.

ILSR’s Community Composting Outreach and Education Project was among the projects selected for funding. This $1.4 million, 3-year project will cultivate local composting to reduce food waste, protect the climate, build healthy soils and community resiliency, promote environmental justice, and develop circular economies rooted in and serving local communities.

Under this funding, we will:

1. Expand access to training and public outreach materials that elevate composting’s many benefits;
2. Support and grow community-based composting via workshops, podcasts, webinars, networking and knowledge-sharing opportunities, and development of resources and best practices; and
3. Create an online interactive Local Composting Toolkit – a curated hub of options, resources, and tools to guide local government, community composters, and individuals in advancing at-home and community composting.

Collaboration plays a central role in all our work. We look forward to amplifying and sharing the stories of our many network members!

U.S. EPA press release

Table: Selectees for the Recycling Education and Outreach Grants

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With a growing number of States considering and adopting healthy soils policies, there is an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the connection to compost as a proven soil health builder, and to encourage and invest in the production and use of high-quality compost.

On World Soil Day, December 5th, 2023, we explored how policy can be leveraged to advance soil health practices, high-quality compost production, and compost use throughout the country, as featured in our Healthy Soils and Compost Policy Guide and beyond. This webinar featured presentations from Ayesha Ali (Kiss The Ground), Steven Keleti (Healthy Soils Advocate), and Sophia Jones (ILSR) and provided an overview of the current overlap between healthy soils and compost in policy at the state, local, and federal levels, as well as opportunities for coming legislative sessions.

The webinar took place on December 5th, 2023Watch the Recording HereThe fee to watch this webinar is $20This webinar is free for Community Composter Coalition members (use code CCC), farmers (use code FARMER), and government representatives (use code GOV)!

Speakers:

| Ayesha AliAdvocacy Manager, Kiss The GroundAyesha Ali is the Advocacy Manager at Kiss the Ground, and co-coordinator of the Regenerate America coalition. She has a background in research, political ecology, and communications, having previously worked in the environmental comms shop at Prime Weber Shandwick. She holds an M.A. in Global Environmental History with a focus on agricultural production and global food supply chain policies; she specialized in California’s 20th-century water policy and the contemporary groundwater crisis. | | Steven KeletiHealthy Soils AdvocateSteven Keleti has been a persistent advocate for state Healthy Soils legislation across the country, writing initial draft legislation, helping bring together groups, and working with groups to draft and move legislation forward in numerous states over the past seven years. He has been providing state healthy soils status updates to healthy-soils-legislation@googlegroups.com, which led to a collaboration to create and support http://healthysoilspolicy.org/. He helps state groups with strategy and coordination, and with pursuing funding for the creation of healthy soils action plans and healthy soils programs that include gathering cost-benefit data to support increased funding for soil health. He has been doing this as a volunteer with occasional support, and does not work for or represent any organization or coalition. Born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, he has a Ph.D. In Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri — Rolla, spending most of his professional career in imaging and remote sensing, while engaging in land conservation projects. He lives in Malden, Massachusetts. | | Sophia JonesPolicy Lead, Composting for Community, Institute for Local Self Reliance (ILSR)Sophia Jones is the Policy Lead with ILSR’s Composting for Community initiative, where she researches, analyzes and supports the building of US policy that advances local composting. She also works on the Development team, coordinating fundraising and outreach for ILSR. She received her B.A. in Environment and Development Studies from McGill University. |

Moderator:

| Linda Bilsens Brolis Associate Director for Education and Advocacy, Composting for Community, Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR)Linda Bilsens Brolis is the Associate Director for Education & Advocacy for the Composting for Community Initiative. Her work focuses on promoting composting as a tool for reducing waste, regenerating soils, supporting local food systems, and fighting climate chaos. She manages ILSR’s Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program and leads ILSR’s work advancing on-farm composting. |

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Learn to recycle those food scraps and yard trimmings with our home composting basics video series — on YouTube now!

For anyone who’s ever wondered: What’s hot composting? What’s vermicomposting? Why should I compost? What are the basics of composting? And how could I get started?

This series is for you! Check out the specific topics you’re interested in or watch the full workshop, offered in both English and Spanish.

These workshops were recorded live in September 2023.

Workshop Playlist in English or SpanishWatch the section that interests you!

• What is compost and why compost?
• Hot composting basics!
• Getting Started: Setting Up Systems, Tools, Building a Pile
• Compost troubleshooting (basic tips, avoiding odors, avoiding rodents)
• Using compost and knowing when it’s ready!
• Worm composting!

Or check out the full workshop:

We also offered this workshop in Spanish. Share our landing page in Spanish or access the full Spanish-language playlist here.

Check it out in sections or watch the full workshop.

• ¿Qué es el compostaje y para qué compostamos?
• ¿Cón qué se hace el compost?
• Proceso básico y primeros pasos: Cortar, mezclar, temp. y riego
• ¿Dónde ubicar el compostero para evitar problemas? y otros pasos y soluciones
• ¿Cúando esta listo? ¿Y luego…cómo cenir? ¿Donde usamos el compost?
• Taller Completo — Taller del Compostaje Casero

Related Resources from ILSR:1. Home Composting Resources Homepage 2. Oh, Rats! How to Avoid Rodents at Community Composting Sites 3. Home Composting Dos and Don’ts 4. Common Steps in the Composting Process 5. Ingredients for Good Compost 6. Cross-section of a Composting Pile 7. Hierarchy to Reduce Food Waste and Grow Community 8. Posters: Compost Impacts More Than You Think

ILSR receives no commission or monetary benefit from sales.

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Aprenda a reciclar esos restos de comida y recortes del jardín con nuestra serie de videos básicos sobre el compostaje en casa; ¡ahora puede verlo en Youtube en español!

Para cualquier persona que alguna vez se haya preguntado: ¿Qué es el compostaje en caliente? ¿Por qué debería hacer compost? ¿Cuáles son los conceptos básicos del compostaje? ¿Y cómo podría empezar?

¡Esta serie es para usted! Consulte los temas específicos que le interesan o vea el taller completo.

Estos talleres se grabaron en vivo en septiembre de 2023.

Playlist del taller en español y inglésMire la sección que le interese:

• ¿Qué es el compostaje y para qué compostamos?
• ¿Cón qué se hace el compost?
• Proceso básico y primeros pasos: Cortar, mezclar, temp. y riego
• ¿Dónde ubicar el compostero para evitar problemas? y otros pasos y soluciones
• ¿Cúando esta listo? ¿Y luego…cómo cenir? ¿Donde usamos el compost?

O consulte el taller completo:

También dimos este taller en inglés. Mírelo en secciones o mire el vídeo completo abajo.

• What is compost and why compost?
• Hot composting basics!
• Getting Started: Setting Up Systems, Tools, Building a Pile
• Compost troubleshooting (basic tips, avoiding odors, avoiding rodents)
• Using compost and knowing when it’s ready!
• Worm composting!
• Full Workshop: Intro to Composting at Home

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In 2022, international investment firm BlackRock acquired Vanguard Renewables, to help Vanguard drastically expand its number of large-scale anaerobic digestion facilities across the U.S. and BlackRock’s own energy portfolio. Brenda Platt, director of ILSR’s Composting for Community Initiative shares her concern that like in many industries, this trend towards concentrated dominance over the inputs and outputs of this new technology control will ultimately harm communities and starve them of the resources necessary to build thriving, sustainable local economies. Dior St. Hillaire co-director of the NYC composting service BK ROT, adds to the discussion with her vision for New York City that centers local economies, community engagement, and educational spaces fostered by community composting.

Related ResourcesHow Does Anaerobic Digestion Work?

Food Waste Depackaging Systems

Anaerobic Digestion vs. Composting: Choosing the Best Organic Waste Management Method

Compost (feat. DiorNoel) – A Portrait of the NYC Composting Community

BK Rot: We are NYC’s first bike powered food waste hauling and composting service

As organics depackager equipment market grows, so do concerns over microplastics contamination

Vanguard Renewables sold to BlackRock fund to fuel anaerobic digester expansion

Books:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Transcript

| Reggie Rucker: | Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Building Local Power. I’m your cohost, Reggie Rucker, and we continue this season, which we are calling How to Get Away With Merger, picking up on the topic of, and I have to put this in “waste.” Luke said it in the last episode, one person’s trash is another’s treasure. And while on the last episode we talked about how mergers and corporate concentration encourages bigger, dirtier, more harmful landfills and incinerators, this episode is not quite as clear cut. You talk about an acquisition that promotes a much better outcome than food scraps ending up in landfills and incinerators but as both of our guests make clear, the private sector, making big investments in new technologies alone is not the answer. For communities, for Justice, we need a holistic approach. To get into the details and speaking of holistic, I’m going to pass it over to my other half, my co-host, Luke Gannon. What’s up, Luke? | | Luke Gannon: | Oh, thank you Reggie. Now with that great introduction, we’re going to jump right into the interview. | | Thank you so much, Brenda for being here. Brenda Platt is the Director of the Composting for Community Initiative, and we are so excited to welcome her back to the show today. So today we are looking at BlackRock, a giant asset management firm acquiring Vanguard Renewables who operates anaerobic digesters nationwide. This acquisition was announced just last year, so we wanted to invite Brenda onto the show to get an idea of what anaerobic digestion actually is and what this expansion means for composters. So Brenda, I want to start by just defining a couple terms. Can you tell us what is anaerobic digestion? | | Brenda Platt: | Pleasure to be here. Thanks for inviting me. So like composting, anaerobic digestion relies on microorganisms like bacteria to break down organic material. And that organic material can be animal manure, it can be food scraps, it can be any kind of wastewater, biosolids, and composting happens in the presence of oxygen and anaerobic digestion happens without oxygen. That’s why it’s called anaerobic. And it does produce biogas. So it’s considered a renewable energy, and it takes place in a sealed vessel called a reactor. And it’s those reactors that help those microbial communities break down or digest those materials and produce that biogas. One of the other products that comes out of anaerobic digestion is digestate, which is the solid end products of that process. And those are discharged from the digester and digestate needs to be dealt with as well. | | Luke Gannon: | Brenda, I’m trying to visualize what these anaerobic digesters look like. Can you give me an idea? | | Brenda Platt: | Well, interestingly enough, like composting, it comes in all sizes. So when we think of composting, you can have a bin in your backyard or worm bin in a classroom, at a school, at a firm. Large scale industrial anaerobic digestion is very similar. Maybe not at a home scale, although that we’re seeing that in places around the world, like Kenya has some home-scale digesters. But it’s been around for eons, proliferates in China, India, there’s many on-farm digesters handling poultry manure or litter, cow manure. And really what we’re seeing is a trend in this country to build large scale industrial anaerobic digesters alone in conjunction with wastewater treatment. And that’s when we can get into is that really the problem? Is scale the problem? | | Luke Gannon: | Yeah, that’s really interesting. I actually didn’t know that anaerobic digestion could be at different scales. I always thought of them at such a large scale. And then the second part I want to ask you, and we’ll jump into Vanguard Renewables, but before we get there, can you tell us about what is de-packaging? What does that mean? Can that happen at different scales? What does it look like? | | Brenda Platt: | So let’s just take food scraps, food waste from a grocery store. So we’ve all been to grocery stores. You go into the produce section, maybe workers have to come in and remove the tomatoes that are rotting or things that don’t look so good. So that’s already clean produce that a digester or composter would want. It’s not packaged. But then you have, let’s say a bag of carrots that no longer has a use, or even a can of soup, those are both packaged goods. So if you want to get that organic material, that food in there that no longer can be sold or rescued to feed people, you have to break it open. | | And so what a de-packager is, is a system that’s often, it can be alone, a standalone facility, or it can be installed at the place of an industrial composter or an anaerobic digestion facility. And it’s designed to mechanically share apart that material. Sometimes it’s shredding, sometimes it’s doing other mechanical techniques to break open the packaging. But the idea at the end of the day is you have organic material that can go into say the digester or you have the rejects, which is the waste packaging. | | Reggie Rucker: | Okay. And then, so we wanted to have you break down these concepts for us because Vanguard Renewables operates in both of these spaces. They both do de-packaging work, and they have facilities where they do anaerobic digestion. And BlackRock, the asset management and investment firm, saw an opportunity to invest in the anaerobic digestion side of this business to the tune of $700 million dollars. Can you explain to us why this anaerobic digestion operation was the thing that BlackRock really wanted to go after? And what does this mean to the landscape of composting and specifically related to our work, community composting? | | Brenda Platt: | Yeah. I wish I could get inside their head. I’m sure it’s all money, money, money is the short answer. Well, let me just say that if you look at the waste industry as a whole and handling food waste and making biogas out of it, it’s a big industry and it’s dominated by a handful of companies. I think depending on your source, managing waste is anywhere between $80 and $90 billion industry and 50%, more than probably half of it is controlled by just three companies. And so there’s more companies getting into the space. Let me have a slice of that pie. There’s a lot of money there. And when you have market dominance by a handful of companies, they want to control the collection. They want to control the processing. They want to be vertically integrated and control every step of the process. And I think that’s where my concerns with anaerobic digestion lie is that we’re seeing a disturbing trend towards large scale industrial facilities. | | These companies and haulers that serve them are basically telling grocery stores, “Hey, you don’t now need to separate that rotting tomato in your produce section from your packaged soup cans. Commingle it all, we’ll send it to our big facility. We’ll have a packager and we’ll handle it.” Well, where do you think that wasted packaging goes? And we are hearing more about microplastics and soils in the oceans, everywhere. So I think it was Einstein who said the smart person solves a problem, but the genius avoids it. So we need to rescue food to feed people, which with the advent of de-packagers are now collecting all this stuff. So less food is being recovered to feed people. It’s not staying local. We’re seeing de-packagers and big anaerobic digesters being built in one state and it’s like a black hole sucking up material in a multi-state area. | | So Vanguard operates at least six anaerobic digesters in the Northeast. I understand they have 10 new facilities under construction. They plan to develop a hundred new projects by 2025. That’s really astounding. And so BlackRock Real Assets which acquired the company, is really helping to drive that plan to commission those a hundred new projects. | | Reggie Rucker: | And then, so I want to make this clear for the people who are listening right now, is anaerobic digestion as a process something that we need to be concerned about? Or is it … We heard you talk about just this scale and this concentration. What’s the thing that we should really be concerned about when it comes to anaerobic digestion and BlackRock’s investment in it? | | Brenda Platt: | Yeah, no, as a technology, I don’t think anaerobic digestion is the concern. In fact, digesters can handle often different materials than compost sites. They can handle more liquid materials. Composters can handle what we might call materials high-end carbon, carbonation materials like yard trimmings. You don’t want to send your woody material or fall leaves to a digester. So that would be a waste of that kind of technology. Anaerobic digestion tends to be more expensive. It’s a more expensive technology, but it can fit on a smaller footprint. So depending if land is an issue, a digester might make sense and those kind of decisions or criteria. But in general, I don’t think it’s a technology we need to worry about. But what it comes down to is garbage in, garbage out. So if you’re got a composter and you’re putting contaminating materials, we wouldn’t like that so much either. | | Reggie Rucker: | Right. | | Brenda Platt: | We want clean materials in, we want clean materials and products out, and that digestate, the reason I explain that solid is that also can be considered a soil amendment. So like compost, it’s going to end up back in the soil. So we don’t want contaminants like microplastics in compost or in digestate. And then as you’re removing de-packaging, you’re also getting a lot of the valuable organic material removed as well. So as you’re screening contaminants out one way or another, it’s very inefficient in terms of maximizing the recovery of that organic material. | | Luke Gannon: | So while I was reading some articles on this, Brenda, I was wrestling with this question, which is a lot of the articles that I read made it seem like the Vanguard Renewables specifically was one of the only facilities that were going to these large grocery stores and taking all their produce that would go to the landfill and taking it away from the landfill and putting it in an anaerobic digester. So I’m like, “Okay, well we don’t want food in our landfills,” but we still have this issue with all of these microplastics ending up in what becomes the digestate or the soil. How do you level that? Are there composters who have the capability and the resources to go to these grocery stores to take food and process it and not have that issue? Or is this efficient in some way? | | Brenda Platt: | Our policies, the investment is flowing and privileging large industrial sites that want everything commingled. If you do have packaged food, it’s going to systems that maybe meet some standards on the efficiency of their systems for repackaging. There’s a wide variety of companies out there and some do a better job than others. And we could be setting some of those standards a little higher or working towards higher standards and improving the technology. But this notion that we can’t keep things local and keep these assets and materials local is just nonsense. | | Luke Gannon: | I want to get your insight, Brenda onto, why is it BlackRock in particular that you find problematic in its investment in Vanguard renewables? | | Brenda Platt: | Well, interestingly enough, I wasn’t keyed into BlackRock. It was a farmer in Vermont who collects food scraps and compost who was losing market share to these anaerobic digestion companies who’s like, “Yeah, Vanguard’s expanding. And Brenda, do you know it was bought out by BlackRock Real Assets?” | | And I was like, “Well, I actually care about that. Let me look into that.” And that’s the real estate and infrastructure investment arm of BlackRock, the big company, which I don’t know if you know, but then I learned it was nominated for the 2022 Corporate Hall of Shame by our friends at Corporate Accountability. And if you look into that award they gave them, they’re very clear in laying out some of the issues. The firm props up the fossil fuel industry to the tune of $260 billion dollars in investments. | | So they’re basically propelling in our climate catastrophe. It has nearly $6 billion invested in civilian gun manufacturers and retailers and an astounding $36 billion invested in military weapons companies. So these are the kinds of companies that are now again, driving big waste in this case now called renewable energy, which it is. But when we are talking about we want more renewable energy, we want maybe biogas production, we want clean digestate and soil amendments, what are the systems that we can see? And when you have a technology like anaerobic digestion, that can be farm scale, can be small scale, there’s one small scale anaerobic digestion company has its site next to a tofu manufacturer producing biogas that then fuels that manufacturing facility, that to me is the epitome of local self-reliance right there. | | Reggie Rucker: | This was very helpful in helping us to understand why, despite anaerobic digestion as a technology, having some potential and having a place, why the pattern of it becoming too large and getting these large investments from a BlackRock and it just sucking up all the oxygen in a way, in this space, why that particular is problematic. And why as we hear these conversations evolving over time for our listeners in particular to be aware not to be fooled by just this shiny new object that promises to deliver everything. So this was a helpful conversation in breaking down a little bit some of the nuances there, but making it very understandable. So thank you so much, Brenda. This is super helpful. | | Brenda Platt: | And I’ll just say to be clear to something you said, Luke, because we do need to get this material out of landfills and trash incinerators, and so that’s so important, but how we do it also counts too, and there’s more than one option. It’s not landfills or large scale facilities owned by corporate giants. There’s some things in between. | | Luke Gannon: | A big thanks to the wonderful Brenda Platt for giving us insight into de-packaging, anaerobic digestion, and BlackRock. In the latter half of today’s episode, we are hearing from the executive director of a composting service in New York City. But before we jump in, I’m going to pass it to my co-host who excels at fostering robust, vibrant and dynamic work environments mirroring the vision we hold for neighborhoods and cities across the nation. Over to you, Reggie. | | Reggie Rucker: | Thank you, Luke. You are way too kind, but I truly appreciate it. So folks, I said this last time and I realized I didn’t stick to it, but I’m really going to keep this break short. You just heard from Brenda really brilliantly break down why this fancy, shiny, big new thing is not going to solve all of our problems. And that nuance and that important distinction between what’s good for some and what’s good for all is what our next guest is going to jump right into. So I want to get you there, but before you do, like I always say, do it now if you’ll forget, pause this episode, find that share button and send this episode with a friend who really likes to engage in thoughtful conversations about building stronger, more vibrant communities. Building these types of conversations and this type of community together is how we will make change and we need you to help us get there. Share this episode and then come right back for the second half. Thank you so much. | | Luke Gannon: | Now, every episode this season has taught me that oftentimes it’s not what the company is doing, it’s at what scale it is doing it. Bigness is the problem. On the second half of the episode Dior St. Hillaire so beautifully expresses exactly why localizing our economies is a solution. Dior is the executive director of BK ROT, a nonprofit community supported, bike-powered, fossil fuel free waste hauling and composting service in New York City. Today, Dior inspires us as she details her journey, learning about food sovereignty and creating decentralized systems. Here’s Dior. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | I’m a Bronx native. I was born and raised in the Bronx, lived upstate for a little bit. So I always say that I know the difference and the contrast between the city and the suburbs because I have lived both. My family’s of Caribbean descent, so my family’s from Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and so I came up a lot with Caribbean culture in my upbringing. I would say that I grew up in a very strict household. It’s the West Indian, so that just is what it is. Education was really important and high on the list of responsibilities, keeping the home, things like that. What I was into growing up was really I loved to ride my bike, I loved to draw, actually, I don’t draw like I used to, but that was actually something that I really enjoy doing. And when I hit my teenage years, I started to write. | | So I’m also a hip hop MC, so that started in my early teens. I would say life in the city, coming up in the Bronx, there’s many things. You have a good time. There’s talent shows, there’s violence, but there’s also joy sprinkled in there. And I think that even just being able to be outside and run around is different. I don’t know that I would feel comfortable with my daughter doing half the stuff that I did when I was younger in the city now. Maybe we were just crazy to let our kids roam, but I was one of the roamers even though I was with my older brother. So I spent a lot of time with him. | | And in the suburbs it was the same, I just was able to explore. Instead of exploring in the city, I was exploring up in the woods, which was completely different. I remember the very first night that we finally slept in the house. Everybody was sleeping in the house and I was up making sure all the doors and windows were locked, because I just knew somebody was going to come and try to murder us. Don’t ask me why, because I just was like, “It’s too dark, it’s too quiet, and it’s very eerie.” And it took me a while to adjust to that lifestyle when you’re coming from so much noise. | | Luke Gannon: | Dior spent a significant amount of her childhood outdoors, but it wasn’t until she attended a sleepaway camp at the age of 10 that she was introduced to composting. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | So my mom’s not very nature-based. I shouldn’t say that, my mom’s not really the outdoors kind of person. You’d be lucky if you can even get her to go glamping. So I think that she wanted me to have those skills and have that appreciation. So she sent me to a sleepaway camp, and that’s when I was introduced to compost. Every week each cabin had a different chore. So our cabin, again, this was rotating, so everybody had to do it at some point, but we always knew that when we were done eating our food, we had to go to the buckets that were on the counter and that’s where we would dump our food. We didn’t dump them in trash, we dumped them in these buckets. They were white buckets lined across the entire counter. After we ate, that’s where we put our food. | | It wasn’t until it was time for our chores, why I understood why we did that. We had to carry the buckets down to the compost heap and we would dump it, mix it with manure and straw, and leave it and go on about our business. Now, I can’t tell you what my attitude was towards it at the time. Don’t really remember. I just know that this was something very significant and my understanding and awareness of what we did with our food waste at a very early age. It just is a memory that is so vivid in my imagination that I always point to this story when I talk about my introduction to compost. This was my hands-on experience with it. It wasn’t somebody teaching it to me in school. It was literally getting my hands in it. | | Luke Gannon: | Dior was raised in an artistic family with her mother being a dancer and her stepfather, a musician and a carpenter. Throughout her life, Dior passionately engaged in writing and poetry. However, it was during her college years that she experienced a sudden revelation. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | Once I got a little bit older, I was in college and I was like, “I got too many soft skills.” I was like, “If the apocalypse came, how am I going to survive? Girl, it’s not going to be on spreadsheets and being able to do operations. What can you do with your hands?” So I was like, “I’m going to take more farming courses.” So I did agribusiness, I studied agribusiness and took a library course in my senior year in undergrad. And then I learned about BUGs, which is Black Urban Gardeners and Farmers Conference. And I went to the conference and I was like, “Okay, great.” Then I went to the botanical garden. What I always tell people, they’re like, “How did you get here?” I’m like, “I followed my curiosity.” Literally every time I had a question about something, I figured out where the resources were, who are the people who knew more about it than me, I asked questions. I immersed myself in the spaces, and life continues to move. | | Luke Gannon: | Dior enrolled in the Grow More Veggies course, completed a master composter program, volunteered with community gardens and pursued farm apprenticeships. However, throughout all her experiences in these courses and roles, Dior couldn’t shake a disconnect between the places she was working for and her own philosophy. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | I always felt like we were talking a lot about farm to table, but not table back to farm. And so for me, I felt like there was a really big gap, and that’s what I just chose to focus my energy on. So I stepped away from farming a little bit and started focusing a whole lot more on composting. So I was like, “Well, this is a big disconnect.” I was like, “How are we so excited to go to farmer’s markets and get our food if we put it in the trash?” I was like, “This just don’t make no sense to me.” It just doesn’t make any sense. I think part of my curiosity, but also part of my grievance was, “I am going to put more of my energy here,” and so forth I began my composting journey again, also just visiting different sites, learning from different people. | | Luke Gannon: | In 2018, Dior embarked on her journey by founding her own composting cooperative in the Bronx. Around the same time she began to discover BK ROT. Through a series of conversations and connections, she pursued the role of executive director alongside Nora Joseph. Now she’s able to engage, learn, and teach how composting is both restoring the environment and the people. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | Compost means community so move as one unit. We all have a part to play, interdependence is the movement, and that’s what I feel with compost. I feel like it just brings people together in ways that you never could imagine. I had a workday the other day, and it was literally from young child to grandparent as far as age was concerned, and that was just so special to me to spend time like that in that particular way. And I think compost has such the capacity to transform many, many, many different things, even things that you didn’t think were connected to compost. | | I have a very social justice oriented lens when I’m talking about these things because we’re talking about environmental justice communities and waste inequity and environmental racism, and why are we in this situation in the first place and what do we do in order to talk about what a just transition is and what restitution looks like? So that’s really big for us at BK ROT, and it’s really big out here in the Bronx as well because we’re talking about, these are communities that have to feel the effects of inequitable waste practices. And obviously when I’m composting, that is a form of waste management that isn’t, I guess, traditional because when we think about waste management, we’re thinking about landfills and maybe recycling facilities. But my work grounds me. | | Luke Gannon: | The majority of individuals working in composting, whether in hauling or processing, share a profound concern for the wellbeing of their communities and the planet. Despite their unwavering dedication and efforts, they continue to grapple with the influence of corporate bigness. As Brenda previously mentioned, BlackRock’s acquisition of Vanguard Renewables has brought about significant expansion within the anaerobic digestion industry. Dior perceives her own work and Vanguard Renewables as two different worlds. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | I get really frustrated when people try to compare the two. So one of the things that I’ll say is that obviously this is something that we’re dealing with in New York City as it’s now mandatory in order to separate food scraps and to collect them. And what we’re seeing is, okay, a lot of it is already going to the anaerobic digester, it’s not being composted. We’ve lost a significant amount of clients at BK ROT with the city having brought this in. Now, my reaction is absolutely going to again, stay in this justice focused lens. We need more decentralized systems. All anaerobic digestion does is aggregate and centralize yet another system, and that’s not what we need. And to be quite honest, I think it has its place and its role. And I’m not anti-AD, but I also believe that we cannot ignore and phase out composters because this feels easier. | | If we are to, as a society, really grapple with a lot of the challenges that we have with access to food, with how we deal with food waste, with how we’re wasting food, these are all things that come in conversation. I always argue that with composting and community composting, you’re always going to get people who learn more about systems in their own habits and connect with them a whole lot more than literally just sending everything to AD. First of all, you need to get people to separate it in the first place. That’s number one. Just because you have a system to deal with it, what’s going to actually make people want to do it, want to get involved? Your method of doing it, and this is just my opinion in that I stand strong on this, the bureaucratic way of addressing this isn’t going to get us anywhere. | | We already have difficulty with recycling in and of itself. When I say compost means community, I mean it. There are so many people that have even told us that they love coming to the drop-offs because it allows them to talk with other people in their neighborhood, to meet other people that they haven’t known before. It allows them that opportunity to be able to even talk about composting and why they love it, why they’re doing it, connecting with neighbors. These are things that are important to build a community. You don’t know what resources can be shared. You don’t know what resources you’re taking out of a community when you do things like this. | | So I always push back against Big AD because again, it’s yet another system that is meant to make people feel like, “Oh, there’s this great solution,” and then it ignores all of the other ones that have literally come from the community that have had to build these movements as a form of resistance. And then you come and you just step on it because now you have the resources, you have the funding, you have access to the land, which by the way is stolen. So all of these things are implications where we’re trying to bring back an ancestral way of doing something. And I always say compost is really just like the commodification of a thing that is already being done. Compost is just human assisted decomposition. It’s going to happen whether we help it or not. | | So it’s not this big fancy thing that anybody has invented, and it’s actually a very indigenous and ancestral practice to give reverence to the land the land gives to you when you give back to the land. That is just an understanding that natives have with their built environment. And so for me, I feel like as we are clawing to get back to that, as human beings, as we are literally trying to figure out how to give that back to us, to ourselves, and to our children, to our community members, we have larger organizations that, again, it’s always just business as usual and they could care less. I think it really just needs to be less of a competition and more collaboration anytime I hear about AD taking over these kinds of systems. | | Luke Gannon: | Giant corporations are extracting profit from communities, operating from a distant vantage point and lacking a true understanding of the community’s actual needs. Dior envisions a distinct community-centric future for New York. | | Dior St. Hillai…: | The biggest dream I have around composting specific to New York City, even in New York state, my vision is that we create the systems that allow us to process the food scraps locally. I think that we do too much. First of all, we export a lot of our waste outside of New York City anyway as a whole, and that’s a problem. I want to see all types of systems being utilized locally, but also serve as educational spots where young folks can come in and want to be scientists, that they get their hands on this stuff. It was me getting my hands on it when I was younger that allowed me to have some kind of respect for it. And I think that we need to be able to display, there should be way more demo spaces of what composting looks like and all of the different types of ways that we can support decomposition. | | And so yeah, I think for me, what it looks like is, I’m going to say increasing local processing capacity, which that means for me, every community board, every block has something. Something that is supporting handling these food scraps locally and not exporting them outside of the city. I want to see where food is being eaten, cooked, prepared, that not that far away it’s being turned into compost or something else. And then we have another food distribution network. I just want to see us working better with farmers and to utilize land and space within the state and bringing the economy back into our neighborhoods. Because if we’re able to create jobs off of this, that means that we’re able to increase our local economy as well. The use of landfills and needing to have such a disposable culture, but really just having people come back into this really cyclical and circular way of thinking and that that is actually exemplified in our local environment. | | Luke Gannon: | Dior recommended one of my all time favorite reads, | | Dior St. Hillai…: | The Alchemist. I think that that book was so inspirational for me as far as transmuting energy, and that’s what composting is for me. It’s literally the transportation of energy. You can put words, phrases, whatever into the compost pile in order to try to inspire something. Like we are such energetic frequencies as humans, and we don’t give enough power to it. And I think that compost is a great example of those energies. This is God’s works, really. You got to just call it what it is. This is why it’s difficult for people to value it as paid work and paid labor. | | But at the end of the day, this work is work that if it chooses you or you choose it, we don’t do it for the glitz and the glamour. We do it because it’s necessary work. We do it because the next young person is able to look at us and see themselves. And I think if anybody really wants to get into this work, connect with this work, they have to trust the village, but they also have to be willing to endure. So The Alchemist was a book that when I read it, I was like, “Man, I could really turn energy into something else,” and that was powerful for me. And that’s what I see when I see composting. | | Luke Gannon: | Dior is one of those storytellers that I could listen to over and over again and learn something new every time. This is a reminder to myself and all of our listeners to go get your hands in some compost. If you’ve never held compost before, I recommend finding a local community composter and dipping your hands into the warm matter. You can feel its energy. A huge thanks to Dior St. Hillaire and Brenda Platt for joining us on the show today. | | Reggie Rucker: | Yes, thank you both, and thanks to all of you for listening all the way to the end. I assume that means you liked this episode, so please share with even just one person you think will enjoy it too. We have a goal of 10,000 listens for this episode. Help us get there. And if you’re not a subscriber to the podcast yet, make sure to hit that subscribe button so you know when every new episode drops. And of course, your donations are essential to help us keep this podcast going and support the research and resources that we make available on our website for free. We truly welcome and appreciate it all. | | And last, if you have feedback for us or wanted to share a story about how your community approaches this issue, send us an email to buildinglocalpower@ilsr.org. We’d love to share these on a special mailbag episode one day. We’ll keep an eye out. This show is produced by Luke Gannon and me, Reggie Rucker. This podcast is edited by Luke Gannon and andrew Frank. The music for the season is also composed by Andrew Frank. Thank you so much for listening to Building Local Power. |

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Podcast produced by Reggie Rucker and Luke Gannon

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What do we lose when we no longer have control over what happens to the waste we produce? In this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast, we speak to Melissa Corichi of Let It Rot, a community composting business in Palm Beach County in South Florida. Melissa has been operating her business since 2015 with the aim of diverting waste in her local community, growing food, and protecting the environment. Her business, however, has been put in jeopardy due to the two incinerators in her county run by the local Solid Waste Authority (SWA). Because of local laws, the SWA claims complete jurisdiction over all waste generated in the county, effectively disallowing the recycling of organic materials beyond the backyard scale. The result: Let It Rot is closing its doors.

We talk about:

• How the need to feed the local incinerators is preventing meaningful waste diversion efforts in Palm Beach County.
• How local rules eliminate the freedom of its residents to choose how the waste they generate is managed.
• Melissa’s call for support and the needs community composters face when advocating for policy changes that challenge monopoly power over waste.
• The power of community composting to empower a diverse array of community-based initiatives while building social capital.

We also provide a brief primer on incineration in the US, including an overview of the impacts of incineration on communities where they are built. We close with a list of actions that we all can take: some to help Melissa in her current battle, some to prevent this from happening in other communities.

“Your only choice is to have the SWA take all your trash and the SWA burns all of the organic trash – so unfortunately all of these people are forced to support a system that they don’t believe in.”

“I work with a lot of different kinds of people from a lot of different kinds of backgrounds, and they all have different political beliefs and spiritual beliefs and jobs and careers and lifestyles. And one thing that they’ve all been able to bond over and agree upon is that composting is very important, not only for the sake of keeping trash out of the landfill or not feeding our incinerator, but also for the purposes of organic gardening, organic food, and soil building.”

– Melissa Corichi

Related ResourcesLet it Rot Website

Let it Rot Petition

Let it Rot GoFundMe

“Tell Me About: Waste Incineration in Florida,” Florida Museum (2022)

“Turning garbage to electricity: An early look at a monster incinerator,” Palm Beach Post (2016)

“Florida solidifies its status as the nation’s waste-to-energy capital with supportive new law,” Waste Dive (2022)

Renewable Energy Facility 1, Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority (accessed Sept 2023)

“Burned: Why Waste Incineration Is Harmful,” NDRC (2021)

“Florida Recycling Statutes and Rules,” Florida Department of Environmental Protection (accessed Sept 2023)

“Report: Waste Incineration: A Dirty Secret in How States Define Renewable Energy,” ILSR (2018)

“Waste incinerators undermine clean energy goals,” Neil Tangri (2023)

“Revealed: 1.6m Americans live near the most polluting incinerators in the US,” The Guardian (2019)

“Energy Recovery from the Combustion of Municipal Solid Waste,” EPA (accessed Sept 2023)

“Anti-Garbage Incineration Around the Globe, A Review,” ILSR (2018)

“The fight against Detroit’s controversial waste incinerator hits home for Ahmina Maxey,” University of Michigan, Detroit (2019)

Detroit Organics Recycling, Detroit City Council Green Taskforce (accessed Sept 2023)

“Local composting business, ‘Let it Rot’ shut down by Solid Waste Authority,” ABC 25 WPBF News, September 29, 2023.

Transcript

| Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Across the country, the community composting movement is growing. Small scale composting provides communities immediate opportunities for reducing waste, improving local soil, creating jobs, and fighting climate change. You’re listening to the Composting for Community Podcast, where we’ll bring you stories from the people doing this work on the ground and in the soil. | | Welcome back to the Composting for Community Podcast. I’m Linda Bilsens Brolis of the Institute for Local Self Alliances Composting for Community Initiative, and in this episode I talked to Melissa Corichi of Let It Rot, a community composting business in Palm Beach County in south Florida. Melissa started Let it Rot in 2015 to accomplish food scraps from her community and support local efforts to divert waste, grow food, and protect the environment, but the county is also home to two separate waste incinerators. Last year, Let it Rot and its partner organizations began receiving threats of steep daily fines, supposedly stealing material from the county’s solid waste authority and Florida Power and Light, an electric utility that uses the power generated from the trash burned in the incinerators. | | Because of state and local laws, the solid waste authority claims complete jurisdiction over all waste generated in the county. Effectively, this allowing the recycling of organic materials beyond the backyard scale. The result, Let it Rot is closing its doors. This is a story of how incinerator are directly at odds with meaningful waste reduction efforts, eliminating our freedom to choose how the waste we generate is managed. I just want to add a gentle warning here, that while the episode is a little heavier than our others, we close with positive actions that anyone can take, so stay tuned. | | Hello folks. I’m here with Melissa Corichi, owner of Let it Rot, worm farm and community compost in South Florida. Thanks for joining us, Melissa. | | Melissa Corichi: | Thank you for having me. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | We’re going to get into the details of the challenges you’re facing as a community composter, but first tell us about Let It Rot and about your community in Palm Beach County. | | Melissa Corichi: | I got started with Let It Rot back in 2015. It was actually a project for a class I was taking in college called Social Entrepreneurship, and we were challenged to come up with some sort of business that would compliment our nonprofit partner, and our nonprofit partner that semester was the Palm Beach County Food Bank, which is this massive warehouse for food recovery, sorting and distribution to the food pantry network that we have here in Palm Beach County. When we went there, what I noticed right away was there was tons and tons of produce donations that were all over ripe or already too rotten to be redistributed and they were just getting thrown away. In fact, they said that they were throwing away over 20,000 pounds of organics a year, just part of the sorting process that they were going through and what kind of food they were allowed to redistribute. | | I had this bright idea to compost the produce, make some soil, and then trade that with the farmers who were donating the produce for more food donations. I applied for a grant and I ended up getting offered about $25,000 to start the program, so I did. I built a worm bin in one of the sheds of the food bank and started diverting some of the rotten produce to the worm bin that I had in the shed of the food bank. I ended up, I think diverting about 7,000 pounds of produce scraps the first year that I worked. I was not good at worm farming and I didn’t make hardly any soil. It wasn’t really a successful venture. The food bank did not want to keep working with me, but I kind of fell in love with the composting process and the idea of recovering these resources. | | I heard about the community composting movement and decided to launch my own little pilot pickup route and I offered free pickups to a couple of people in the community I was living in on a weekly basis. From that pilot program, I started accepting real customers. I started collecting customers at about $10 a month and eventually my prices increased all the way up to $16 a month, which is what my residents pay right now, but I went from having 10 free customers to having over 100 subscribers to my community compost pickup program. I tried to work with my community as much as possible and found this incredible urban farm in downtown West Palm Beach called Urban Growers at the Henrietta Bridge Farm, and I built my first little public compost station there and I got to start working with some people in the community. It was a low income community food desert, which is why that space got funded to grow food. | | I met a lot of young people who had no experience with farming or nature growing food, and they started helping me run my community compost. I taught them how to do the compost. I got them washing all those buckets for me right away. Unfortunately, when COVID happened, the community garden was temporarily shut down and it ended up getting defunded and closed down. That brought me to a place where I had no land and was hauling a thousand pounds of food scraps a week with nowhere to compost it, so I launched a compost program where I met a lot of homesteaders and gardeners in my community and I taught them all how to compost. Instead of bringing the compost to a central location and composting it every day, I would go to a new person’s house and help them do the compost that afternoon and inspire them to build their soil and do better and grow organically. | | From there, eventually I bought my own place and I started composting on my own piece of property, which is where I’m at now. The business has kind of iterated through the community a couple different ways. I have a bunch of zero wasters and people who are on their own personal mission of sustainability that I’ve met through great community resources that I’ve worked with or worked for in the past. We have a package free grocery store that I met a lot of these people at. I work with this awesome community center for the immigrant community to find them jobs and place them in legal jobs, and I’ve done some work with them. They have a community garden as well. I have the urban farm in downtown West Palm Beach, and I’ve gotten to meet so many different people who I call the green community and bring them together with this shared love of the environment and sustainability. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | That’s such a great overview of the many evolutions that you’ve made as a business and how you’ve adapted as you’ve gotten to know your community in a more intimate way. That’s so cool that you’ve been engaging such a diverse array of community members, which is I think pretty typical of the community composting movement, so thanks for laying that out for us. Now let’s talk about the elephant in the room, the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority, which now has two incinerators in the county. The newest one which opened in 2015, I believe, it was the first incinerator to be built in the US in almost 20 years, and the biggest capital project ever in Palm Beach County at over $600 million. Wow. | | Melissa Corichi: | Just call it the Billion Dollar Waste to Energy Plant because so much funding went into this facility because in Palm Beach County’s eyes, the first facility that they built the same year that I started the business was a huge success to them. Between the two facilities, I think they can power about 80,000 homes in our community. I first got in trouble with the solid waste authority because I’m taking organics out of the waste stream, and they burn organics for energy here. I was served my first cease and desist letter in April of 2022. I was basically told that I’m not a registered entity with the solid waste authority and I need to be a registered subcontractor in order to work in the waste hauling and processing industry. | | When I explained what a small business I was and what kind of numbers I was doing and that according to the state law I didn’t need to register with them just yet because I wasn’t in a position where I needed to be regulated with the amount of waste I was processing, they told me flat out that organics recycling isn’t allowed in Palm Beach County due to something called the Flow Code. The Flow Code is the direction that they send different waste streams to the different facilities in Palm Beach County, and all of the organics are sent to our waste to energy plants. Between the two, they can burn almost 2 million pounds of trash annually. I process under 100,000 pounds of waste annually. I think the biggest numbers I’ve done so far was about 80,000 pounds last year, which was a huge feat for me because the year before I only did like 50,000 pounds, and I do all of my composting backyard composting style. No equipment, with a pitchfork in a pile. | | Right now we’re doing a lot of trench composting so I don’t have to turn my piles, but the Solid Waste Authority, when they were initially funded with this project to build these waste to energy plants, they were also given the privilege of writing all the laws about trash and how it’s handled here in Palm Beach County. The Solid Waste Authority decided to very blatantly claim that all trash here in Palm Beach County is property of theirs, so the cease and desist that I was getting essentially was telling me that I’m stealing from the Solid Waste Authority from Palm Beach County and from FPL, and that’s where they’ve been coming at me continuously to shut down my operation. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Wow. ILSR has a long history of helping to fight proposed incinerators. Back in the 80s, I guess in early 90s when that was still sort of a trend, I’d always heard that once an incinerator gets built, that community is basically locked into feeding that incinerator because it’s such a big investment. I know in the case of the newest one in Palm Beach County, it’s like a 20-year loan that has to be paid back, and that’s paid back by the rate payers. Basically it’s locking in the county and the residents of the county into using that incinerator. I just think this is such a poignant example of what happens in terms of the control of that material and the lack of choice. Where has this put you and your business at this point? | | Melissa Corichi: | It’s put me in a really uncomfortable position where I’ve had to make some really difficult choices about what I’m going to do and the future for myself and the future of Let it Rot. I have tried to advocate for myself. I’ve been to many county commissioner board meetings. I worked with one of our state legislators, Rick Roth, to try to talk with the county about the difficulties that they were placing on me and my business, and I was not really able to get any sort of permission or right to work. I wasn’t able to get any sort of exemption from the laws here. | | I have talked to a lot of other businesses that operate the same way I do that are in different counties of Florida, and I know up in Orlando, O-Town Compost was able to get an exemption from the laws there that were preventing them from being able to keep working. I tried to take that route and didn’t get anywhere. I talked to Renewable down in Broward County who is also facing some potential dangers with a waste to energy plant that’s being put into Broward County. Maybe it’s just proposed. It hasn’t been voted on or funded just yet, and they’re looking at adopting all of the same laws in Palm Beach County in Broward County, which would essentially put their businesses out of business as well. I purchased property with the intention of running Let it Rot off of the property that I purchased and live off of, and now I’m in the uncomfortable situation where I can’t update my business address and my personal address because I have the county looking for me to shut down my operations. | | When I first started getting the cease and desist letters from Palm Beach County, they actually sent regulators out to all of the businesses that I had listed on my website as partners that I work with and told these businesses that they were operating illegal transfer stations and they would be subjected to fines of $500 a day for every day they continue to keep working with me. A lot of these businesses are small businesses like my own and decided that it wasn’t worth that kind of risk to continue working for me, so I had to watch these sustainability initiatives disappear and these people who really wanted to do better for the environment and for their community lose that opportunity to do so because there is no countywide composting alternative that’s offered here. Your only choice is to have SWA haul your trash, and the SSA burns all of the organic trash here. Unfortunately, all of these people are forced to support a system that they don’t believe in. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Thanks for listening to this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast. If you’re enjoying it, please consider supporting our work with a donation by going to ilsr.org/donate. Your donations make this show and all the work we do here at ILSR possible. Visit ilsr.org/donate to make your contribution today. Any amount is sincerely appreciated. If you’re looking for other ways to support us, consider rating or leaving a review of the show wherever you listen to your podcast. These reviews help us reach a wider audience. Thanks again for listening, and now back to the show. | | It’s an example of once an incinerator is built, it disincentivizes or crushes in this instance any significant efforts towards diversion, but that’s on top of the other environmental and public health impacts that an incinerator has, which we won’t cover here, but we can add some information on that for those that need it in the show notes below. What do you think is being lost when a community composters such as yourself is no longer able to operate the benefits that you provided, the diverse communities that you were working with? Can you tell us your thoughts about that? | | Melissa Corichi: | Well, I work with a lot of different kinds of people from a lot of different kinds of backgrounds and they all have different political beliefs and spiritual beliefs and jobs and careers and lifestyles. One thing that they’ve all been able to bond over and agree upon is that composting is very important not only for the sake of keeping trash out of the landfill or not feeding our incinerator in this case, but also for the purposes of organic gardening, organic food, soil building. Most of the customers who find me believe in clean eating and a clean environment and not using pesticides and herbicides and things like that that poison our local environment. | | Palm Beach County is an area of Florida that’s incredibly beautiful. We have a lot of natural landscapes. The ocean is right here. One thing that’s really important to everybody here that’s a continual crisis on almost an annual basis is the blue-green algae blooms that we have as a result of the fertilizers that are used in agriculture here. For those of you who aren’t very familiar with Palm Beach County and how our agriculture industry works, we grow a ton of food here in Florida. Corn and sugar are some of the biggest things that we grow and we use a ton of fertilizer every year in order to grow that stuff. | | That fertilizer rinses into our groundwater and eventually drains into this big lake in the center of the state called Lake Okeechobee. Lake Okeechobee has been designed by the Army Corp engineers to have floodgates on either side of it. Annually as the rains come in and the water in Lake Okeechobee starts to really rise, they have to drain Lake Okeechobee a little bit and release the water from Lake Okeechobee out either direction into either the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico. Something that happens as a result of doing that is the nitrification of our waterways, our intracoastals and our oceans. We have hundreds of thousands of animals, fish seabirds and other stuff that depend on that ecosystem that die every year because of these releases that we do. | | Something that’s very important to everybody here in Palm Beach County is figuring out a way to end that and composting and creating living soils and practicing more regenerative methods of growing and farming are high priorities to the community here, especially the green community, which is the people I’ve brought together with my business. In shutting me down and preventing me on such a small scale to make soils locally that are healthier and can be used in a more sustainable way to grow food is just squashing that whole industry from potentially popping up and helping solve a huge problem that we have with no immediate solution. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Yeah. It’s devastating. At a time when we really need to be rallying to make those kinds of changes and we need to be composting more, not less, and we need less pollution, not more. | | Melissa Corichi: | In Florida, at least around here, we don’t have real good dirt. We have something called sugar sand, and sugar sand is what it sounds like. It’s just sand. You go to dig a hole and it’s like digging a hole at the beach. It just continues to fill itself back in. There’s no organic matter to our soil to help hold moisture and nutrients, so the landscape is becoming more and more desolate as these inorganic growing practices are being applied. One thing that I can teach people right away with doing all the composting I’ve been doing is how important organic matter is to the soil, and it’s so easy to see the difference with the quality of soil that we have here to begin with that it has been pretty easy to convince people to start composting with me or learn how to compost with my compost program because of the results that I’ve gotten in my own garden and the gardens that I’ve worked with for other people. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | You’re also empowering people to take an active role in their immediate lives in an immediate environment instead of having to wait for bigger efforts to take root. It’s a way to empower folks that’s being squashed at this point, so very sorry to hear that. At this point, what would you say your plans for the future look like? | | Melissa Corichi: | I’ve made the very difficult choice to shut down all my operations. These next two weeks are the last two weeks that I’ll be doing pickups for all my residential subscribers. I have to move on with beginning my life in my new home, and I haven’t been able to do that because I’ve had to hide what I’m doing here from the county to avoid getting these fines and repercussions of the work that I’ve been doing. I made the choice to go into a completely different industry. I studied this year and I got licensed to sell insurance. I essentially asked myself what is an industry I could go into where I could still help people and where I could make a much better living than what I’ve been able to do working in the compost industry, and I had an opportunity to learn insurance and start working in that field. | | I would be lying if I said that some of the intention to have a bigger income wasn’t to be able to afford the legal help that I need in order to go up against the county and try to fight for the right to compost here. As far as Let it Rot goes, it’s always been a very grassroots operation. I’ve made a living off of it, but I have never had the resources to really reinvest and grow the business and scale it up into something bigger. The trouble I got in with the county kind of prevented me from wanting to take out a loan or go into debt to grow the business or fight for the business to stay open and potentially devastate myself in the home that I’m living in. I wish that I would have gone the nonprofit route when I got started because that would open me up to more funding opportunities and better resources where maybe I could have fought the government a little bit better and had a little bit more support in doing so. | | The only reason I never did is because I lost my partnership with the Community Garden who was a functioning nonprofit that allowed me to work under their nonprofit tax identification, and I lost all of the staff and help and support along with having that space. I went from having a ton of volunteers and a ton of people that I was paying to help me too to not being in that community anymore and not having any of those human resources that I used to have. All of the day-to-day of running Let it Rot fell on me. I am driving all of my pickup routes. I am doing all of the compost every week. I’m washing all of the buckets every weekend and getting myself together to go haul another thousand pounds of compostable waste the following week. | | It just became too much to keep up with while trying to advocate for myself and fight for my right to keep operating. While continuing to run the day-to-day, I made the difficult decision to start studying in a different industry and make my graceful exit from community composting into something where I might potentially have some better resources and opportunities if Let it Rot is something I do want to turn around and continue to pursue when I do have those resources and I’m in a better place. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Wow. It’s just amazing to hear what you have accomplished to this point as a one woman show, and you’re facing a huge barrier that would’ve been difficult to foresee. Hindsight is 2020 to a point, but you also have no idea how things would’ve played out if you had done things differently, if you had gone the nonprofit route, for example. What at this point would you want to share with those listening who might be community composters or might be policymakers that are in communities that could be facing a similar scenario as what you’ve been dealing with? | | Melissa Corichi: | Don’t underestimate the value of a tight-knit community and some really good intentions. I feel like my entire journey with Let It Rot, I never really knew what I was signing myself up for or getting myself into, and a lot of these opportunities sort of just fell into my lap and I jumped on them. I’ve gotten to work with so many incredible business entities, NGOs, nonprofit organizations. I’ve gotten to go behind the scenes for commercial productions. I’ve gotten to work events and empower people to feel better about how much waste they’re generating at their wedding or their birthday party or their business networking meeting, and I did a lot of that on my own with just the idea that I could help these people be as sustainable as possible. Had I never been put in a situation where I had to fight the local government in order to keep working, I definitely would have never stopped composting or shut down Let it Rot. | | The feeling that I get when I inspire somebody else that they can do good in the world and they can do a little bit better by just being conscious of their impact has been one of the most rewarding things that I’ve experienced on a regular basis. I have customers that are so grateful to work with me and for all the work that I do. Customer service is never a stressful or difficult thing to go through in this industry. People are just so happy to be a part of what you’re offering and that you can help them. I would tell people not to give up and to keep working and to keep fighting and really follow their passion. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | It sounds like that’s exactly what you did and that’s a beautiful legacy that you’re leaving. If even being interrupted right now, maybe in the grand scheme of things this will be a blip, but is there any way that folks can get involved in your efforts at this point? | | Melissa Corichi: | Ideally, I can do something to change the laws around here and make Palm Beach County a little bit friendlier to initiatives like Let it Rot and community composting. I’m not going to be able to do that while running my own community composting business, but I am very interested in continuing to get to know my county officials and trying to influence them for potentially another community compost business to pop up here and offer what I was able to offer Palm Beach County. I don’t know where and how to get started doing that. Any kind of help from somebody who has maybe been through this sort of situation and has navigated themselves out of it to enable composting to happen, I would love to hear from. | | I really did try to fight and advocate for composting in Palm Beach County and unfortunately I just didn’t have enough support and resources to be heard as loud as I was shouting. I still have my website up, letitrot.org, and I am open to any conversation that anybody might have with me about how to navigate the laws here and potentially change them for a more sustainable future here. I don’t really know anything specific to ask for because I just got to a place where everything that I was doing wasn’t getting me anywhere and it was just burning me out and exhausting me, but there’s definitely a desire to change the laws here in Palm Beach County and allow community composting to be something that happens. Anybody who’s willing to help me advocate for some open laws and initiatives to change, I would love to hear from. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | Awesome. Well, thanks again for taking time to share your story with us, to share the joys and successes that you did experience with Let It Rot and the unfortunate reality that you’re facing right now that hopefully is just the end of a chapter, but that is not the end of your Let It Rot chapter. | | Melissa Corichi: | Thank you so much for talking to me. I love to share my story and I would love to hear from anybody who has anything to say about it. | | Linda Bilsens Brolis: | To close out this episode, we wanted to provide a little more context for Melissa’s battle. You can also find links to more resources in the notes for this episode. Waste incineration refers to the burning of municipal solid waste which is problematic for many reasons. While today’s waste incineration technology is more sophisticated than that of the 50s, it’s highly expensive and does not adequately control toxic emissions from today’s chemically complex waste. Even new municipal waste incinerators emit toxic metals, dioxins, acid gases, and climate pollutants. And they don’t eliminate the need for a landfill, since they produce an ash residue that is toxic and must be disposed of. | | Because newer incinerators recover heat to produce steam and electricity, they are sometimes misleadingly referred to as “waste-to-energy” facilities. In reality, they are “wasted energy” plants. Burning waste is incredibly energy intensive – especially for wet organic materials like food scraps – and actually represents a net loss of energy when you account for the energy embodied in the materials being burned. It should not be considered a source of renewable energy. Despite this, many states unfortunately legally classify incineration as “renewable” in their state rules, including Florida. | | Research by ILSR and other groups shows that there are other direct impacts to communities from incineration. As we heard here, incinerators severely curtail or even eliminate meaningful recycling and composting efforts. They exacerbate environmental injustice by adding pollution to already overburdened communities. They represent huge capital investments that require cities and counties to make debt payments for decades, costs that are often footed by taxpayers. At the same time, incinerators create far fewer jobs per ton as compared to recycling and composting. | | For these reasons, resistance to the construction of new incinerators has grown over time. An estimated 300 proposed incinerators were defeated by citizen and small business coalitions in the US from the 70s to mid 90s. ILSR was directly involved in many of these battles. There has been only one new garbage incinerator built in the US since 1995… and it’s the one that’s shutting down Let It Rot. | | So what’s at stake? You heard from Melissa about the diverse set of community members and initiatives she was engaging with and empowering. And yet, The Palm Beach County SWA shut down Let It Rot for processing at most, 80,000 lbs of organics in a year out of the roughly 1.8 million TONS of waste it sends to its incinerators – that’s less than .002%. With this, they are saying that her customers don’t have the freedom to choose how the resources embedded in their waste are reinvested. | | So what can we do? If you’re considering starting any sort of waste diversion initiative or business, know what state and local laws exist before you begin, and know who your competitors are. Get involved where you can and help others get seats at decision-making tables where waste infrastructure is being planned. These rules are decided locally. They should not be written behind closed doors, especially by corporate interests. | | Prevent incinerators from being built and fight them where they exist. The recent closure of Detroit’s incinerator that resulted from a decade-long community-led campaign, shows that this is possible. Now, the city is prioritizing the development of distributed composting options. And finally, Melissa currently has a petition to get Palm Beach County’s policymakers to change local laws to allow composting, as well as a gofundme campaign to raise funds to help cover her legal costs. So, let’s get to it! | | Thanks for listening to this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. This episode was produced by Drew Birschbach and ILSR’s composting team. Our theme music is I Don’t Know from Grapes. Be Sure to check out the rest of the ILSR podcast family, including building local power, local energy rules, and community broadband bits at ilsr.org. |

*Correction: During the interview, Melissa mentions the amount of waste the Palm Beach County SWA sends to incinerators. This amount is 1.8 million tons, not pounds.

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Audio Credit: I Dunno by Grapes. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial (3.0) license.

Image Credit: Melissa Corichi of Let It Rot Worm Farm & Community Compost

View Details

Lead Editor at Waste Dive, Cole Rosengren, explains how the Waste Management and Advanced Disposal merger further consolidated the $90 billion annual waste and recycling industry, the pushback it faced from local entities, and how it impacted communities across the nation. Kirstie Pecci, Executive Director at Just Zero, shares her journey that led to the fight against polluters in her hometown and sheds light on the strategies employed by Big Waste to target low-income communities and communities of color for landfill expansion.

Related ResourcesTracking Waste Management’s acquisition of Advanced Disposal, divestitures to GFL Environmental

Waste Management completes $4.6B acquisition of Advanced Disposal, following regulatory approval

Tracking the waste and recycling industry’s M&A boom

Just Zero: Advancing community-centered Zero Waste solutions

Southbridge Residents Make It Clear: They Don’t Want Casella’s Polluting Landfill Any More

Fighting Monopoly Power: Waste – The federal government has turned a blind eye to the monopolization of the waste industry and the high costs it imposes on communities and the environment. But local governments possess significant authority to break up landfill and garbage monopolies, reenergize our stagnant recycling sector, and germinate local composting efforts.

Opposition to Casella landfill expansion in Massachusetts grows

Books:

Giants of Garbage: The Rise of the Global Waste Industry and the Politics of Pollution by Harold Crooks

Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade by Adam Minter

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

Transcript

| Reggie Rucker: | Hello and welcome back to another episode of this season of Building Local Power, which we are calling How To Get Away With Merger. I’m your co-host Reggie Rucker. On the last episode, we looked at how mergers and acquisitions in the beer industry put local breweries and brewers at a severe disadvantage and threaten the existence of these institutions that through the nature of their product and place can really bring communities together. | | Today, we go downstream and look at the industry that deals with the beer cans and bottles when we’re done with them. Consolidation in the waste industry and its convergence with recycling is having dramatic effects for the health of our communities and our planet, and we have two great guests to help us understand it all. To get us into the interview, let me throw it over to my co-host who has to put up with my garbage just about every day, Luke Gannon. What’s up, Luke? | | Luke Gannon: | Thanks, Reggie. Well, one man’s trash is another woman’s treasure. Today, we are talking about Waste Management’s largest acquisition to date. In 2019, Waste Management or WM bought Advanced Disposal for $4.9 billion. The lead editor at Waste Dive, Cole Rosengren, explains what led up to this merger and the ensuing consequences. Let’s jump into the show. | | Reggie Rucker: | Cole, thank you so much first for being on the show and bringing us your wealth of knowledge on this topic. It’s really great to have you. First, I’ll be the first to admit that for as much as I care about the preservation of this planet, and in fact, I recently did a presentation in my ethics class on why curbside community composting is not just a practically good policy, but a morally good one, I still couldn’t tell you the first thing about the waste industry, other than it’s too concentrated with a few big corporations dominating the industry, like many industries in America. | | But that’s really where my knowledge ends. Can you carry this forward? Educate me, for sure, and then perhaps the rest of our audience about the waste industry, like who are the big players, how much of the market do they control. As we talk about the market, even just break down what is the market. I know there are people who pick up the trash. There’s the place where the trash goes. Just walk us through what the waste industry is and what it looks like. | | Cole Rosengren: | Sure. In the United States, the solid waste and recycling industry is roughly a $90 billion a year industry. Very corporate now. It has a big history in mergers actually, which is, of course, a good fit for the topic today. It used to be a pretty local business, family companies. Cities would provide service. It started to change ’70s and the ’80s in part due to federal regulations that put higher standards for landfills, and it made it more expensive to operate these landfills. Business saw an opportunity there. | | Major names such as WM, formerly known as Waste Management, among others, came in, became publicly traded companies, and went on a huge acquisition spree. There’s quite a few stories. Really there’s many deals per month, per week. Execs flying all around the country just to go buy the next thing, the next thing. A lot of roll-ups happened for many decades. Where we are today is the industry is predominantly run by three major companies. WM is the largest, Republic Services is number two, and then Waste Connections is number three. | | The way to think about market share, the greatest source of power from a business standpoint is who controls the disposal capacity, this being landfills that we’re talking about. Those three companies, according to some recent research, control about 56% of the disposal market in the US. The public sector is only about a quarter, and then other smaller players from there. | | The services they provide range from the collection we see at the curb, collecting from homes, businesses, institutional and industrial settings, processing for recycling facilities, locations known as transfer stations, which may come up later in this discussion. If you pick up the trash, but the landfill is many hours away will go to a station in between, get moved on after that. They do provide other services, but that’s the main scope of it. | | Luke Gannon: | Cole, you lay out these three major companies that primarily dominate the waste market, but there still exists a small independent market for waste. Can you talk a little bit about what that market looks like for these services and what challenges that these smaller independent services face? | | Cole Rosengren: | Yeah, so it’s interesting, there is in some parts of the country more than others, there’s still a fairly robust market of family companies, small independent companies. They tend to be more focused on the collection just in terms of the barrier to entry. They may not have the capital to go out and buy a landfill, or it’s just very complex to own and operate one of those sites. But not uncommon to see a small independent business with two trucks, 10 trucks, even more out competing in the market. | | The challenge though is, as we mentioned earlier, the disposal is key here. That’s the moat. That’s the competitive factor. Even if you are a local business and you’re going to go out and start picking up recycling or try to bid on business services or city contract, you still have to pay for it to be disposed or processed at someone else’s location at the end of the day. That’s a big challenge. Another factor, I don’t know if I’d call it competitive factor, it sort of is, private equity is playing an increasingly larger role in the waste industry, definitely within the last few years, say at least the last 10. | | In some cases, smaller local companies have decided that’s a benefit to them and they’ll team up with these private equity firms and can grow faster because of that. But on the flip side, if you’re trying to compete against someone who has that private equity money or is part of one of these large private equity platforms, that’s a real factor. None of them are quite as large as WM or the other companies we mentioned, but they’re billion dollar waste platforms now backed by private equity. They’re not insignificant. | | Reggie Rucker: | Cole, when I hear you talk about the disadvantage that the smaller waste companies are at because they still need to access these landfills, which are very expensive to operate or they need lots of big trucks, I immediately start thinking about the work that we do around community composting and how they don’t have that same need for landfill space because we’re finding better use for those food scraps. | | Similarly, they don’t have the need for lots of big trucks because there’s better ways to move those food scraps and the organic waste around. Can you talk a little bit about how the smaller community composters play into the landscape of the waste industry? | | Cole Rosengren: | You’re right, if we’re focusing on organics specifically, and then we’ve seen some good examples of that. Even here where I’m in the Boston area, there’s a pretty robust little network of subscription services, folks in vans, bicycles, other ways to pick up your organics in the buckets and such. Even they will run up, and I’m sure from working with folks in your network, finding the land, dealing with permitting requirements, all this stuff, to have a compost site is not always simple once you get to a scale. | | Or depending on what kind of market you’re in, there could be franchise requirements for where stuff is supposed to go or how that works. Just some of the technology is getting harder as PFAS chemicals, for example, become something that composters need to be more wary of. That’s complicated and expensive. Pre-processing to get microplastics out, all of these things. Though it does seem to be one of the areas where it is I don’t know if easier is the right word, but we’re seeing more ingenuity from small… | | Folks will get in and start a local organic service in part because the big players aren’t focused on doing that nationwide. They will do it in areas where state or local policy drives it or customers are asking for it. But WM does not offer composting to every customer in the country right now. If you’re in a market where they’re not doing that and you can start a whole service, that’s an opportunity. | | Luke Gannon: | Cole, you’ve done a great job of laying out the industry, so we’re going to turn now to the merger that we’re featuring today, which is Waste Management, WM for short, and Advanced Disposal. You mentioned earlier that there have been a number of mergers and acquisitions in this industry. How did we get to this point where these two massive conglomerates are merging? What was the market like and what were the factors in the market that made these companies believe that this merger was the only way forward? | | Cole Rosengren: | There had been already a lot of large what we call public to public mergers, public waste company buying another one. I’d have to triple check this, but I would say there used to be probably at least twice as many publicly traded waste companies back in the ’90s, for example, and that shrunk through mergers over the years, including some very large ones. | | And with WM being the largest in terms of what’s really a way to move the needle, what’s going to be a big deal that’s out there, this was considered a logical fit essentially in terms of where can we really go and make a big move and grow through this. On the flip side, and I’ll admit this, I don’t have this directly from the companies, but in their SEC filings that laid out the deal history, Advanced had been approached by buyers before this that were not WM, which is not uncommon. | | They all talk. They’re all looking at options. This was happening in looks like early 2018, Advanced was approached by some folks. Deals didn’t work out, and then WM entered the mix in fall of 2018 and said, “Oh, we actually have an offer that would work.” For context, at the time, WM was the number one in the market, Advanced was number four. It was a big deal to be able to get them. | | As far as why they thought it made sense, Advanced had a very large network of disposal facilities, these landfills that we mentioned, transfer stations as well, going back to the competitive advantage, and just a large hauling business too. It was probably viewed as a way to move the needle pretty quickly to them. | | Reggie Rucker: | So then can you tell us about what the public reaction was to this merger? I think particularly with the federal government, were there any agencies or officials that attempted to block or significantly alter the terms of the deal? I think from the public, was there a sense of public awareness about how this merger might impact service in different communities? | | Cole Rosengren: | Yeah, it was a very protracted process. It went on for about 18 months. They went into this expecting certain amount of divestitures would be required from DOJ, which is not uncommon in deals of this size, of course, but they ended up having to renegotiate the deal because DOJ asked for more divestitures than they had even envisioned originally. The COVID pandemic started at this time as well, so that maybe dragged things out a little bit, but it was a messy timeline on this. | | There was some public pushback, most notably, at least, in terms of what we could get on the record of the time around the Chicago area. A couple local entities, Solid Waste Authority of Lake County and Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County got very involved. They hired attorneys. They met with DOJ. They flew into DC to raise their concerns about what this would mean for their market, and that was just one snapshot. | | But the reason they cited was basically Chicago area would go from four major players to three, and they were concerned about what that would mean as an entity that has to contract for these services, would costs go up, would things be as competitive. Some of these concerns ended up playing out. DOJ did end up requiring a large divestiture package. It spans numerous states. I have it here, I’m just trying to pull it up. There’s about 10 states. Multiple state AGs signed on to the process, and that all played out amicably in the end. But yeah, there was a lot of pushback on this one. | | Reggie Rucker: | Actually, yeah, Cole, please go ahead and continue. Talk a little bit about the communities and how they responded to the proposed remedies and perhaps even other government officials who maybe had a different point of view on this. What were you hearing from your research and reporting? Were people generally satisfied? | | Cole Rosengren: | I think largely yes. I mean, at least the two agencies I mentioned in Illinois I think largely were. Other folks that we’d been talking to in other states that were concerned didn’t raise huge issues after it was all said and done. I think some people would’ve maybe preferred to see multiple buyers of the divestiture package to further enhance, in their view, enhance competition. We never got this directly from them, but the understanding at the time was DOJ just wanted one buyer to make it cleaner. | | There were a lot of people. It was a pretty funny period. Everyone wanted in on this. About 50 different buyers approached the folks in negotiating, “Can I buy this site, but not that site?” They said, “No, we’re not going to do it this way,” and they just sold it to one company. This company, GFL Environmental, which is now number four in the industry, in part after buying this. They were growing quickly through their own acquisitions and they’re a big deal now in part because they picked up this package. | | But yeah, they were required to divest about 15 landfills, 37 transfer stations, 29 hauling locations and various other routes. Just a very quick point, what DOJ looks for in this industry is they look at landfill and transfer capacity and they look at commercial collection, and that’s their lens to assess competition. | | Luke Gannon: | Cole, you mentioned this group in Chicago that had concerns about how the merger would affect the city. What ultimately ended up happening there? | | Cole Rosengren: | Multiple sites were required to be divested in that market. And also Wisconsin, which is relatively close to Chicago, was a very big focus. Just a funny piece of history to show how much this industry’s built on mergers, a lot of what was at the Advanced Disposal portfolio had come from multiple mergers, including them buying divestiture requirements from other companies in the past. | | It’s a thing where sites just change hands time after time, and maybe we’ll get to it a minute, but after GFL bought its package, it then sold off some of these assets to other companies. Some local governments had… Say they have a local landfill in their community and have to deal with them for a contractor for service. Within the span of two years, they were dealing with three different owners because it just kept changing hands because of the deal. | | Reggie Rucker: | Wow. Okay, so then what happens next? | | Cole Rosengren: | Yeah, usually DOJ wants certain holding periods. GFL had to hold onto the assets for a bit, about a year or so. This deal closed, WM-Advanced, closed in fall 2020. And then in 2021, GFL turned around and sold most of the Illinois and Minnesota assets that had picked up to another company at the time called Lakeshore Disposal, now known as LRS, which is backed by Macquarie, a very large private equity firm. | | It also sold some assets in Pennsylvania to another company called Noble Environmental, and that kind of spurred, especially for LRS, that helped gave them a launching pad to go acquire other companies in those markets. We think we started the final ripple effects of this whole thing this year because GFL has acquired so many companies in recent years, including this divestiture package. GFL also did its own big divestiture package this year, not required by DOJ, but just to streamline its portfolio. | | Who did it sell those assets to? WM in one market, Republic in another market, and another publicly traded company Casella up here in the northeast. That was interesting. I’d consider that full circle three years later. | | Luke Gannon: | I was listening to this news clip in preparation for this episode, and one of the news hosts said that a small town down south when these two companies merged didn’t have trash pickup for multiple weeks. I’m wondering what the effects were, on the ground effects, on communities around the country because it’s been now three years since this merger. | | Cole Rosengren: | There’s certainly short-term effects, but for the most part, these companies do so many of these deals that they find weird and iron it out. But what we saw here, and it’s not uncommon to see in other acquisitions of varying sizes, there’s usually an interruption in service in the beginning. There’s two different sides of why this may happen that we hear. From the acquiring company, they say it’s often because they have higher safety standards for the fleet and the workforce. | | Occasionally trucks will get taken off the road, certain drivers won’t pass certain tests. It’s not uncommon to see day after a deal closes, service cannot be provided in the same way as it was the day before the deal closed. Others will say, well, it’s because the acquiring company is not adept at integrating this, but there may be different software platforms. There’s a lot of complicating factors. But yeah, you see that pricing will go up, which Advanced was known for being relatively lower on pricing versus its publicly traded peers. | | WM went and raised prices, and also the fact that this happened in the midst of COVID was another reason. 2020 was when the big price increase started, the company set to offset the costs of COVID. | | Reggie Rucker: | I think the last question we have for you is if you can look into your crystal ball and tell us about the future of this industry. I mean, I guess from what you’ve said, if it’s possible to get more concentrated with more mergers, maybe that’s where it’s going. But yeah, I’ll let you tell it. What’s the future of the industry look like? | | Cole Rosengren: | Yeah. I mean, from a consolidation standpoint, yes, I think there’s more to go. We’ve seen very high levels of activity in recent years for various reasons. The tax cuts under the Trump administration was one factor. There was a lot of reasons why this was happening. COVID drove some family run businesses to choose to sell because the higher expenses, the concern around that. | | When there was a concern that maybe Congress under the Biden administration would change the corporate tax rate structure, that led to a lot of sales, even though that didn’t end up happening, but that really pushed a lot of things. Every time we think that wave is done, there’s more to come. Yeah, there’s a lot still ahead. It’s less likely we’re going to see another large public to public merger. We don’t think there’s a couple possibilities. But WM, for example, this is from a DOJ standpoint, it wouldn’t really work. | | I don’t think they could get that through, and they’re not trying to do that. They haven’t really bought that much of anything since this has happened. A couple things, but not nearly to the level of their peers. Where a lot of the activity is right now is through the private equity firms. Republic, Waste Connections, GFL is still very active, still buying a lot of stuff, but private equity is really active as well in terms of building up some of these big platform companies, which probably will get sold to the public companies someday or become public companies themselves in the future. | | There’s a lot of that coming. And more broadly what that means, the industry is very focused on capturing value from the gas at landfills in part due to federal requirements, but there’s a big push there. A lot of the tax money around what they call the renewable natural gas is driving investment there. Some degree of investment in recycling, but nothing that’s necessarily going to move the needle that much beyond what they’re doing now. I’m trying to think of any other factor. | | I think that’s the main thing. To bring it back to antitrust, I don’t think we’ll see another large one, at least under this current administration. If administrations change, it’s possible. And for what it’s worth, some folks don’t know that this, WM and Advanced, would’ve played out in the same way and hypothetically under the Biden administration. That’s something we’ve heard as well. | | Luke Gannon: | At the end of every Building Local Power episode, we ask our guests about a book that has impacted the work that they do today. I’d like to extend this question to you. Is there a book that has influenced your work? | | Cole Rosengren: | Yeah, definitely one that’s helped with my reporting on antitrust in the white space would be Giants of Garbage by Harold Crooks. This came out in the early ’90s. And for anyone who’s really in the weeds on this, this is a follow-up to another version he’d written in the ’80s. If you’re going to read one, read this one because it’s the more updated one. That’s probably the last really good in-depth look at antitrust in the waste sector. But if you want a more broader read or even just… | | I’ll try to think real quickly. Have a couple that are also good. Anything by Adam Minter. Junkyard Planet is a great one to understand the scrap recycling sector. Fat of the Land by Ben Miller if you really want to know New York City waste history. And then the final one I’ll put out is Picking Up by Robin Nagle. She is an anthropologist who became a New York City sanitation worker and chronicles that in her book. I don’t know, put it in the show notes, put my email. I’m always happy to talk waste books. There’s more. | | Luke Gannon: | A huge thanks to Cole Rosengren for sharing his extensive reporting and research on the show today. For the second half of today’s episode, we are hearing from a waste and environmental expert out in Massachusetts. But before we jump into talking about waste, food, and compost, I’m going to toss it over to my radish berry sweet and always on bleak co-host Reggie Rucker. What’s up, Reggie? | | Reggie Rucker: | Luke, for someone who spent much of his childhood being called Reggie Veggie, these puns are quite triggering, so thanks. For our regular listeners. I’m going to keep this break short today because I really want to get to our next guest’s story. Before I toss it back to Luke, I want to ask you to reflect for one minute. This episode and our next we’ll do the same, is asking you to think about the systems that we don’t pay much attention to, but have an outside influence on things we care deeply about. | | It’s easy to put the trash, the recyclables, and for some of you even, the compostable organics to the curb or down the chute and believe from there it’s in good hands and good riddance. But what this conversation is about today is the ways in which giant companies that grow larger through these mergers and acquisitions have so much power in deciding what gets picked up and how these materials are either discarded or repurposed. These decisions have a dramatic influence on our ability or inability to tackle the climate crisis and build healthy, vibrant communities. | | Think about that friend who really cares about environmental justice and preservation and invite them into this reflection and conversation by sharing this episode with them. As I always say, pause and do it right now if you’ll forget, then come right back as Luke takes you through the story of a student activist turned environmental attorney fighting against big waste conglomerates. Stay tuned. | | Luke Gannon: | As Cole explained, the waste industry is dominated by just a few players in the northeast. A company called Casellas dominates the industry. Kirstie Pecci, an environmental lawyer and the executive director at Just Zero, has spent years fighting her hometown’s, landfill expansion and implementing just an equitable zero waste solutions across the nation. Today, Kirstie walks us through her journey of becoming an environmental guru and just why this fight is so important. | | Kirstie Pecci: | I think my story reflects that of a lot of environmentalists, and that is my parents were very connected to our home, to our natural home and then our home. We took great pride and put a lot of work into our home. My parents always composted. I actually live in the same town that I grew up in, in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. It’s a lovely semi-rural community in Central Massachusetts, and we are near enough to the highway, so it’s not too hard to get to Hartford or Boston or Worcester to work, but still always had a nice big yard, lived near the woods, spent a lot of time outside. | | My parents are very, very dedicated to preserving the natural beauty of our world. I would say also that my parents were very cognizant of two things. One, that we are not separate from the environment, so our health is dependent on the health of our environment. The number one indicator of how healthy you’re going to be and how long you’re going to live is where you live, and we know that now. My parents had an intrinsic understanding of that. They’ve always worked to preserve open space. | | I’m the oldest of six children. All six of us are involved in public service in some way, shape or form, whether that’s being involved in local government or on the Trails Committee locally or teaching or myself doing environmental work. It was something that was really instilled in us from the beginning. And again, my parents also were just very much always had a garden, always composted. It wasn’t a question. You didn’t put your food scraps in the trash. You put them over the stonewall in the woods, which is what I still do today. | | Not surprising that I was interested in this. I would also say the other thing that’s kind of funny is that my parents were really involved in the town, they still are, and in good governance, good local governance. They helped, especially my mother, establish our recycling center. We had a little local landfill that was due to close if we didn’t reduce what was put in it. | | If you wanted to use the landfill, to this day this is the case, you have to show up with your recycling separated, sort it by hand yourself, and then only the remainder can go into the trash. And as a result, our little local landfill is still open decades later than it was supposed to be. | | Luke Gannon: | One afternoon, Kirstie and her father were stacking wood in the backyard and her dad asked. | | Kirstie Pecci: | What do you want to do? I was always a good student. I loved school. I love people. Don’t have a shy bone of my body. My dad said, “Well, what do you want to do? What are you going to do?” We talked about it and I really felt like my heart would break if I worked on health or poverty issues, women’s issues, a lot of things that I care about a lot. I just don’t think I could take it. | | We talked about that and my dad said, “Well, you’re too much of a people person to be a writer. You want to be out in the middle of things.” He said, “What about an environmental attorney?” When I applied to school, I said, “I want to be an environmental attorney.” I went to Harvard. | | Luke Gannon: | At Harvard, Kirstie took her environmental knowledge from childhood and worked on the recycling system. She went to law school at Boston College and continued to immerse herself in environmental courses, clubs, and internships. When she moved back to Sturbridge, her hometown, and had kids, she got involved in a fight against expanding her local landfill, | | Kirstie Pecci: | Got a call from a bunch of different neighbors, including people in my family here in Sturbridge, saying the landfill in Southbridge is going to expand. It’s going to be a mega landfill run by Casella Waste. You have to help us stop it. That put me on the path, quite honestly, to working in zero waste. Landfills used to be local landfills, community-based local landfills, and they were small. We didn’t have as much plastic. We didn’t have as much toxic stuff to put into them, and we didn’t have as much stuff. | | We didn’t have as much single use stuff certainly to put into them. And then two things happened. One, the waste became more toxic and then became more waste. And then also meanwhile, we did develop regulations to try and limit the leaking of the landfill and the toxic emissions into the air from the landfill. You can’t stop either of those things, but the EPA regulations, which are then handled by each state, they at least try and control and limit and measure it. While that’s a good thing, what happened is that large corporations took over the landfills and made them into mega landfills. | | Now, what happened with what we’ve seen is that large corporations like Casella Waste, which has pretty much a monopoly in the Northeast in some parts, especially Vermont and other places, on certain aspects of recycling and composting and waste disposal along with Waste Management, Republic, there’s a few big players in every region. Of course, then there’s the incinerator companies. | | But the large landfill companies, what they did is they found impoverished communities or communities where the landfill was in trouble, meaning that it was clearly leaking and unlined, it was creating a lot of odor problems, and they took that landfill and either purchased it from the private local owner or they purchased it or decided to run it for the city or town that the landfill was in if they were owned before. Sturbridge’s situation, as I referenced before, Sturbridge still owns its landfill. | | Sturbridge still runs its landfill. Sturbridge is a middle class community with a lot of engineers who live locally, et cetera, and we figured out how to limit the landfill. It’s still, I’m sure, not safe, no landfill is safe, but that’s what we did with our landfill. In contrast, the town next to me, Southbridge, Massachusetts, is an environmental justice community. About 25% of the community hails from Puerto Rico, limited access to English, less education. And honestly, it’s a lot of work to keep the town in the black, right? | | In other words, meaning pay the bills, the municipal bills. What one of the town managers decided to do was to take the landfill that was owned by the town and start shipping in construction and demolition materials. Then they have a terrible odor problem. Fires, like week long fires at one point. Then Casella shows up and says, “We’re going to save you. We’re going to solve this problem for you.” Now, the reason that Casella Waste Management and other companies take over existing local landfills is one, it’s easier to get permitting if there’s already a blight on the land, right? | | The agency says, “Well, that’s already contaminated. They’re already screwed, so we might as well let them expand it.” The other reason is that they can never be blamed entirely for the condition of a landfill. In other words, at the Southbridge Landfill, which is about 52 acres large, about 11 acres are unlined. Anytime that there was any groundwater monitoring that showed significant contamination, Casella could point and say, “Oh, it wasn’t us. It was before we ran it. That leaking happened because of an unlined cell. | | It’s not the millions of tons of waste we’re putting in. It’s the tons of waste that happened before we came here in the unlined cell.” It’s very purposeful. And then also, a more impoverished community with less resources, less scientists, less lawyers, less engineers who live there is less likely to fight back. And that’s why the Southbridge Landfill was targeted, to be perfectly honest. | | Luke Gannon: | This story is not unique to Sturbridge. Casella has bought landfills all over the Northeast. Casella’s tactics are exemplary of what these corporations do across the country. Waste behemoths like Waste Management and Republic Services have targeted low income communities and communities of color to expand their services to rake in profit at the expense of the community’s health. | | Kirstie represented over 300 residents from Southbridge and lost. But as is often the case, the game was rigged. Casella had engineered the Board of Health to secure votes and hired the biggest law firm in the region. Kirstie lost the case, but she knew she was winning something bigger. | | Kirstie Pecci: | On the way though, not only did we build a coalition of people who cared about this and educate a coalition of residents who cared about this in all three towns, but we also educated local officials. Officials left office and were elected in because of this. This was very disruptive to the region, as you might believe. That local control and education was crucial going forward. Local officials at the state level too, reps and senators, learned a lot and then also made a lot of connections with state agencies, understood how they worked, and then also journalists. | | Those are kind of the pieces. If you’re fighting a big polluter, whoever they are, you need people power to show up and to show local officials that people care. You need people power to show up so that the agencies will do something because they will not if people don’t show up. To be perfectly honest, they have too much on their plates already. You need to educate folks as to why what’s happening is dangerous. | | Luke Gannon: | In 2015, Casella wanted to expand the landfill again. Fortunately, the coalition of residents, lawyers, activists, engineers, and scientists were able to stop it. But as Kirstie explains, winning the fight against waste will take more than winning individual battles. It requires tackling how big we let these waste companies get to begin with. | | Kirstie Pecci: | The one problem is we’ve accepted the bigness of our waste problem, and the money being made is based on that tonnage. When you build an incinerator, you need to feed the beast. The sagas incinerator has been running since 1974. I’ve been fighting it for years because once it’s built, you can’t shut it down. You got to pay the bills every year. You have to create a certain amount of trash to go into it. Landfill and incinerator companies get paid by the ton. They do not want that tonnage should go away. | | If you say to them, “I’m going to put a bottle bill in place in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I’m going to expand it,” or in Maryland, we’ve been talking to people there about putting a bottle bill in place, a brand new bottle bill. A bottle bill is a deposit return system or a bottle can return for money system where there’s a deposit on the bottle or can. The consumer pays an extra 10 cents and then gets that 10 cents back when they return their bottle or can, and then they’re recycled. | | It’s also in the United States, it could be the basis for a refill program, which is really how we get rid of plastic is have glass refillable bottles. That’s the cheapest way and also the best way to get our drinks. There’s no more plastic in our drinks, but also it uses a lot less resources to ship glass bottles back and forth, good local jobs to wash them, and then have them come back to me and be refilled. A nice local job refilling, you’re not shipping these drinks across the country. And then also, again, lightest impact on the environment and the climate. | | That’s what a bottle bill is. Maryland should have a bottle bill. Massachusetts should have a bigger, better, more modern bottle bill. When you talk about passing a bottle bill, who shows up in opposition? Well, Casella Waste showed up at the hearing here in Massachusetts to expand it because they don’t want that tonnage to leave their landfilling or their recycling. | | Because what Casella has done, and this is getting the second part I was going to say, Casella has purchased what are called the material recycling facilities, the sorting facilities, as well as transfer stations, as well as small recycling companies to make sure that they can dictate what is happening, and what that means is dictating the price. In Massachusetts, cities and towns are paying 70, $90, maybe even $100 per ton for curbside recycling and somewhere between 90 and $125 for curbside trash per ton. | | That bigness is what the business model is based on. The bigger the company like Waste Management or Casella or Republic or Covanta or Wheelabrator, which now calls themselves WIN, if you can believe it, Waste Innovations, those companies, the bigger they are, the more tons they want you to produce. They’re going exactly the opposite up to the waste hierarchy, which is reduce, then reuse, then recycle, right? We see the bigness is the big problem. Now, is everything going to be local? | | No, but I don’t need everything to be local. Some examples of local waste to deal with the trash problem, 25 to 33% of it is compostable. It’s food. It’s yard waste. That stuff, very local. You don’t want to be shipping heavy, wet, stinky food trash all over the place. You want it to be handled local. A great source of local jobs and a great source of local clean soil that you can keep your eye on and make sure it’s clean and then have it being used on your local farms, on your local gardens, on your local parks. | | That’s what we want. Big is not better if you’re going to be trying to make as much money as possible off of every time, which is what the big company’s try and do. | | Luke Gannon: | The giants that we’ve spoken of today, Waste Management, Republic Services, Casella, and Waste Connections, will use any tactic despite its negative effect on the environment or the health of residents to reap profit. Their size allows them to do this. Kirstie’s book recommendation provides a humorous and hopeful anecdote to this daunting work. | | Kirstie Pecci: | I spend every day reading reports and articles, and obviously there’s a lot of skimming. There’s a lot of redundancy in everything that we do to a certain extent. But I spend every day reading some really tough stuff about PFAS in loon eggs was the article I was reading about today in New Hampshire. There’s some really tough stuff out there. My antidote to that so that I don’t lose my mind is to read romance novels and fantasy novels to disengaged. The book that inspires me that I think everybody should go read is by Sir Terry Pratchett and it’s called The Wee Free Men. | | First of all, you should read it because it’s funny as hell. It’s a really funny book. I just sent it to a friend of mine who had COVID because as I said to her, the book is about a girl who steps up to protect her home, and that’s at the core of all of us. That is at the core of all of us. It’s about stepping up and with your friends and with other people that you are sustained by who you’re taking care of and they’re taking care of you as you do this work together arm in arm, stepping up and protecting our homes and saying, “This is not okay.” | | Everybody deserves a clean place to live, a safe place to live where they can take care of their families. Read The Wee Free Men. Learn how Tiffany Aching becomes a witch so that she can do that in her community and embrace your own witchiness and do that in your community and do it your own way. Because some people like to read and write and show up for podcasts, and some people like to show up at meetings, and some people like to call their legislator. We need everybody to do all those little bits. If everybody does their part, then we can win because we’re right. | | Luke Gannon: | This episode has been so thought-provoking. Thank you so much, Kirstie Pecci and Cole Rosengren for your stories and knowledge. | | Reggie Rucker: | Yes, thank you both. Thanks to all of you for listening all the way to the end. I assume that means you like this episode, so please share with even just one person you think will enjoy it too. We have a goal of 10,000 listens for this episode. Help us get there. If you’re not a subscriber to the podcast yet, make sure to hit that subscribe button so you know when every new episode drops. Of course, your donations are essential to help us keep this podcast going and support the research and resources that we make available on our website for free. | | You’re truly welcome and appreciate it all. And last, if you have feedback for us or want to share a story about how your community approaches this issue, send us an email to buildinglocalpower@ilsr.org. We’d love to share these on a special mailbag episode one day. We’ll keep an eye out. This show is produced by Luke Gannon and me, Reggie Rucker. This podcast is edited by Luke Gannon and Andrew Frank. The music for this season is also composed by Andrew Frank. Thank you so much for listening to Building Local Power. |

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Podcast produced by Reggie Rucker and Luke Gannon

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Do you want to start a community-based composting project, but aren’t sure where to start? Are you involved with an existing community composting initiative, but need to brush up on the best practices for engaging folks in your project? Do you need to train your staff or project partners in the fundamentals of hot composting?

Our Community Composting 101 Online Certificate Course is the perfect course for you! This course is self-paced, provides a certificate of completion, with no deadline for completing it. Learn more about the course here.

Fall is the perfect time to collect those leaves and compost! From September 18th – 30th, ILSR is offering free enrollment to residents in the following states and tribal lands:

Northeast:* Connecticut * Maine * Massachusetts * New Hampshire * Rhode Island * Vermont * Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians * Narragansett Indian Tribe * Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians – Indian Township Reservation * Passamaquoddy Tribe of Indians – Pleasant Point Reservation * Penobscot Indian Nation * Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation * Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) * Aroostook Band of Micmacs * Mohegan Tribe * Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe

Mid-Atlantic: * Delaware * District of Columbia * Maryland * Pennsylvania * Virginia * West Virginia * Chickahominy Indian Tribe Providence Forge, VA * Chickahominy Indians Eastern Division Providence Forge, VA * Monacan Indian Nation Amherst, VA * Nansemond Indian Nation Suffolk, VA * Pamunkey Indian Tribe King William, VA * Rappahannock Tribe Indian Neck, VA * Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe King William, VA

Who is this course for?* Anyone interested in starting or supporting a community composting initiative * Anyone involved in an existing community composting initiative

No prior experience with composting is necessary, but you do need access to a computer. This course is self-paced and provides a certificate upon completion. To take advantage of this promotion, residents of the above listed states and tribal lands should enroll in the course between September 18 – 30 (the course can be completed after the promotion ends).

Enroll Here.Grab a buddy (or five) and enroll together! We are dedicated to making our resources accessible to those in need, including historically disenfranchised and BIPOC communities. Bulk discounts and individual scholarships are available to anyone, regardless of where they live. Learn more here.

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Please note: the focus of this course is hot or thermophilic composting, not vermicomposting (composting with worms). However, the information on the benefits of composting and background on community composting will be relevant regardless of the composting system being used.

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There’s never been a better time for home composting. Sign up for one of our 1-hour virtual home composting workshops this September. One workshop is offered in Spanish.… Read More

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Jumping worms are invasive earthworms that rapidly degrade soil quality and destabilize local ecosystems. They can be easily introduced to your farm or garden via compost, mulch, or seedlings. This webinar will cover the latest research about jumping worms, best practices for preventing contamination, and specific strategies for on-farm and other composters. … Read More

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Part 6 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series featured a presentation from ILSR's 2022 Community Composter Census lead author Clarissa Libertelli, followed by a moderated panel discussion addressing key challenges to growth and what's needed to support future innovation and investment. The panel included representatives from local government and community composting.… Read More

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Composting posters, workshops, learning activities, signage, and training guides are now available in Spanish.… Read More

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Part 5 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series features case studies from Western New York in which local community composters and volunteers advocate and work alongside elected officials to bring forth change.… Read More

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ILSR is offering free enrollment in our online certificate course to residents of states and tribal lands in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic during International Compost Awareness Week.… Read More

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Go to ILSR’s Composting Rules Library to see more detail on the law. Maryland has been a national model for advancing on-farm composting since the state’s composting permit regulations were updated in 2015 with carve-outs for farms and small composting operations. Those rules – which ILSR championed – created a tiered permitting structure and exempted on-farm … Read More

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ILSR’s March 2023 report, A Growing Movement: 2022 Community Composter Census, is the first census of community composters to track the nature and growth of this sector, identify its key challenges, and demonstrate its benefits. Select figures are available for download to help share the impressive growth of the composting sector with your community!… Read More

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Part 5 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series features case studies from Western New York in which local community composters and volunteers advocate and work alongside elected officials to bring forth change.… Read More

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The community composting sector could create nearly as many new jobs as currently exists in the coal mining industry, according to the new report released by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR).… Read More

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A Growing Movement: 2022 Community Composter Census is the first census of the community composting sector. With more than 50 figures and graphics, the report highlights the sector's diversity of geographic and demographic representation, composting methods, composting feedstocks and output, employment, and community impact.… Read More

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What role does composting play in subverting barriers to local food sovereignty? In this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast, we are joined by Khari Diop, an environmental educator, food security activist, and fifth-generation food grower from Atlanta.… Read More

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ILSR’s Composting for Community team has worked closely with Delegate Regina T. Boyce to introduce the Solid Waste Disposal and Diversion and On-Farm Composting and Compost Use bill (HB 1070) for Maryland’s 2022 legislative session.… Read More

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In January 2023, ILSR convened the 7th National Cultivating Community Composting (CCC) Forum in Ontario, California, in collaboration with the US Composting Council and its annual conference and trade show. View presentations. … Read More

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ILSR's 7th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum and Field Day brought together 160+ community composters (and those who love them) to network, share best practices, and make their voices heard in the larger composting industry. The events were held in conjunction with the US Composting Council's COMPOST2023 in Ontario, California.… Read More

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Composting is a process driven by organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye, that transforms raw materials into a valuable soil amendment. Use our new poster to share the magic of compost with your community!… Read More

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Composting is a process driven by organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye, that transforms raw materials into a valuable soil amendment. Use our new poster to share the magic of compost with your community!… Read More

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What role can farms play in creating decentralized composting infrastructure? This webinar will explore models from Austria and Spain that include and benefit farms.… Read More

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What role can farms play in creating decentralized composting infrastructure? This webinar will explore models from Austria and Spain that include and benefit farms.… Read More

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Stacy Mitchell, co-director at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, explains how Amazon is purchasing its way into consumers' homes to gain greater visibility and market dominance.… Read More

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In collaboration with the US Composting Council (USCC) and BioCycle, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance announces two events to be held in conjunction with the USCC’s International Conference and Trade Show, COMPOST2018, in Atlanta.… Read More

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Support the 5th National Cultivating Community Composting (CCC) Forum and Best Practices in Community Composting Workshop. Contributions will primarily cover our scholarship fund, but also our networking reception, printed agendas/materials, and other direct expenses. The scholarship fund will help us bring more community composters to the event.

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There’s never been a better time for home composting. Sign up for one of our 1-hour virtual home composting workshops this October. They will cover the basics of hot composting outside and worm composting (or vermicomposting) inside. One workshop is offered in Spanish.… Read More

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Part 3 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series featured select jurisdictions that are providing a wide range of support for community-scale composting activities, from building concrete pads under 3-bin systems and granting right of entries to urban parks, to awarding RFPs for new compost sites.… Read More

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How can a community reeling from multiple economic shocks use composting as a tool to build a more resilient food system? ILSR’s Linda Bilsens Brolis talks to Renee V. Wallace of Detroit about composting as a tool for building equity and solving big challenges. … Read More

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A newly released guide from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) aims to support composters at community gardens, schools, urban farms, and other community venues in successfully managing their composting process to prevent attracting rodents.… Read More

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Contrary to popular belief, composting in cities does not cause rodent problems. This guide shows how composting food scraps, instead of dumping them in the trash, has the power to mitigate rodent pressures in urban neighborhoods.… Read More

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Across the U.S., the effects of 2022’s record high heat temperatures are widespread as climate change continues to exacerbate rising temperatures, intensifying heat-induced dangers to the public health and wellbeing of urban communities, Baltimore included. While the corporate sector is responsible for the majority of emissions causing rapid climate change, there are some green infrastructure and waste-reduction practices to enlist at the local level that can help curb the impacts of the warming climate.… Read More

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A per-ton surcharge on waste disposed is a funding mechanism with a proven track record of raising funds to reduce and recycle waste. This model bill serves to address the need for state investment into waste reduction and diversion programs and infrastructure by establishing major grant funding based on a nominal surcharge on waste disposal. This document is intended for use as a template for a bill that any state can adapt and introduce.… Read More

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ILSR Composting for Community director Brenda Platt explains to Popular Science how we can make composting more ubiquitous in the United States.… Read More

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Part 3 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series featured select jurisdictions that are providing a wide range of support for community-scale composting activities, from building concrete pads under 3-bin systems and granting right of entries to urban parks, to awarding RFPs for new compost sites.… Read More

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ILSR has been assisting grass roots organizations in Baltimore to fend off new incinerators and shut down an existing aging and polluting garbage incinerator in Downtown Baltimore, planning for and implementing Zero Waste practices. These practices would also help the city and communities address other pressing problems in the city; including the need for more good jobs, reduced recidivism, elimination of the 'digital divide', and creation of new small businesses, community based food production and environmental education.

The following article makes suggestions for transforming the current recycling system, and an update on community based activity in the context of rapidly changing markets, technology and entrepreneurial opportunities.… Read More

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In Part 2 of our Government Support for Community Composting webinar series, you will hear directly from food scrap collectors. Join this webinar to hear directly from food scrap collectors and composters who have secured some type of private-public partnership. If you represent local government, attend this event to learn how to directly support local food scrap recovery businesses.… Read More

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Composting cuts greenhouse gas emissions, enhances the ability of soil to act as a carbon sink, and builds community resilience to climate disruptions. Use our new graphic to share these benefits!… Read More

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ILSR’s Jess Del Fiacco and Brenda Platt talk to three community composters in California who have been impacted by solid waste franchise districts. … Read More

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Are you a local government interested in reducing and recycling wasted food and curious to learn how you can help spur community-scale composting? Or perhaps you are a community-oriented composter or micro hauler searching for public-private partnerships. This webinar series is for you! View the recordings now!… Read More

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Are you a local government interested in reducing and recycling wasted food and curious to learn how you can help spur community-scale composting? Or perhaps you are a community-oriented composter or micro hauler searching for public-private partnerships. This webinar, Government Support for Community Composting Part 1: Spotlight on New York City, is for you!… Read More

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With momentum from the wins for composting achieved during Maryland’s 2021 legislative session, ILSR’s Composting Initiative team supported three composting-related bills during Maryland’s 2022 legislative session. Our team continues to push to advance necessary and visionary policy on composting, waste diversion, and healthy soils in Maryland.… Read More

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ILSR’s Composting for Community team has worked closely with Delegate Regina T. Boyce to introduce the Solid Waste Disposal and Diversion and On-Farm Composting and Compost Use bill (HB 1070) for Maryland’s 2022 legislative session.… Read More

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More than 42 million tons of food scraps are landfilled or burned in the US each year, as estimated by the EPA. One reason among many is lack of adequate funding to prevent, rescue, and recycle wasted food. One funding mechanism with a proven track record of raising funds to reduce and recycle waste is the establishment of a per-ton surcharge on waste landfilled or incinerated. This article features ten examples of existing regulations that allocate revenue from waste disposal surcharges to fund waste diversion, reuse, recycling, composting, and other sustainability efforts, and extracts best practices and possible roadblocks that may help to guide the development of new legislation to fund composting and divert waste.… Read More

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The Environmental Protection Agency announced that it recognizes the Institute for Local Self-Reliance as an awardee in the regional grant category for building resilient and healthy communities, advancing local composting, and enhancing soils for local food production. … Read More

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Sophia Hosain is joined by Composting for Community’s intern Alondra Sierra and Elinor Crescenzi, an activist, organizer, and a founding member of the Food Cycle Collective in Pomona, California. … Read More

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A new online course from ILSR will support the expansion of locally-based composting initiatives at community gardens, farms, schools, and other sites. Composting transforms food scraps and other materials into a valuable product that improves soil health, while recycling nutrients that would otherwise be disposed. Composting also helps communities reduce wasted food and combat climate change.  … Read More

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Brenda Platt joins Charlie Pioli on "The Community Composting Podcast" to discuss the history of community composting, the implementation of state-wide composting policies, and institutionalizing zero waste. They dive into local and state wide composting policies and the necessary paradigm shift to become a zero waste nation. … Read More

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In this episode of the Composting for Community podcast, Nando Rodriguez, environmental facilitator at The Brotherhood Sister Sol, shares with us the various ways he engages youth in composting activities. He also dives into the role that environmental practices for Black and Latinx youth play in helping preserve and honor their cultural roots. … Read More

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On this episode of the Composting for Community Podcast, ILSR's Linda Bilsens Brolis and Sophia Hosain speak with Emma Jagoz, owner of Moon Valley Farm in Maryland. … Read More

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On this episode of Building Local Power, ILSR's Linda Bilsens Brolis and Sophia Hosain speak with Emma Jagoz, owner of Moon Valley Farm in Maryland. Their discussion focuses on the importance of supporting local food systems and how Emma's farm is operated with community and sustainability in mind.… Read More

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Are you a community composter or farmer wanting to learn more about using and selling compost from your operation? Hear how to read a compost lab test and what constitutes high-quality compost. This webinar will also feature a panel of community-based composters who distribute and/or sell their compost for specific uses.… Read More

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This webinar series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use, including setting up a composting area on your farm, integrating composting into your farming business, developing composting recipes, sourcing feedstocks, interpreting a compost test report, and understanding the different benefits of and uses for compost on the farm.… Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. The sixth and final webinar of the series, Compost - Soil - Plant: Putting the Many Facets Together, featured Dr. William F. Brinton, founder and Chief Science Officer of Woods End Laboratories.… Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. In the fifth webinar of the series, Compost Quality & Testing, presenter Dr. Greg Evanylo, professor in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences at Virginia Tech presented on compost testing as a tool for determining compost quality and identifying appropriate uses for compost.… Read More

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Are you a community composter or farmer wanting to learn more about composting equipment sized for small operations? This webinar will feature a panel of equipment providers as well as community composters talking about their DIY systems and favorite pieces of equipment. … Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. In the fourth webinar of the series, Compost & Soil Health: Restoring Health & Rebalancing the Climate, presenters Calla Rose Ostrander and Dr. Jean Bonhotal presented the benefits composting provides to the soil, plants and climate. … Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. In the third of the series, Composting Recipes & Integrating Food Scraps, James McSweeney presented a comprehensive overview of composting feedstock management and recipe development for farms.… Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. In the second of the series, Integrating Composting Into Your Farming Business, Ellen Polishuk, biological farming consultant, educator, and co-author of Start Your Farm, mapped out how farmers can add the production of high-quality compost to their operations.… Read More

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ILSR's On-Farm Composting & Compost Use Webinar Series features experts from across the industry and covers the ins and outs of on-farm composting and compost use. In the first of the series, On-Farm Composting Fundamentals, Dr. Robert Rynk of the State University of New York College of Agriculture & Technology, SUNY Cobleskill, introduced the fundamentals of on-farm composting.… Read More

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Virgil McDill, vmcdill@ilsr.org, 202.294.9187   Statement from Brenda Platt, Director of the Composting for Community Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, On The Introduction of the COMPOST Act WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 16, 2021) — The following statement was issued by Brenda Platt, Director of the Composting for Community Initiative at the … Read More

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Currently, no federal policy exists that encourages or provides resources to mobilize a national composting effort, though several states do have policies that support and recognize the benefits of composting. The Cultivating Organic Matter through the Promotion of Sustainable Techniques (COMPOST) Act is a newly-proposed federal bill that aims to proactively advance composting infrastructure and support across the country. … Read More

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Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by ILSR's Linda Bilsens Brolis and Amanda Cather of the Million Acre Challenge to discuss regenerative agriculture. … Read More

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ILSR has actively worked with state officials and legislators for years to move Maryland forward on composting wasted food and other organics. Now, four new bills recently became law that will further advance composting in Maryland.… Read More

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Composting cuts waste, enhances soil, protects the climate, and builds community (including jobs). Use our new graphics to share these benefits! … Read More

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ILSR's Jess Del Fiacco and Brenda Platt are joined by Tom Gilbert of Black Dirt Farm and Lor Holmes of the CERO Cooperative. Their discussion focuses on the need to support local and distributed infrastructure for food scrap recycling and composting.… Read More

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The Institute for Local Self-Reliance is partnering with the Baltimore City Department of Public Works’ GROW Center to host this series of virtual workshops on home composting.… Read More

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Gena McKinley of Austin, Texas, discusses the economic and environmental benefits of the city's Circular Economy Program — including highlights from a recent economic impact report that found it resulted in more than $1.1 billion in total economic activity and approximately 6,300 permanent jobs.… Read More

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As part of ILSR’s Baltimore Composting for Community Project, we are supporting about a dozen community compost sites in the city. This month we hosted two events in Baltimore to build DIY compost screeners designed for the community scale.… Read More

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In BioCycle, Brand Platt spoke about the business of community composting and the state of the industry today in the U.S. … Read More

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Smash and compost your pumpkins! One day pumpkin composting will be as common as Christmas tree recycling. If you backyard compost, add your pumpkin. Remove candles, wax and any decorations. Don’t compost pumpkins with paint or glitter. It helps if you smash or cut pumpkin into several pieces (as opposed to one whole pumpkin), but it’s … Read More

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Host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Denzel Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Baltimore Farm Alliance, and Sophia Hosain, leader of ILSR’s composting work in Baltimore.… Read More

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In this episode of Building Local Power, host Jess Del Fiacco is joined by Brenda Platt, Director of ILSR's Composting for Community Initiative, and Kesiah Bascom, founder of OffBeet Compost.… Read More

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On this episode, ILSR’s Brenda Platt dialogues with Michael Bradlee, President of Earth Appliance Organics in Providence, Rhode Island, to discuss how one community composter is continuing to collect and compost food scraps with new safety protocols in place.… Read More

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There’s never been a better time for home composting. Watch our webinar recording to learn how to successfully compost at home. The speakers covered the basics of hot composting outside and worm composting (or vermicomposting) inside. … Read More

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Brenda Platt, Director of ILSR's Composting for Community initiative, was interviewed in a recent short film produced by NRDC.… Read More

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To protect against transmission of COVID-19, face coverings are critical. Given the shortage of N95 masks and their priority for frontline healthcare workers, we are providing this resource page on DIY mask making.… Read More