This document summarizes Brenda Platt's presentation on micro and community composting at the US Composting Council Annual Conference. The presentation promotes decentralized, small-scale composting systems that process food scraps and other organic materials locally. Such systems create more jobs than centralized facilities, keep money in the local economy, and produce compost that can be used by local farms and gardens. The presentation provides many examples of successful community composting programs and cooperatives across the US. It argues that policies should support a distributed network of small, locally-based composting systems rather than relying solely on large, centralized facilities.

1. A G R O U N D B U I L D I N G O P P O R T U N I T Y
M I C R O A N D
C O M M U N I T Y C O M P O S T I N G
A v i t a l p a r t o f s u s t a i n a b l e f u t u r e
U S C C A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e & T r a d e S h o w
J a n u a r y 2 3 r d , 2 0 1 8 , A t l a n t a
Brenda Platt, @PlattBrenda
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, @ilsr
Composting for Community Project

2. Our Mission:
To provide innovative strategies, working models and timely information to support
environmentally sound and equitable community development.
Programs:
Waste to Wealth
Composting for Community
Community Banking
Community Owned Broadband
Energy Democracy
Community Scaled Economy
The Public Good Blog

4. Job Creation:
Reclamation vs. Disposal
Type of Operation Jobs/
10,000 TPY
Computer Reuse 296
Textile Reclamation 85
Misc. Durables Reuse 62
Wooden Pallet Repair 28
Recycling-Based Manufacturers 25
Conventional MRFs 10
Composting 4
Disposal Facilities 1
MRF = materials recovery facility
TPY = tons per year

6. Infographics / posters:
ilsr.org/compost-impacts

8. 5th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum
and Best Practices in Community Composting Workshop
Monday and Tuesday in Atlanta, here at the US Composting Council!

9. Should we rely on only regional mega-facilities?

10. Makes It Harder to Improve Local Soil

11. Lessons from recycling

12. Places that are home to numerous locally
owned businesses are more prosperous,
sustainable, and resilient than those in
which much of the economy is controlled
by a few big corporations.

13. Composting = Local Jobs
 Organics do not ship well
 Composting is small-scale
 Jobs are local
 Compost products are used locally
 Dollars circulate within local
economies
 Local = good for local economies
 Composting linked to urban food
production
 Composting diversifies farm
products and saves money
Ned Foley, Two Particular Acres

14. Smaller facilities
employ more per ton
Company Small Medium Large
Number of facilities 10 7 6
Range in size TPY 16 - 4,000 5,400 – 19,010 20,000 – 75,000
Range in FTE Jobs 1 - 8 2 - 10 5 - 26
Total TPY Processed 21,306 79,278 257,646
Total FTE Jobs 29 47 71
Jobs/10,000 TPY 13.6 5.9 2.8
Source: Brenda Platt, et. al, Pay Dirt: Composting in
Maryland to Reduce Waste, Create Jobs & Protect
the Bay, ILSR, May 2013. www.ilsr.org/paydirt
FTE = full-time equivalent TPY = tons per year
Photo courtesy of Veteran Compost, MD

15. US EPA Hierarchy of Food Scrap Recovery

16. Composting, lots of ways

17. Earth Flow, Univ. of Maine
University of Maine (Orono).
Finished compost is used on
campus as a soil amendment, for
landscaping, farming, and for
horticultural classes. Goal is to
produce 10 lbs of salad mix per
day for one of the cafeterias.

18. O2 Aerated Compost Bins:
St. John’s University, New York City
(Photo: O2 Compost)

19. Howard Co. Dept. of Corrections
(Jessup, MD)

20. Hierarchy to Reduce Food
Waste and Grow Community
What about local? Scale?

21. Source Reduction
Prevention. Do not generate food waste in the
first place! Reduce portions, buy what you
need, and organize your fridge for optimal
food usage.

22. Edible Food Rescue
Feed hungry people. Divert food not suitable for
people to animals such as backyard chickens or
to local farmers’ livestock.

23. Home Composting
Composting in backyards or in homes.
Avoid collection costs!

24. Small-Scale, Decentralized
Onsite composting or anaerobic digestion, and
community composters can accept material
from off-site or simply process their own
material.

25. Medium-Scale, Locally-Based
Composting or anaerobic digestion at the small
town or farm scale. These systems handle
typically between 10 and 100 tons per week and
are designed to serve small geographic areas.

26. Centralized Composting or
Anaerobic Digestion
Facilities serving large geographic areas that
typically handle more than 100 tons per week.
Material generally leaves the community in which it
is generated.

27. Mechanical Biological Mixed
Waste Treatment
Mixed garbage is mechanically and biologically
processed to recover recyclables and reduce
waste volume and the potential for methane
emissions before landfill disposal.

28. Landfill and Incinerator
Food waste should be banned from landfills and trash
incinerators due to their high capital costs, pollution,
and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

29. Home Composting
Composting in backyards or in homes.
Avoid collection costs!

30. Orlando – Get Dirty for Valentine’s Day
 FREE bins to City of
Orlando residents
o Free home delivery
o Assembled
o The Earth Machine
 Launch February 14, 2015
“Get Dirty” Campaign
o Get Dirty for
Valentine’s Day
o Get Dirty with Your
Neighbors
 3,068 delivered as of April
2016

31. Small-Scale, Decentralized
Onsite composting or anaerobic digestion, and
community composters can accept material
from off-site or simply process their own
material.

32. Community Composting – growing fast
Compost builds community!
Download the free Growing Local Fertility: A Guide
to Community Composting at
www.ilsr.org/growing-local-fertility

33. Principles of Community Composting
 Resources recovered
 Locally based and closed
loop
 Organic materials returned
to soils
 Community-scaled and
diverse
 Community engaged,
empowered, and educated
 Community supported
Compost builds community!

34. Types of Community Programs
1. Community gardens
2. Farms
3. Schools
4. Drop-off networks
5. Collection entrepreneurs
6. On-site composters
7. Off-site composters
8. Demonstration and community
leader training sites
9. Worker-owned cooperatives
10. Home-based or homesteader hubs
Philly Compost offers pedal-powered
collection service to neighboring restaurants
within a 2-mile radius (Philadelphia)

35. Bike-Powered Collection Growing

36. The BK ROT model in the Bushwick neighborhood of
Brooklyn, NY

37. Worker-owned Cooperatives
Roots Composting Farmer Pirates Pedal People

38. CERO – Boston area co-op
Photo credit: Boston Impact Initiative
(http://bostonimpact.com)
www.cero.coop

39. Urban Farms
Red Hook
Community Farm,
Brooklyn
Growing Power,
Milwaukee
ECO City Farms,
Bladensburg (MD)

40. Red Hook Community Farm (Brooklyn)

41. Red Hook Community Farm (Brooklyn)

42. ECO City Farms (MD)

43. Ramona Unified School District
(CA)
Gloria Quinn, Ramona Unified School District,
“School District Implements Food Recovery
Hierarchy,” BioCycle, April 6, 2016, San
Diego.
2014-2015
 Source reduction = 2,860 lbs
 Fed people = 7,280 lbs
 Fed animals = 3,840 lbs
 Composted = 6,576 lbs
A cost benefit >$18,000 in 2015

44. Earth Tub in-vessel compost system at Philly Compost / City Sprouts
(Philadelphia)

45. Howard University Compost Cooperative
(NW DC)

46. DC Dept. of Parks & Rec’s 3-bin
system
“Knox” design by Urban Farm Plans (www.urbanfarmplans.com)
Wangari Garden, DC

47. DC DPR Community Compost
Cooperative Network
http://dpr.dc.gov/service/community-compost-cooperative-network
 46 DPR gardens
have a Compost
Knox system
 Each site has a
compost
manager
 Each site has a
community
compost
cooperative
 6 more planned

48. Project EDEN (SE DC)
Rebuilder: Xavier Brown
System Used: Xavier
partnered with DC DPR
to build an Urban Farm
Plans 3-bin system,
creating a new DPR
Compost Cooperative.
Xavier collaborated with
local residents and The
Green Scheme to build
the system.
Project EDEN (Everyone
Deserves to Eat
Naturally) is part of a
church community in
southeast DC.

49. Project EDEN (SE DC)
Materials Composted:
Garden waste created onsite, food
scraps from Compost Cab, straw,
woodchips and spent mushroom
spawn from Good Sense Farm.
At EDEN, Xavier is helping to
educate local youth about
gardening, composting and
entrepreneurship.
Pastor Cheryl Gaines believes that
the composting skills and
knowledge now being developed at
Project EDEN are providing
opportunities and alternatives to
the murder and gun violence that
have plagued her community.

50. Composting & Training at First
DC Urban Food Hub

51. East Capitol Urban Farm, DC

53. Real Food Farm, Baltimore

54. Real Food Farm, Baltimore

55. Filbert St. Compost Project
Baltimore

56. Medium-Scale, Locally-Based
Composting or anaerobic digestion at the small
town or farm scale. These systems handle
typically between 10 and 100 tons per week and
are designed to serve small geographic areas.

57. Veteran Compost
Photos courtesy of Veteran Compost, MD

58. Farmers!

59. Ag Choice, NJ example
“Small to midsize facilities, like Ag Choice, cannot survive under the current Class
C permit structure [in New Jersey]...
We now are permitted to process 38,000 cubic yards per year and currently
employ 16 full time staff members, and five individuals from our local ARC
program. What we have found is that bigger is not always better. We have
designed and operate a midsize facility that is controllable and profitable...
Quite frankly, we do not want to become a monster Class C facility. We firmly
believe we can be successful and impactful by keeping things smaller and more
manageable.”
– Jay Fischer, Founder & CEO

60. What can you do? Some ideas…
 Support diversified infrastructure
 Technical assistance and tools for
locally based systems
 Support locally based systems
 Support reasonable policies & regs
 Procurement of finished compost
 Renewed focus on SCHOOLS
 Equipment for community scaled
systems
 Support training and well operated
sites
Photos: NYC Compost Project

61. Policies help set the stage

62. MD Infrastructure Bill

63. Frederick Co., MD

64. Hierarchy to Reduce Food
Waste and Grow Community
Support a Distributed System

65. Contact
Brenda Platt
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
bplatt@ilsr.org
@PlattBrenda
www.ilsr.org
“What Is Community Composting” video:
https://ilsr.org/video-community-composting/