The Power of Composting; The Power of Partnership

Partnerships with environmental groups, industry, and the public sector have proven to be a very effective way to advance source-separated composting of residential and commercial organic waste. The partnership concept has provided an opportunity to gather meaningful data and understanding needed to address key environmental, economic, and institutional questions that hinder broader acceptance and implementation of composting. In the United States, two innovative partnerships have shown that collaboration can achieve these goals. One partnership, ‘Compost for Earth’s Sake,’ involves the Grocery Industry and the environmental group, the National Audubon Society, working with local governments on pilot projects investigating source-separated composting. In addition to gathering data on collection performance, economics, and public acceptance, the team is investigating compost contamination from a multi-stakeholder perspective, both by measuring compost quality directly and by projecting long-term soil concentration levels that might result from sustained use. The second partnership, ‘Food for the Earth,’ is a partnership with representatives from the food service industry, the US Composting Council, and the National Audubon Society. In addition to testing the feasibility of behind-the-counter separation of organics, the food-service team is investigating the options for composting grease, which is an important disposal issue for the industry.