On Thursday, March 22nd, Moonflower Community Co-op hosted a Community Composting Forum at the Grand County Public Library as a result of several conversations related to improving and expanding composting infrastructure in our community. A loosely organized Compost Coalition emerged from these conversations elucidating the need for widespread composting infrastructure for community residents. The purpose of this public forum was to disseminate information about ongoing and upcoming composting initiatives, from small-scale community efforts to the County’s industrial composting project.

Community members in attendance were asked to describe their reasons for attending the forum, which helped guide the direction of the conversation. Several people stated their interest in the development of commercial or industrial level composting facilities to address the ongoing disposal of compostable plates, napkins, cups, and other items to the Klondike Landfill northwest of Moab, which accepts municipal solid waste from Grand County and northern San Juan County. Others pointed out the need for publicly accessible food waste collection sites within the City limits, National and State Parks, and BLM-managed lands. Considering the relatively high number of Moab residents and tourists living in vans or other mobile dwellings, these public composting sites could divert a substantial amount of food waste from the Klondike Landfill

Four community leaders were recruited to present information about their respective compost-related work. These four panelists, including Deborah Barton, Manager of the Solid Waste Special Services District #1 (SWSSD#1), Dr. Roslynn Brain McCann, Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist at Utah State University, Ruth Linford, Executive Director of the Youth Garden Project, and Rosemarie Russo, Moab’s Sustainability Director, offered varied perspectives on addressing food waste in Moab.

Deborah Barton, an expert on the pathways of waste and recyclable materials in our community, updated community members on the current state of industrial composting near the Moab Landfill, which only accepts construction/demolition materials and yard waste. The Solid Waste District obtained a permit to compost the yard waste in large windrows in October 2016, and composting began in July 2017. They currently operate a fully permitted composting facility located near the Moab Landfill. Some of the glass dropped off at the Community Recycling Center is crushed and used as a liner for these windrows, which is required by the permit. The main concerns about this system include water use, the cost of labor to maintain the windrows, and the need for additional equipment, including materials to screen the finished compost. While stormwater could be captured, this process requires an additional permit, and the higher elevation of the composting facility presents clear difficulties regarding the capturing process. With further site improvements, food waste may also be accepted at the Solid Waste District’s composting facility. However, the Solid Waste District relies on fees from the two landfills and the Community Recycling Center and receives no taxpayer funds, which limits their funding for labor and industrial composting infrastructure. Deborah estimates that Moab produces roughly 180 tons per month of compostable waste, excluding yard waste, which highlights the need for expanded industrial composting infrastructure.

Dr. Roslynn Brain McCann of Utah State University discussed the process by which USU Logan acquired the In-Vessel Earth Flow commercial composting system developed by Green Mountain Technologies. This stainless steel greenhouse structure (pictured left) utilizes an automated auger mixing system and required substantially less labor and water inputs when compared to more traditional commercial composting methods. The compostable waste typically decomposes with 14 to 21 days and can be unloaded into a loader bucket, pick-up truck, or a similar piece of equipment. The Sustainability Council at USU Logan compared numerous other commercial composters and eventually decided on the In-Vessel Earth Flow, which cost them roughly $40,000 plus expenses related to the construction of a concrete pad and hook-ups for electricity and water supply.

According to Dr. McCann, Shane Richards, Manager of Landscape Operations and Maintenance (LOAM) at USU Logan, has attested to the ease of maintenance, low labor and water inputs, and overall success of the Earth Flow. Unfortunately, a few items do not completely break down after one pass through the Earth Flow system, including compostable plastics, pineapple tops, and avocado pits, which could be addressed by screening and re-loading them. Overall, the USU Logan staff and faculty are pleased with the outcome of this composter. Dr. McCann strongly believes this facility could work well in Moab. Grants and a grassroots-led fundraising campaign could provide necessary funding, and a new site-specific composting permit would be required.

Rosemarie Russo, Moab’s Sustainability Director, offered insight on city-wide composting initiatives during her time as Fort Collin’s Sustainability Coordinator. Rosemarie described the benefits of Green Cones (pictured left), innovative small-scale composters with the ability to decompose the average amount of food waste produced by a four person household. The lower basket component remains below ground and exposed to the surrounding soil, while the the top green component serves as a double walled solar chamber to accelerate the decomposition. The decomposed materials will remediate the surrounding soil over time, so turning, mixing, and harvesting the compost is not required. While many home composting systems discourage the addition of pet waste, the Green Cones can easily and safely digest it. The City of Fort Collins purchased Green Cones to distribute in residential areas and public cityscapes. Priced at $180 each, these composters could provide an attractive solution to public composting in downtown Moab.

Finally, Ruth Linford, Executive Director of the Youth Garden Project, spoke about the current state of youth in Grand County. About 47 percent of Grand County students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and nearly 30 percent of these students feel a low attachment to their community. Youth poverty, stemming from deep intergenerational poverty, is staggering in Grand County. Youth Garden Project’s upcoming Garden Ambassadors initiative hopes to connect Grand County teenage students directly with community partners to provide them with meaningful work and the ability to manage projects of their own. The first Garden Ambassador will focus on food waste diversion. Ruth brought a bike trailer carrying a couple large green buckets, showcasing the YGP model for bike-powered compost collection in Moab neighborhoods. YGP would employ teenage students to manage and operate this project, providing much needed youth empowerment in Grand County. After asking the audience about our exposure to composting, we realized that most of us in the room learned about or began composting after our teenage years. This powerful insight solidified the importance of teaching our youth about composting, food waste diversion, and sustainable food systems.

Throughout the evening, panelists and audience members discussed varying levels of composting initiatives, from small-scale community food waste collections to large-scale commercial compost systems. As the Solid Waste District expands and improves their industrial composting site and YGP pilots their promising Garden Ambassador program, the Grand County community can expect an increasing emphasis on city- and county-wide composting and more opportunities to reduce food waste. Further options for compostable waste in Moab include setting up Green Cones or other publicly accessible drop-off sites, encouraging local restaurants and businesses to purchase small commercial composters, helping locals set up functional home composters, and fundraising to acquire an Earth Flow commercial composter to handle the 180 tons of compostable waste produced every month.