COMPOSTING IN AMERICA

A Path to Eliminate Waste, Revitalize Soil

and Tackle Global Warming
COMPOSTING IN AMERICA
A Path to Eliminate Waste, Revitalize Soil
and Tackle Global Warming

WRITTEN BY:

ABIGAIL BRADFORD AND JONATHAN SUNDBY

FRONTIER GROUP

ALEXANDER TRUELOVE AND ADAIR ANDRE

U.S. PIRG EDUCATION FUND

SUMMER 2019
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank Nora Goldstein, Editor at BioCycle and Kate Bailey, Policy and Research
Director at Eco-Cycle, Inc. for their review of drafts of this document, as well as their in-
sights and suggestions. Thanks also to Tony Dutzik, Susan Rakov and R.J. Cross of Frontier
Group for editorial support.

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do not necessarily reflect the views of our funders or those who provided review.

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Cover Photos: Top - Tossing a banana peel into an organics bin. Credit: MPCA Photos via Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0. Bottom - Salad greens growing in a
greenhouse. Credit: Ken Hawkins via Flickr, CC BY 2.0.
Layout: Alec Meltzer, meltzerdesign.net
C
  ONTENTS

 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................ 5
THE PROBLEM OF ORGANIC WASTE IN AMERICA................................................................................... 6
AMERICA THROWS OUT IMMENSE AMOUNTS OF COMPOSTABLE MATERIAL............................. 6
MOST DISCARDED ORGANIC MATERIAL IS LANDFILLED OR INCINERATED.................................. 6
VITAL TOPSOIL IS BEING LOST AT ALARMING RATES...................................................................... 7
LANDFILLING ORGANIC WASTE CONTRIBUTES TO GLOBAL WARMING........................................ 7
CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS HARM PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT................................. 8
COMPOSTING PROGRAMS HAVE MANY BENEFITS................................................................................. 9
COMPOSTING CAN HELP ELIMINATE LANDFILLS AND TRASH INCINERATORS........................... 9
COMPOST CAN REPLENISH SOIL AND PREVENT EROSION ............................................................ 9
COMPOSTING CAN HELP TACKLE GLOBAL WARMING .................................................................. 10
COMPOST CAN REDUCE THE USE OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS.................................................... 10
COMPOSTING PROGRAMS....................................................................................................................... 11
COMMUNITY-WIDE COMPOSTING PROGRAMS............................................................................... 11
COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING REQUIREMENTS................................................................................ 12
COMMUNITY AND BACKYARD COMPOSTING.................................................................................. 13
BEST PRACTICES FOR COMPOSTING PROGRAMS................................................................................ 14
MAKE COMPOSTING PROGRAMS CHEAPER THAN TRASH DISPOSAL......................................... 14
EDUCATE RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES......................................................................................... 14
USE CURBSIDE PICKUP IF APPROPRIATE........................................................................................ 15
COMPOST THE ORGANIC MATERIAL................................................................................................ 16
CREATE MARKETS FOR COMPOST.................................................................................................... 17
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS: A PATH TOWARD UNIVERSAL COMPOSTING.................................... 18
NOTES.........................................................................................................................................................20
E  XECUTIVE SUMMARY

AMERICA THROWS OUT immense

amounts of trash, most of which is dumped
FIGURE ES-1: MATERIALS LANDFILLED
into landfills or burned in trash incinera-
AND INCINERATED IN THE U.S. IN 2015
tors. This is a costly system that damages
BY MATERIAL176
the environment and harms our health.
Luckily, communities across the country are Textiles
turning toward a common-sense and ben- Wood
8%

eficial solution: composting. Composting 8% Food

22%
programs divert organic material – such as
food scraps, leaves, branches, grass clip- Paper &
Paperboard
pings and other biodegradable material 13% Yard Trimmings
– away from landfills and incinerators and 8%

turn it into a valuable product. Compost Rubber &

can replenish and stabilize soil, helping to Leather
4%
Plastics 18%

boost and sustain food production in the Other Metals

5%
future. It can also help pull carbon out of Glass
9%

the atmosphere, helping to tackle global 5%

warming, and replace polluting chemical

Compostable 30% Some Compostable 29% Not Compostable 41%
fertilizers, protecting public health.

Americans landfilled or incinerated over 50

million tons of compostable waste in 2015.1
That is enough to fill a line of fully-loaded Thanks to strong composting and re-
18-wheelers, stretching from New York cycling programs, San Francisco has
City to Los Angeles ten times.2 reduced the amount of trash it sends
to landfills by 80 percent and composts
The system of collecting, landfilling and 255,500 tons of organic material each
incinerating waste is a costly one that con- year.4 The state of Vermont passed a Uni-
tributes to global warming and creates toxic versal Recycling Law in 2012 and is phas-
air and water pollution. Composting could ing in policies and programs until all of
reduce the amount of trash sent to land- its recyclables, leaf and yard debris, food
fills and incinerators in the U.S. by at least scraps and other organics will be banned
30 percent.3 from landfills in 2020.5

PAGE 1
 A growing number of cities, towns and 2017 – more than the total emissions of
states are recognizing the benefits of com- 34 individual states in 2016.14 Compost-
posting programs. In just the last five years, ing organic material could significantly
the number of communities offering com- reduce methane emissions.
posting programs has grown by 65 percent.6
By following the best practices of programs Unlike landfilling, composting organic
around the country, American communities material helps plants and microorganisms
can launch successful composting programs to grow and actually pulls carbon out of
that reduce waste, contribute to a sustainable the atmosphere.15 One model found that
food system, help tackle global warming, applying compost to 50 percent of Califor-
and reduce harmful air and water pollution. nia’s land used for grazing could sequester
the amount of carbon currently emitted by
Compost can help create a robust and sus- California’s homes and businesses.16
tainable agricultural system.
Compost can replace synthetic chemical
Topsoil, the nutrient-rich layer of soil vital for fertilizers, which can:
growing food, is being degraded and eroded
at alarming rates, threatening our ability to • Deplete soil in the long run,17
grow enough food in the future.7 According
to the United Nations Food and Agriculture • Produce nitrous oxide – a greenhouse
Organization, one-third of the world’s top- gas up to 310 times as potent as carbon
soil is already degraded, and topsoil in the dioxide over a 100-year period,18
United States is eroding at more than nine
times its natural rate of replacement.8 • Produce nitrogen oxides, which can
contribute to the formation of smog and
• Compost can replenish the nutrients in cause respiratory problems and damage
soil, restoring fertility in land that has the lungs, and19
been depleted.9
• Wash into waterways and fuel the
• Compost can help prevent topsoil erosion growth of algal blooms that can kill
by allowing the soil to absorb more water or displace large numbers of fish and
during heavy rainfalls and by fostering produce toxins that can sicken and kill
robust plant growth.10 One study found animals and people who make contact
that the application of compost helped with the water or consume contami-
to reduce soil loss by 86 percent.11 nated shellfish and other organisms.20

Composting helps tackle global warming. To promote composting, cities and towns
should adopt community-wide compost-
Organic waste does not decompose in ing programs.
the dark, low-oxygen conditions in land-
fills.12 Instead, its degradation produces Most town-wide or city-wide composting
methane, a greenhouse gas about 56 programs work just like trash and recycling
times more potent than carbon dioxide services – residents and businesses put their
over a 20-year period.13 Landfills are the organic waste in a separate bin by the curb
nation’s third-largest source of methane each week and it is picked up by a truck
emissions, emitting 108 million metric and brought to a composting facility. These
tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in programs are typically run by municipali-

PAGE 2
ties in conjunction with private haulers and • Education: If people throw out materi-
composting facilities, but some communities als that do not belong in compost, the
allow private companies to operate in their compost can become contaminated.
town or city independently. In some com- Sorting contaminants out of organic
munities, residents and businesses drop off waste is resource-intensive, so it is
their organic waste at a designated location, more efficient and effective for resi-
which requires fewer city resources but re- dents and businesses throw out the
sults in less collected organic material.21 appropriate materials from the start.
Education and outreach initiatives like
Successful composting programs share public service announcements, media
several characteristics: stories, community meetings and on-
site training can inform residents and
• Convenience: Residents and businesses businesses about what to throw in the
contribute more organic material to compost bin and can also encourage
composting programs if that material is participation.27
picked up “curbside,” as is most trash
and recycling.22 Some communities, such In addition to taking the steps above to
as San Francisco, have also encouraged create successful community-wide com-
residents to participate in composting posting programs, cities, towns and coun-
programs by making the bins for organic ties should also:
waste larger and trash bins smaller.23
• Require commercial producers of or-
• Affordability: Municipalities can incen- ganic waste to divert it to composting
tivize residents and businesses to partici- facilities. Requiring large, commercial
pate in composting programs by making producers of organic waste to compost
them more affordable than trash disposal. can divert a large percentage of organic
This can be achieved through systems like waste away from landfills and inciner-
Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) ators, and does not require resources
in which residents pay less if they throw from the city.28 Some communities have
out less trash. Systems like this create a also used such a requirement to help
direct financial incentive for residents to build up their composting capacity and
toss their organic waste into the compost- infrastructure in order to gradually
ing bin instead of the trash.24 phase in a city-wide program.29 New
York became the sixth state to pass such
•  Local governments can also combine the a requirement in March, 2019.30
cost of organic waste pickup with trash
and recycling, so that participants do • Require government projects to use
not pay an extra fee, which is a barrier compost: Local governments should
to participation.25 lead by example and require that all
government-funded projects use local
• Frequency: Organic waste should be compost when beneficial.31 This will
collected as regularly and frequently as both deliver the benefits of compost to
trash. Portland, Oregon, picks up or- the community – erosion control, car-
ganic waste more frequently than trash, bon sequestration and pollution reduc-
encouraging residents and businesses to tion – and also help create a consistent
put their organics into the compost bin market to sustain local composting
for quicker service.26 facilities.

PAGE 3
 • Incentivize backyard and community loans and other financial mechanisms.
composting. Backyard and community Creating composting facilities is often
composting programs are beneficial be- a good environmental and financial
cause they reduce or eliminate the need investment for a community, but it can
to transport organic material.32 require a lot of upfront capital.36 Federal
and state governments can help encour-
◦◦ Support community composting age the creation of these facilities by
programs, for example at schools and providing grants, loans or issuing repay-
community gardens, through grants, ment guarantees to those local munici-
free advertising and support in pick- palities and private companies that lack
ing-up and delivering organic waste.33 the resources to begin a project.37 Fed-
eral and state governments should pro-
◦◦ Educate residents and businesses vide similar financial assistance for local
about how and why to compost governments and businesses to launch
themselves. curbside organics pickup programs and
purchase necessary equipment, such as
◦◦ Supply residents with free or dis- trucks and bins.
counted compost bins as Boston
does.34 These programs often pay for • Fund programs to develop and test
themselves, as cities save money on municipal composting programs. The
transporting and paying to dump 2018 Farm Bill included a $25 million
waste.35 allotment for the USDA to develop and
test municipal composting programs.
To support local composting programs, the However, the funding will only go
federal government and state governments toward programs in about 10 states, and
should: is only authorized through 2023.38 Con-
gress should increase USDA funding to
• Subsidize the creation of composting develop projects in more states over a
facilities and programs through grants, longer period.

PAGE 4
Introduction
IMAGINE, IN A LONG-AGO TIME, one of Through composting programs, discarded
our ancestors picked an apple to eat. organic materials – from raked leaves to
apple cores – are picked up or dropped off
They ate most of it as they walked along at composting facilities. There, the materials
and tossed the core on the ground when decompose in much the same way as in the
they were finished. Within a couple of days, natural world. The resulting nutrient-rich
the remaining apple became soft and the compost can then be used in farms and
skin wrinkled. Insects, fungi and microor- gardens, helping to replenish and stabilize
ganisms living in the soil ingested the ap- the soil.40 This can help stop soil erosion
ple’s remains. Within weeks, the apple had and replace the need for synthetic chemical
decomposed, its nutrients spread through- fertilizers that deplete the soil in the long
out the soil. run, create air and water pollution, and
create nitrous oxide – an extremely potent
Later, another ancestor dug a small hole in greenhouse gas.41
the ground to plant their crops, scooping up
the rich topsoil. The nutrients provided by Cities, towns and states across America are
the apple helped new crops to grow, pro- recognizing composting as a common-sense
viding food for more humans, animals and solution to our waste problem with other
organisms. valuable benefits. Through smart policy
and local composting programs, commu-
Today, after we eat an apple, we toss its core nities can take an important step to reduce
into a trash can. From there it is hauled off waste, create a robust and sustainable agri-
to a landfill, crushed among pizza boxes cultural system, tackle global warming, and
and plastic bags, away from soil, air and reduce air and water pollution.
water. Or it is burned in a trash incinera-
tor. In either case, it is not ingested by soil
microbes, it does not help food to grow – its
nutrients are lost from the natural system.

These stories of the fate of an apple illus-

trate that in the natural world, nutrients are
continually cycled, replenishing soil and
sustaining continual food growth. Today in
America, we have replaced that cycle with a
dead-end street that essentially pulls nu-
trients from the soil and dumps them into
landfills or burns them in trash incinerators.

Composting programs are an elegant solu-

tion that enable our modern society to mir-
ror the natural world. If all organic materials An excavator moves over mounds of trash at the
were composted, the U.S. could get nearly Anchorage Landfill. Credit: Brian Ferguson via U.S. Air Force, CC-BY-1.0.
one-third of the way toward zero waste.39

PAGE 5
 The problem of organic waste in America
THE U.S. DISCARDS MILLIONS OF TONS does not refer to food grown without pesti-
of compostable material each year – pri- cides. Organic material in composting refers
marily food scraps and yard waste. Most of to any material derived from plants or
this material is either burned in trash incin- animals – including food scraps, branches
erators or dumped into landfills – where it and leaves, some paper products, wood and
emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas. natural fiber textiles.
Worse yet, in this system, the nutrients in
organic materials are lost from the soil. This Most discarded organic material
is a problem because topsoil – the vital, is landfilled or incinerated
nutrient-rich top layer of soil – is currently Food waste and yard trimmings make up 30
being depleted at rates that are threatening percent – nearly one-third – of the material
our future ability to grow food. Composting that is landfilled or incinerated in the U.S.
can help solve these problems and can help
reduce the use of synthetic chemical fertiliz-
ers that create toxic air and water pollution
that harm our health. FIGURE 1: MATERIALS LANDFILLED AND
INCINERATED IN THE U.S. IN 2015 BY
America throws out immense MATERIAL177
amounts of compostable material
The U.S. wastes a huge amount of com-
postable material. Food waste and yard Textiles
trimmings make up 28 percent of gar- Wood
8%

bage thrown out by U.S. homes and busi- 8% Food

22%
nesses.42 Wood, textiles and paper, some of
which are compostable, make up another Paper &
Paperboard
38 percent.43 13% Yard Trimmings
8%

Americans landfilled or incinerated over 50 Rubber &

Leather Plastics 18%
million tons of compostable waste in 2015.44 4%
That is enough to fill a line of fully-loaded Other
5%
Metals
9%
18-wheelers stretching from New York City Glass
to Los Angeles ten times.45 In 2014, the In- 5%

stitute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) found Compostable 30% Some Compostable 29% Not Compostable 41%
that the U.S. has the potential to create 21
million additional tons of compost per year,
which could cover up to 5.25 million acres
of farmland.46 This would be more than
enough to cover all of the vegetable farms Less than one-third – 31 percent – of the
in the United States.47 food waste and yard trimmings that U.S.
homes and businesses throw out is com-
All organic material can be composted, posted. The remaining 69 percent is burned
though not all composting programs accept in trash incinerators or dumped into land-
all organic material. “Organic,” in this case, fills.48

PAGE 6
FIGURE 2: U.S. ORGANIC WASTE
Vital topsoil is being lost
HANDLING, 201549
at alarming rates
Topsoil is the layer of soil that contains
the highest density of nutrients that plants
and microorganisms need to grow. This
layer of soil is vital for growing food and
is currently being degraded and eroded at
31% alarming rates. According to the United Na-
tions Food and Agriculture Organization,
Composted
one-third of the earth’s topsoil is already
degraded.55 In the United States, 4.6 tons of
69% cropland soil per acre are eroded annually,
Landfilled or
more than nine times the natural rate of re-
incinerated
placement.56 Topsoil is being eroded by de-
forestation, intensive industrial agriculture,
global warming and sprawling urban de-
velopment.57 Topsoil loss is a serious threat
to our society’s ability to grow enough food
in the future.58

Compost can help replenish topsoil and

Composting programs for yard trimmings prevent future erosion.59
– grass, leaves, sticks, etc. – began in the
1970s and early 1980s.50 These programs Landfilling organic waste
have since spread across the country, so 61 contributes to global warming
percent of yard trimmings are now turned Landfilling organic waste contributes to
into compost or mulch.51 global warming. Organic material does
not decompose in the dark, low-oxygen
The U.S., however, throws out more food conditions of landfills. Instead, it degrades
waste than yard trimmings and almost in a way that produces methane – a green-
none of that material is composted. Curb- house gas around 56 times more potent
side pickup of food waste is available in than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.60
less than 2 percent of American communi- Landfills are the third-largest source of
ties – only 326 towns and cities out of over methane emissions in the U.S., responsible
19,000 nationwide.52 Since many Americans for 18 percent of total methane emissions.
cannot or do not compost in their back- Globally, greenhouse gas emissions from
yard, most of the country has no option but waste have nearly doubled since 1970 and
to throw their food waste into the trash. are now responsible for 3 percent of all hu-
Because of this, nearly 95 percent of food man-made greenhouse gas emissions.61 In
waste is landfilled or incinerated, and only 2017, landfills emitted methane equivalent
5 percent is composted.53 to 108 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
– more than the total emissions of 34 indi-
Times are changing, though. The number vidual states in 2016.62 Even if a landfill is
of communities offering composting pro- equipped with methane capture technology,
grams has grown by 65 percent in just the it still leaks significant amounts of methane
last five years.54 into the atmosphere over time.63

PAGE 7
 When organic waste is composted, it helps Inorganic nitrogen fertilizers also significantly
plants and microorganisms to grow and contribute to air pollution by emitting ammo-
pull carbon out of the atmosphere.64 nia and nitrogen oxides.68 Ammonia emissions
from fertilizer mix with other emissions, often
Chemical fertilizers harm public from industrial sources, to produce fine partic-
health and the environment ulate matter. These particles are small enough
Modern industrial agriculture relies heavily that when inhaled they often enter the blood-
on synthetic chemical fertilizers to boost stream or become entrenched deep within the
yield rates of certain crops. However, over lungs. This can eventually lead to lung and
time this practice depletes the soil of nu- heart disease.69 Recent analyses estimate that
trients necessary to sustain food growth – fine particulate matter was responsible for
such as organic carbon and nitrogen.65 230,000 to 300,000 deaths in America in 2012,
and 8.9 million deaths worldwide in 2015.70
When chemical fertilizers leak into wa- In the U.S., half of these emissions were due
terways, they can produce algal blooms to nitrogen fertilizers and livestock.71 Soils,
that suck the oxygen out of aquatic envi- particularly those fertilized with synthetic
ronments and create “dead zones,” that nitrogen, also produce 22 percent of global
can kill or drive away large numbers of emissions of nitrogen oxides, which contribute
fish and other organisms.66 Harmful algal to forming ground-level ozone or smog.72 Both
blooms, also known as red tides, blue- nitrogen oxides and smog can cause respira-
green algae or cyanobacteria, can produce tory problems and damage the lungs.73
toxins that can sicken or kill animals and
people who make contact with the water Compost can replace synthetic chemical fer-
or consume contaminated shellfish and tilizers and reduce air and water pollution,
other organisms.67 and thus related health impacts.74

PAGE 8
Composting programs have many benefits
COMPOSTING PROGRAMS MIRROR the be sold. The average price to dump waste
natural world by allowing organic matter at landfills was $52 per ton in 2017 and is
to decompose into nutrient-rich compost projected to rise substantially in the coming
that is returned to the earth. This process years due to increasing waste generation, a
has many valuable benefits. Composting lack of haulers, and a recent Chinese ban on
programs can eliminate nearly one-third imported recyclables.79 By comparison, the
of the material sent to landfills and trash national average fee to dump organic waste
incinerators.75 Through this shift, waste is at composting facilities is $35 per ton, about
swapped for valuable material that can help two-thirds the cost to dump at landfills.80
replenish and stabilize soils, helping to stop Towns and cities are realizing the cost sav-
the loss of topsoil vital for growing food. ings of diverting organic waste away from
Composting not only reduces greenhouse landfills and toward composting facilities.
gas emissions, but it also helps sequester
carbon dioxide. And lastly, compost can re- Compost can replenish soil
place synthetic chemical fertilizers, helping and prevent erosion
to reduce toxic air and water pollution. Compost can help replenish nutrients in
topsoil and prevent erosion – boosting food
Composting can help eliminate production today and protecting our ability
landfills and trash incinerators to grow food in the future. Compost has
If all organic material was used or com- been shown to increase crop yields over
posted, the U.S. could get at least 30 per- time thanks to these and other benefits, in-
cent of the way toward zero waste, helping cluding fostering microbial communities in
to eliminate the use of landfills and trash soil that break down nutrients so they can
incinerators.76 This starts by reducing the be used by plants.81
amount of waste created – for example, 30
to 40 percent of the food grown for U.S. By slowly releasing nutrients into the soil,
consumption each year never gets eaten.77 compost begins the process of making hu-
There are steps that can be taken at each mus and a new layer of rich topsoil.82 Com-
stage of America’s food system – from post has been shown to benefit soil quality
when it’s grown until someone purchases by increasing organic carbon content, and
it – that can help eliminate food waste. by providing soil with nitrogen, phospho-
Also, much of the yard trimmings thrown rus, potassium and essential micronutrients
out – for instance, grass clippings – can be not found in mineral fertilizers.83
left on lawns and actually provide many
benefits.78 All of the organic waste that re- Compost can also help prevent erosion. An
mains after such measures have been taken application of compost can increase water
should be composted so that no organic infiltration into the soil, aiding the soil’s
material is wasted. ability to absorb rainfall rather than be
washed away by it. One study found that
It is costly to build and operate trash incin- the application of compost helped to reduce
erators as well as to contain the toxic waste soil loss by 86 percent.84 Compost can also
produced by landfills. Conversely, compost- help plants to grow, which shelter the soil
ing produces a valuable product that can and hold it together with their root sys-

PAGE 9
 ing this waste to composting facilities, the
organic material can decompose naturally
and greatly decrease methane emissions.89
If all of the food waste and yard trimmings
that were landfilled in 2015 had been com-
posted instead, it would have resulted
in net negative emissions of 14.8 million
metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent –
equivalent to taking over 3 million cars off
the road that year.90
A compost pile in different stages of decomposition.
Credit: Joi Ito via Flickr, CC-BY-2.0.
In addition to preventing methane emis-
sions, compost helps beneficial plants and
microorganisms to grow, helping to seques-
ter carbon already in the atmosphere.91 One
model found that applying compost to 50
tems, helping to prevent the soil from being percent of California’s land used for graz-
swept away by wind and water flow.85 ing could sequester the amount of carbon
currently emitted by California’s homes
Compost has benefits beyond replenishing and businesses.92
nutrients in soil and preventing erosion.
Plants grown in compost have been shown Lastly, compost can replace synthetic nitro-
to survive more extreme climate conditions gen fertilizers which contribute significantly
compared to those grown solely with syn- to emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse
thetic fertilizers.86 Compost can also increase gas up to 310 times more potent than carbon
the number of earthworms and microbes dioxide over a 100-year period.93
in soil, which break down organic material
into a form that plants can use. Numerous Compost can reduce the use
studies have shown that the robust microbial of chemical fertilizers
communities fostered by compost can also Compost can support naturally robust soil,
effectively suppress various plant diseases.87 where crops thrive without the use of chem-
ical additives. As discussed above, synthetic
Composting can help chemical fertilizers deplete soil nutrients
tackle global warming over time, create toxic air and water pollu-
Composting can help tackle global warm- tion, and contribute to global warming.94
ing by diverting organic waste away from Studies have shown that compost can suc-
landfills where it produces methane; by cessfully replace synthetic chemical fertil-
helping plants and microorganisms, which izers and provide additional benefits such
pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, as increasing the organic content in soil,
to grow; and by replacing nitrogen fertiliz- supporting microbes, and providing micro-
ers that produce nitrous oxide, an extremely nutrients not found in fertilizers.95 There are
potent greenhouse gas. some types of emissions, such as ammonia,
that also occur in composting but proper
The methane organic waste produces care of a compost pile can reduce the pro-
in landfills is a potent greenhouse gas – duction and leakage of ammonia.96 Compost
around 56 times more powerful than carbon can also help retain fertilizer in soil, prevent-
dioxide over a 20-year period.88 By divert- ing runoff that can cause algal blooms.97

PAGE 10
Composting programs
THERE ARE SUCCESSFUL composting project themselves, the county partnered
programs in small towns and big cities alike with Freestate Farms which took over
in every region of the U.S. Cities and towns operations and installed new equipment.100
are turning toward composting as a com- Through the contract, Freestate Farms han-
mon-sense and beneficial solution to signifi- dles and finances the upgrades, while the
cantly reduce their waste, greenhouse gas county now pays a price per ton of organic
emissions and air and water pollution – all material delivered to the facility – similar
while supporting local agriculture. to how trash and recycling programs often
work. The new fees are comparable to what
Cities and towns are adopting communi- it previously cost the county to operate
ty-wide organic waste collection programs the facility.101 By 2020, the facility will be
similar to trash and recycling services. operating at double its original processing
Other communities require large producers capacity, composting over 80,000 tons of
of organic waste – such as grocery stores organic waste per year.102
– to divert it to composting facilities. And
some cities and towns support community Cities and towns can also allow private
composting programs, such as those at composting companies to operate in their
community gardens and schools, and en- community independently. There are sev-
courage residents to compost in their own eral private haulers and processors, like
backyards. All of these initiatives can work Compost Cab in Washington, D.C. and
together to divert organic waste away from Bootstrap Compost in Boston, that charge
landfills and trash incinerators. participating residents and businesses a
fee to haul away and compost their organic
Community-wide waste weekly.103 Voluntary programs such
composting programs as these are a great starting place but tend
Most town or city-wide composting pro- to have lower participation rates than mu-
grams work just like trash and recycling nicipally-run programs. This means they
services – residents and businesses put their often have to charge a higher pickup fee to
organic waste in a separate bin by the curb be financially stable because they are not
each week and it is picked up by a truck able to achieve the same economies of scale
and brought to a composting facility. as city-wide programs.

Some local governments run their own Once robust composting programs have
organics collection programs, but most are been established, cities, towns and states
run in conjunction with private haulers can also require residents to separate their
and composting facilities.98 For example, organics from their trash and ban organic
in 2015, Prince William county in Virginia materials from landfills and incinerators.
wanted to expand the capacity and opera- For example, San Francisco and Seattle
tions of its local composting facility. Since require that their residents and businesses
the 1990s, the county had been processing separate their food and yard waste from
yard waste at its facility but wanted to the trash. In Seattle, non-compliance can
upgrade its technology and add food waste result in a $50 fine for multi-family resi-
to the program.99 Instead of financing the dences after warnings and a token $1 fine

PAGE 11
 for single-family homes.104 San Francisco Commercial composting
imposes more substantial fines of $100 for requirements
residents and small businesses, and up to Some communities require large commer-
$1,000 for multi-residence homes and large cial producers of organic waste – such as
businesses.105 However, a series of educa- food processing facilities – to divert their
tional initiatives and warnings are applied organic waste away from landfills and
before the city issues fines.106 Both these toward composting facilities. This is an
mandates work because they are combined impactful measure because these facilities
with robust and straightforward compost- can produce a significant portion of a com-
ing programs, which give residents and munity’s organic waste.107 Also, as it is up
businesses a viable alternative. to the producers to contract with haulers to
deliver their organic waste to composting
Curbside organic pickup programs do not facilities, it does not require resources from
make sense in all communities, for example the city.
in rural communities where homes are very
spread out. In these cases, residents and Requiring large producers of organic waste
businesses can drop their organic waste off to divert it to composting facilities can spur
at designated locations such as recycling the development of local organic waste
centers, farmers markets or other town hauling and composting businesses that can
facilities as they do with their trash and then expand to handle the waste of homes
recycling. and smaller businesses, too. Because of this,
some communities have used such a re-
quirement as a first step toward developing
community-wide composting programs.108
The entire state of Vermont enacted its
Universal Recycling law in 2015 that ini-
tially targeted the largest producers of food
waste and will gradually expand until all
food scraps are banned from its landfills in
2020.109

This program has also led to an unexpected

benefit; large producers of food waste,
like grocery stores, are pulling food off the
shelves a bit earlier and donating it instead.
The Vermont Foodbank reported that food
donations increased 25 to30 percent in 2015
and another 40 percent in 2016. The quality
Workers climbing over a compost pile. Credit: Ramiro Barreiro via of food donations has also dramatically im-
Wikimedia, CC-BY-SA 3.0.
proved to include far more fresh foods, like
fruits, vegetables and meat.110

PAGE 12
Community and backyard picking-up and delivering organic waste.111
composting Cities and towns are also encouraging
Backyard composting and community com- residents to compost in their own back-
posting programs, such as those at com- yards. This is a good initiative for rural
munity gardens and schools, can further areas where curbside pickup of any waste is
reduce the amount of organic waste sent to difficult due to the distance between homes.
landfills and incinerators. These practices Cities and towns can encourage residents
also have the added benefit of producing to compost by providing educational re-
organic waste and compost in the same sources and classes with hands-on training.
location or nearby, thus reducing or elimi- Some cities, such as Boston, also provide
nating the need for transportation. residents with the tools to start their own
compost pile, such as a composting bin, at
Many communities already have existing a large discount.112 These programs often
community composting programs and pay for themselves, as cities save money on
can help support these programs through transporting organic waste and paying high
grants, free advertising and support in fees to dump it.113

PAGE 13
 Best practices for composting programs
COMPOSTING PROGRAMS SHOULD BE Currently, most residential, curbside com-
tailored to the needs, resources and demo- posting programs are voluntary and charge
graphics of each community. To ensure suc- an additional monthly or weekly fee to
cess, towns and cities should make compost- have compost picked up, which can deter
ing programs cheaper than trash disposal; people from participating.117 Fees are much
educate residents and businesses on what to lower in municipally-run organics collec-
compost; use curbside pickup if appropriate; tion programs than in ones run by private
and require municipal agencies and other businesses, but all fees deter participa-
groups to use locally-produced compost to tion.118 Communities should roll the cost of
create a market for local composting facilities. organics pickup into one fee with trash and
recycling rates to remove this barrier.119
Make composting programs
cheaper than trash disposal Educate residents and businesses
Composting facilities make money by selling Educating residents and businesses about the
finished compost, but that is not enough to benefits of composting can spur participa-
cover the costs of collection and processing. tion, and educating them on what to throw in
So, like most trash and recycling programs, the organics bin can prevent contamination.
composting programs can be funded by user
fees charged to households and businesses. Municipalities can increase participation
in composting programs by educating
Cities and towns can incentivize residents residents and businesses about the bene-
and businesses to participate in compost- fits of composting food scraps.120 This can
ing programs by making organics pickup be done through social marketing such as
cheaper than regular trash disposal. Most advertisements, public announcements and
communities do this by combining com- social media to help promote the concept of
posting with Save Money and Reduce Trash composting. Peer-to-peer education is an-
(SMART) or Pay-As-You-Throw (PAYT) sys- other tool widely used by municipalities. In
tems.114 In most towns, residents pay nothing Linden Hills, Minnesota, “block captains”
at all to throw out their trash or pay the same are appointed by a local non-profit to ed-
amount regardless of how much they throw ucate their neighbors about the mechanics
out.115 SMART systems encourage waste and value of composting, and San Francisco
reduction by charging consumers less if they educates many of its residents through
throw out less trash. These systems create a volunteers who teach gardening and com-
direct financial incentive for residents and posting classes.121
businesses to donate their organic waste
for composting instead of throwing it in the If people include materials that do not
trash – as long as the composting collection belong in compost, the compost can become
is cheaper than trash collection. A survey of contaminated. Sorting contaminants out
the 50 largest municipalities in Massachusetts of organic waste is resource-intensive, so it
with curbside trash collection found that is more efficient and effective for residents
those that implemented SMART or PAYT and businesses to throw out the appropri-
systems reduced the amount of trash gener- ate materials from the start. Achieving this
ated by 33 to 44 percent in the first year.116 requires education.

PAGE 14
There are many ways to educate residents survey found that households with curb-
and businesses about what to put in the or- side organics collection diverted an esti-
ganics bin. Educational and public outreach mated 25 to 30 pounds of waste per week
campaigns can and should be conducted from the trash, about 49 to 59 percent of
through a variety of means. Before Seattle their total waste.128 Curbside pickup is more
implemented its mandatory composting pro- resource-intensive than drop-off programs,
gram, the city used public advertising, news- but has been shown to be more successful
letters, community meetings and newspaper in keeping organic waste out of landfills.129
articles to help spread the word about the
program.122 Boulder and Portland, Oregon, Some communities go even further to make
post instructional videos on their websites, composting more convenient than trash
and the city of Denver recently released an pickup. San Francisco has encouraged
online “quiz” that helped educate residents residents to participate in composting pro-
about proper source separation.123 San Fran- grams by making the bins for organic waste
cisco employs specialists to knock on doors larger and trash bins smaller.130 Portland,
when the city updates its composting and Oregon, picks up organic waste more fre-
waste policies, and other cities conduct on- quently than trash, encouraging residents
site training by city employees or haulers on and businesses to put their organics into the
how to properly sort and handle compost.124 compost bin for quicker service.131

Use curbside pickup if appropriate Many municipalities have incorporated

There are two main ways to collect organic food waste into their longstanding curbside
material for composting: have it picked up programs for yard waste.132 Residents and
by a regular curbside service, as is most businesses that are already used to separat-
trash, or require that residents drop it off at ing their yard waste can now include their
designated locations. There are benefits and food scraps, helping to speed the adoption of
drawbacks to both options, and the model food waste programs and divert more of our
a community adopts depends on a variety waste away from landfills and incinerators.133
of factors – including its population density,
budget and waste diversion goals. BioCy-
cle identified 148 curbside and 67 drop-off
organic waste programs around the nation
that collected food scraps as of 2017.125

Curbside pickup is similar to most munic-

ipalities’ trash and recycling programs – a
truck makes the rounds and collects every
building’s organics on a regular sched-
ule. A survey of 180 food scrap collection
programs found that the vast majority of
these programs have curbside service.126
A curbside program is a familiar model to
most residents and the convenience is likely
one reason why these programs experience
higher waste diversion rates than programs A green compost bin accompanies a blue recycling bin
where participants have to drop off their on pickup day. Credit: Becky Striepe via Flickr, CC-BY-SA 2.0.
organics at a collection facility.127 The same

PAGE 15
 Including both food waste and yard trim- Compost the organic material
mings can even help create better compost.134 Once organic material is collected, it must
be brought to a composting facility. There,
Currently, some cities provide curbside microorganisms and fungi feed off the nu-
composting only to customers who live in trients in the organic material and break it
single-family units. This precludes a large down into compost. This process typically
portion of the population from compost- takes 60 to 90 days before the compost is
ing and can hinder a city from meeting ready to be used on soil.140
its waste diversion goals. Beyond simply
allowing multi-family residents to par- Composting requires air, water and the
ticipate in composting, some cities have right mix of materials and heat to reduce
realized that their participation is crucial the presence of pathogens and to produce
to the success of a composting program. In compost with the right composition. There
Toronto, the city government commissioned are multiple methods that composters use
targeted advertising to apartment dwellers, to create these conditions. Different uses
a specialized hotline for questions and a also call for compost with varied nutrient
task force whose goal is to help multi-unit make-ups which are produced using differ-
residences meet their waste diversion tar- ent ratios of materials.141
gets.135 The city also extended PAYT pricing
to multi-family residences, which provides The most common method for large-scale
a financial incentive for building owners composting is called “windrow” compost-
to both adopt and encourage composting ing, where piles are placed outdoors and
amongst their tenants.136 turned periodically by heavy machinery or
are constructed to allow air to flow through
Drop-off programs require residents to drop the piles. The turning of the piles inserts
off their organic waste at specific locations, oxygen into the process, which helps the
such as recycling centers, farmers markets or material decompose properly.142 This com-
other town facilities. Drop-off centers are a posting technique is often used at industrial
common approach to collecting yard debris composting facilities, as they can handle
from households as well as recycling, partic- large amounts of diversified organic waste
ularly in rural areas. These programs usually streams and subsequently produce signifi-
lead to lower participation rates but are often cant amounts of compost.143 Because wind-
cheaper than curbside collection and have row composting can process large amounts
been shown to work well in urban settings.137 of organic waste, this method is well-suited
The average drop-off program received 3 to for many municipalities.144
4 pounds of food scraps for each household
per week – that is about one-eighth as much Conversely, “in-vessel” composting con-
material as curbside programs collect.138 tains compost within a silo, drum or con-
However, New York City and several cit- crete-lined trench.145 This eliminates the
ies in Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado manual work required to turn piles in
and Vermont have been able to establish windrow composting and helps control
successful drop-off programs with multiple the odor and leachate that can accompany
sites that are staffed by volunteers or city compost piles.146 While there are many areas
officials.139 Although drop-off programs are in which an in-vessel system is superior to
less convenient, they can be a good, low-cost the traditional methods, they also are more
starting point for municipalities looking to expensive and may require experienced and
implement a food-waste program. technical oversight.147 Additionally, there

PAGE 16
 are some concerns as to whether compost – including food waste and yard trimmings
produced through in-vessel systems is equal – can be composted, and some facilities use
in quality to compost produced through processes and conditions to compost animal
more traditional methods.148 Municipalities by-products, such as meat and dairy, and
that are considering an in-vessel system consumer products, such as plastic-like com-
should evaluate their human and monetary postable bags (which, despite their name, do
resources and decide whether they have the not always break down easily). According to
capacity and need for the technology. a BioCycle survey of American composting
programs that process food waste, over 90
percent of programs allow meat and dairy
into their food scrap stream, 68 percent
accept paper bags, and fewer than half allow
compostable plastic products, such as bags.152

Create markets for compost

Composting facilities can sell their compost
directly to stores, farms and other busi-
nesses, but cities and towns should also buy
back locally-produced compost for use in
public projects or to distribute to residents,
community gardens or other local proj-
ects.153 To achieve this, some municipalities
require agencies to use local compost in
their public works projects.154 This helps
Feeding an in-vessel composting machine on Homestead create steady demand for the compost pro-
Air Reserve Base. Credit: Lou Burton via U.S. Air Force, CC-BY 1.0. duced at local composting facilities and also
helps ensure governments and their contrac-
tors use environmentally friendly practices.
Another option is to pair composting opera-
tions with anaerobic digesters.149 Anaerobic Cities can also require residents and busi-
digesters break down organic material in a nesses to use compost in landscaping ren-
facility without oxygen, or “anaerobically.” ovations or large projects. This is done by
This process produces biogas, primarily more than 10 Colorado communities as a
composed of carbon dioxide and methane, way to promote water conservation, but
which is captured to produce electricity also has the additional benefit of stimulat-
or renewable natural gas.150 In addition to ing compost demand.155
harvesting the energy, a facility can later
compost the partially decomposed by-prod- Some composting programs provide partic-
uct.151 While they also produce methane, ipants with free compost to encourage par-
anaerobic digesters are quite different from ticipation.156 Some composting facilities also
landfills because all the gas is captured in give away excess compost to participants
a controlled environment, which means or residents to help educate them about the
that digesters are not contributing to global benefits of compost and encourage partici-
warming like landfills. pation. Although this type of program can
be a workable solution for facilities with too
Composting facilities also differ in the types much product, it may also undermine the
of organic material they use. All plant matter value of the compost in the market.

PAGE 17
 Policy recommendations:
A path toward universal composting
IF ALL ORGANIC MATERIAL were used expanded their curbside yard trim pickup
or composted, America could eliminate at programs to include food waste.161
least 30 percent of the waste sent to land-
fills and trash incinerators each year.157 The Make organics collection cheaper than
amount of organic waste, such as uneaten trash disposal. Programs such as Save
food, that is produced should be reduced Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) charge
as much as possible and all remaining residents and businesses less if they throw
waste should be composted. Compost helps out less trash. This creates a direct financial
replenish and stabilize vital topsoil, tackle incentive to throw organic material into the
global warming, and protect public health composting bin instead of the trash. This
by reducing toxic air and water pollution. has been shown to increase composting
participation. Another approach is to em-
Communities across the country are recog- bed the cost of organics collection into the
nizing these benefits and are using smart overall cost of trash and recycling services
policies to expand composting. At all lev- to remove the disincentive of paying an
els of government, elected officials can additional fee.
implement reforms to divert waste away
from landfills and trash incinerators and Require commercial producers of organic
toward composting and recycling facilities. waste to divert organic waste to compost-
Through robust composting and recycling ing facilities. Large commercial producers
programs and clear, goal-oriented legisla- of organic waste, such as food processing
tion, San Francisco is able to divert 80 per- facilities and grocery stores, can produce a
cent of its waste from landfills and compost significant portion of a community’s organic
255,500 tons of organic material each year.158 waste.162 Requiring such facilities to divert
their organic waste to composting facilities
Municipal and county governments should: can greatly reduce the organic waste a com-
munity sends to landfills and trash inciner-
Create community-wide organics collec- ators. Also, as it is up to the organic waste
tion programs. By following the best prac- producers to contract with haulers to deliver
tices outlined above, local governments can their organic waste to composting facilities,
implement their own composting programs it does not require resources from the city.
to significantly reduce the amount of waste Such requirements can spur the develop-
they send to landfills and their greenhouse ment of local organic waste hauling and
gas emissions, while supporting local agri- composting businesses that can then expand
culture.159 Local governments should de- to handle the waste of homes and smaller
sign compost programs that work for their businesses, too. Because of this, some com-
communities while aiming to implement munities have used commercial diversion
curbside programs whenever feasible as requirements as a first step toward devel-
these have been shown to be the most effec- oping community-wide composting pro-
tive at diverting organic waste from land- grams.163 New York became the sixth state to
fills.160 Many communities have successfully pass such a requirement in March, 2019.164

PAGE 18
Use locally-produced compost in pub- drive composting development.172 Cities can
lic projects and spaces. Cities and towns first address non-compliance with warnings
should buy back locally-produced compost and education, and later with fines.
for use in public projects or to distribute to
residents, community gardens or other local Encourage local composting economies.
projects.165 To achieve this, some municipal- Transporting organic materials for long
ities require agencies to use local compost distances reduces the climate benefits of
in their public works projects.166 This helps composting. Strategically placing com-
create steady demand for the compost posting facilities in areas that don’t require
produced at local composting facilities, and extensive transport can help maximize
also helps governments and their contrac- the environmental benefits of composting.
tors use environmentally friendly prac- Establishing smaller-scale, community-level
tices. Cities can also require residents and composting facilities can also give residents
businesses to use compost in landscaping access to high-quality compost which helps
renovations or large projects. This is done improve local soils.
by more than 10 Colorado communities as
a way to promote water conservation while To support local composting efforts, federal and
also stimulating compost demand.167 state governments should:

Support backyard and community com- Subsidize the creation of composting facil-
posting. Community and backyard com- ities and programs through grants, loans
posting have the added benefit of reducing and other financial mechanisms. Creating
or eliminating the need to transport organic composting facilities is often a good envi-
waste and compost.168 Towns and cities ronmental and financial investment for a
should support community composting community, but it can require a lot of upfront
programs, for example at schools and com- capital.173 Federal and state governments can
munity gardens, through grants, free adver- help encourage the creation of these facil-
tising and support in picking up and deliv- ities by providing grants, loans or issuing
ering organic waste.169 Communities should repayment guarantees to those local munic-
also educate residents and businesses about ipalities and private companies that lack the
how to compost themselves and supply resources to begin a project.174 Federal and
residents with free or discounted compost state governments should provide similar
bins. These programs often pay for them- financial assistance for local governments
selves by reducing the amount of waste and businesses to launch curbside organics
cities have to haul and pay to dump at pickup programs and purchase necessary
landfills or incinerators.170 equipment, such as trucks and bins.

Ban organic material from landfills. Once a Fund programs to develop and test mu-
robust composting program is in place, mu- nicipal composting programs. The 2018
nicipalities can ban residents from throwing Farm Bill included a $25 million allotment
their organic waste in the trash. After imple- for the USDA to develop and test municipal
menting universal and accessible compost- composting programs. However, the fund-
ing programs, both San Francisco and Seattle ing will only go towards programs in about
have now made it illegal for organic waste to 10 states, and is only authorized through
end up in a landfill.171 For over 20 years, 20 2023.175 Congress should increase USDA
states have banned yard debris from landfills funding to develop projects in more states
and five states now ban food waste to help over a longer period.

PAGE 19
 Notes
1 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ad- 7 New Zealand Department of Environment
vancing Sustainable Materials Management: 2015 Fact and Climate Change, Reducing Soil Erosion with Com-
Sheet, July 2018. post (fact sheet), November 2007.

2 The amount of organic material landfilled 8 Global: Chris Arsenault, “Only 60 Years of
or incinerated in the U.S. in 2015 could fill a line of Farming Left if Soil Degradation Continues,” Scien-
10.9 fully-loaded 18-wheelers stretching from New tific American, accessed on 5 March 2019, archived
York City to Los Angeles. The U.S. landfilled or at http://web.archive.org/web/20190303053058/
incinerated 51,060,000 tons of organic waste during https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/on-
2015; See note 1; 18-wheeler maximum load in the ly-60-years-of-farming-left-if-soil-degradation-con-
U.S. is 54,000 pounds: U.S. Department of Energy, tinues/; U.S.: Marlen Eve et al., National Science and
Fact #621: May 3, 2010 Gross Vehicle Weight vs. Empty Technology Council, The State and Future of U.S. Soils,
Vehicle Weight, 3 May 2010, archived at http:// December 2016.
web.archive.org/web/20170518000623/https://
energy.gov/eere/vehicles/fact-621-may-3-2010- 9 Tommy D’Hose et al., “Influence of
gross-vehicle-weight-vs-empty-vehicle-weight; Farm Compost on Soil Quality and Crop Yields,”
18-wheeler average length is 75 feet: The Truckers Agronomy and Soil Science, 58(1):71-75, DOI:
Report, Facts About Trucks – Everything You Want 10.1080/03650340.2012.692876, October 2012; A.
To Know About Eighteen Wheelers, accessed on 6 Marchesini et al., “Long-Term Effects of Quali-
March 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/ ty-Compost Treatment on Soil,” Plant and Soil,
web/20181216031837/https://www.thetruckersre- 106(2):253–261, February 1988.
port.com/facts-about-trucks/; distance from New
York to Los Angeles is 2,451 miles. 10 Mark Risse and Britt Faucette, Univer-
sity of Georgia, Compost Utilization for Erosion
3 See note 1. Control, archived at https://web.archive.org/
web/20190305210818/https://secure.caes.uga.edu/
4 80 percent: Emily Rogers, San Francisco extension/publications/files/pdf/B%201200_5.PDF.
Department of the Environment, Resolution Setting
Zero Waste Date, 6 March 2003, archived at http:// 11 Ibid.
web.archive.org/web/20160706042615/http://
sfenvironment.org:80/sites/default/files/editor-u- 12 Tom Szaky, Outsmart Waste: The Modern Idea
ploads/zero_waste/pdf/resolutionzerowastedate. of Garbage and How to Think Our Way Out of It, (San
pdf; 255,500 tons: Yerina Mugica, Andrea Spacht Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2014).
and Alice Henly, Natural Resources Defense Coun-
cil (NRDC), San Francisco Composting, Novem- 13 United Nations, Climate Change, Global
ber 2017, archived at https://web.archive.org/ Warming Potentials, accessed 23 April 2019, archived
web/20190321195801/https://www.nrdc.org/sites/ at http://web.archive.org/web/20190124224044/
default/files/food-matters-san-francisco-compost- https://unfccc.int/process/transparency-and-re-
ing-cs.pdf. porting/greenhouse-gas-data/greenhouse-gas-
data-unfccc/global-warming-potentials.
5 Vermont Department of Environmental
Conservation, Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law,
Status Report, January 2019, available at https://dec.
vermont.gov/sites/dec/files/wmp/SolidWaste/
Documents/Universal-Recycling/2019.Universal.
Recycling.Status.Report.pdf.

6 Virginia Streeter and Brenda Platt, “Resi-

dential Food Waste Collection Access in The U.S.,”
BioCycle, 58(11), December 2017.

PAGE 20
 14 Landfill methane emissions: U.S. Envi- 19 Nitrogen oxides: U.S. National In-
ronmental Protection Agency, Methane Emissions, stitutes of Health, Nitrogen Oxides, accessed 7
accessed 25 April 2019, archived at http://web. May 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
archive.org/web/20190423192207/https://www. web/20190324151727/https://toxtown.nlm.nih.
epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases; gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/nitrogen-oxides;
State emissions: U.S. Environmental Protection Ozone: U.S. National Institutes of Health, Ozone, ac-
Agency, Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions cessed 7 May 2019, archived at http://web.archive.
and Sinks: 1990-2017, 2019, available at https:// org/web/20180901175004/https://toxtown.nlm.
www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-04/doc- nih.gov/chemicals-and-contaminants/ozone.
uments/us-ghg-inventory-2019-chapter-7-waste.pdf;
U.S. Energy Information Administration, Table 2. 20 Washington State Department of Health,
State Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Year, Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP), accessed on 5
Adjusted (2005–2016), downloaded 25 April 2019, March 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
available at https://www.eia.gov/environment/ web/20170905121820/http://www.doh.wa.gov:80/
emissions/state/analysis/. CommunityandEnvironment/Shellfish/Recre-
ationalShellfish/Illnesses/Biotoxins/ParalyticShell-
15 Nicole Block, University of California, From fishPoison; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Waste to Wonder: Using Compost to Restore Carbon to (EPA), Nutrient Pollution, Harmful Algal Blooms,
Soil, 6 April 2017, archived at https://web.archive. accessed on 5 March 2019, archived at http://web.
org/web/20190305211152/http://climatechampi- archive.org/web/20190218120324/https://www.
ons.ucop.edu/2017/04/06/whendee-silver-com- epa.gov/nutrientpollution/harmful-algal-blooms.
post-to-restore-carbon-to-soil/.
21 Juri Freeman and Lisa Skumatz, Econser-
16 Carbon Cycle Institute, The Marin Carbon vation Institute, Best Management Practices in Food
Project, accessed on 11 March 2019, archived at Scraps Programs, archived at http://web.archive.
http://web.archive.org/web/20180727201527/ org/web/20170126143436/http://www.foodscraps-
http://www.carboncycle.org:80/strategic-partners/ recovery.com/EPA_FoodWasteReport_EI_Region5_
marin-carbon-project/. v11_Final.pdf.

17 The University of Illinois, College of Ag- 22 Ibid.

ricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences,
Study Reveals that Nitrogen Fertilizers Deplete Soil 23 Recology, Rates, accessed on 5 March
Organic Carbon, 29 October 2007, archived at http:// 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
web.archive.org/web/20190425145441/https:// web/20190216095704/https://www.recology.com/
aces.illinois.edu/news/study-reveals-nitrogen-fer- recology-san-francisco/rates/.
tilizers-deplete-soil-organic-carbon; R.L. Mulvaney,
S.A. Khan and T.R. Ellsworth, “Synthetic Nitrogen 24 See note 21.
Fertilizers Deplete Soil Nitrogen: A Global Dilemma
for Sustainable Cereal Production,” Journal of Envi- 25 Ibid.
ronmental Quality, 38(6), DOI: 10.2134/jeq2008.0527,
29 October 2009. 26 Judith Layzer, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Municipal Curbside Compostables Collec-
18 Robert Sanders, “Fertilizer Use Respon- tion: What Works and Why?, 2014.
sible for Increase in Nitrous Oxide in Atmo-
sphere,” University of California Berkeley News, 2 27 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan
April 2012, archived at http://web.archive.org/ School of Management, Getting Started: 10 Questions
web/20181109063659/https://news.berkeley. for Cities and Towns Considering Residential Curbside
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October 2017.

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 29 Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, 40 See note 7; Fred Magdoff and Harold Van
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Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE),
30 Cole Rosengren, “New York Passes State- Outreach Publications, pg. 12, 2009; A. Marchesini et
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31 See note 21.
41 Ee Ling Ng, Deli Chen and Robert Edis,
32 Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reli- The Conservation, Nitrogen Pollution: The Forgotten
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33 Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Reli- tion-the-forgotten-element-of-climate-change-69348.
ance and James McSweeney and Jenn Davis, High-
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43 Ibid.
34 City of Boston, Composting in Boston, ac-
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ing-boston.
46 ILSR: Nora Goldstein, Brenda Platt and
35 Katie Bocskor, Geobin, How Compost- Craig Coker, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, State
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36 World Bank Group, Sustainable Financing ing_compost_application_rate.pdf.
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ber 2016; Lisa Collins, “The Pros and Cons of New 47 4.5 million acres were used to grow vege-
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37 Craig Coker, “Smart Financing,”BioCycle,
48(2):23, February 2007. 48 See note 1.

38 Cole Rosengren, “Trump Signs Farm Bill 49 Ibid.

with Unprecedented Level of Food Waste Action,”
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39 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 51 See note 1.

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55 See note 8.

PAGE 22
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62 See note 14. Environmental Epidemiology, doi: 10.1038/s41370-
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65 Deplete organic carbon: Saeed Ahmed Khan,
Richard Lesley Mulvaney, Timothy Ellsworth and 71 See note 68.
Charles W. Boast, “The Myth of Nitrogen Fertiliza-
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ronmental Quality, 36(6):1821-1832, November 2007.

PAGE 23
 72 Mark Peplow, “Farms Spew Out Nitrogen 82 National Geographic, Encyclopedia En-
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83 Tommy D’Hose, Mathias Cougnon, Alex
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Farm Compost on Soil Quality and Crop Yields,”
74 E. Baldi et al., “Compost Can Successfully Agronomy and Soil Science, 58(1):71-S75, DOI:
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75 See note 1. web/20181205085742/https://ucanr.edu/sites/
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76 Ibid. Compost/.

77 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of 84 See note 10.

the Chief Economist, U.S. Food Waste Challenge FAQs,
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78 Oregon State University, It is Best to Cut
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79 Bryan F. Staleym Debra L. Kantner and sion-Control-and-Revegetation.pdf.
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80 Nora Goldstein, “Running the Numbers,” 88 Joe Romm, “More Bad News for Fracking:
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81 Tommy D’Hose, Mathias Cougnon, Alex
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blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=22769.

PAGE 24
 90 14.8 million metric tons: composting one 94 Compost can replace chemical fertilizers: E.
ton of mixed organic waste has net negative emis- Baldi et al., “Compost Can Successfully Replace Min-
sions of -0.16 metric tons CO2 equivalent, landfilling eral Fertilizers in the Nutrient Management of Com-
one ton of mixed organic waste emits 0.20 metric mercial Peach Orchard,” Soil Use and Management,
tons CO2 equivalent, composting one ton of mixed 26(3):346-353, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2010.00286,
organic waste instead of landfilling results in net September 2010; chemical fertilizers deplete soil:
negative emissions of -0.36 metric tons CO2 equiva- The University of Illinois, College of Agricultural,
lent; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Doc- Consumer and Environmental Sciences, Study Reveals
umentation for Greenhouse Gas Emission and Energy that Nitrogen Fertilizers Deplete Soil Organic Carbon,
Factors Used in the Waste Reduction Model (WARM), 29 October 2007, archived at http://web.archive.
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files/2016-03/documents/warm_v14_organic_ma- plete-soil-organic-carbon; R.L. Mulvaney, S.A. Khan
terials.pdf; in 2015 the U.S. landfilled 41,050,000 and T.R. Ellsworth, “Synthetic Nitrogen Fertilizers
tons of organic waste; U.S. Environmental Protec- Deplete Soil Nitrogen: A Global Dilemma for Sus-
tion Agency (EPA), Advancing Sustainable Materials tainable Cereal Production,” Journal of Environmental
Management: 2015 Fact Sheet, July 2018; calculation: Quality, 38(6), DOI: 10.2134/jeq2008.0527, 29 October
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on average, passenger vehicles in the U.S. emit 4.71 of California Berkeley News, 2 April 2012, archived
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pine Meadows,” Land Degradation and Development,
91 See note 15. 29(6), DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2961, 10 April 2018; chemical
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92 See note 16. tal Protection Agency (EPA), Nutrient Pollution,
The Sources and Solutions: Agriculture, accessed on 5
93 See note 13. March 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
web/20190112005251/https://www.epa.gov/nu-
trientpollution/sources-and-solutions-agriculture;
chemical fertilizers cause air pollution: U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA),
Research Clarifies Health Costs of Air Pollution from
Agriculture, March 28, 2014, archived at http://
web.archive.org/web/20170215024523/https://
www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/research-clari-
fies-health-costs-of-air-pollution-from-agriculture/.

PAGE 25
 95 Compost can replace chemical fertilizers: E. 104 Multi-family fine: Seattle Public Util-
Baldi et al., “Compost Can Successfully Replace Min- ities, Food Waste Requirements, accessed on 5
eral Fertilizers in the Nutrient Management of Com- March 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
mercial Peach Orchard,” Soil Use and Management, web/20180804000552/http://www.seattle.gov:80/
26(3):346-353, DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-2743.2010.00286, Util/MyServices/Garbage/HouseResidentsGarbage/
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ence of Farm Compost on Soil Quality and Crop Food Scraps – Or Else,” CNN, 3 October 2014.
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DOI: 10.1080/03650340.2012.692876, October 2012; 105 Brenda Platt, Institute for Local Self-Re-
University of California Sustainable Agriculture liance, San Francisco, CA – Composting Rules, 30
Research and Education Program, Solution Center March 2016, archived at http://web.archive.org/
for Nutrient Management, Compost, accessed 28 web/20150405080503/http://ilsr.org/rule/food-
April 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/ scrap-ban/san-francisco/.
web/20181205085742/https://ucanr.edu/sites/
Nutrient_Management_Solutions/stateofscience/ 106 Ibid.
Compost/; H. Hoitink, A. Stone and D. Han, “Sup-
pression of Plant Diseases by Compost,” HoltScience, 107 See note 28.
32(2): 184-187, April 1997; Eric Nelson and Michael
Boehm, “Microbial Mechanics of Compost-Induced 108 See note 29.
Disease Suppression,” BioCycle, July 2002.
109 Ibid.
96 U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environ-
mental Engineering National Engineering Handbook, 110 Vermont Foodbank, Universal Recycling
Chapter 2: Composting, November 2010. Law Boosts Fresh Food Donations, accessed 29 Jan-
uary 2018, archived at http://web.archive.org/
97 Cornell University Cooperative Exten- web/20180129163432/https://www.vtfoodbank.
sion, Tompkins County, Composting, accessed 30 org/2016/09/universal-recycling-law-boosts-fresh-
April 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/ food-donations.html.
web/20190430141648/http://rocklandcce.org/re-
sources/compost-basics-benefits-of-composting. 111 See note 33.

98 See note 21. 112 See note 34.

99 Prince William County, Advanced Compost 113 See note 35.

Facility Coming to County Thanks to Public-Private
Partnership, 12 December 2018, archived at https:// 114 See note 21.
web.archive.org/web/20190324192019/http://
www.pwcgov.org/news/pages/Advanced-Com- 115 Catherine Hall, Gail Krumenauer, Kevin
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lic-Private-Partnership.aspx. and City of Milwaukee, Impacts of Pay-As-You-Throw
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100 Potomac Local, New Composting System
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org/web/20190507172134/http://wastezero.
101 See note 99. com/2018/07/rankings-trash-payt-smart-massachu-
setts-2/.
102 See note 100.
117 See note 21.
103 Compost Cab: Archived at http://web.ar-
chive.org/web/20190122171606/https://compost-
cab.com/. Bootstrap Compost: Archived at http://
web.archive.org/web/20190122061150/https://
bootstrapcompost.com/.

PAGE 26
 118 Compost Cab: Archived at http://web. 133 Composting Council, Curb to Compost,
archive.org/web/20190122171606/https://com- Adding Food Scraps to a Yard Waste Collection Pro-
postcab.com/. Bootstrap Compost: Archived at gram (PPT Presentation), accessed on 5 March
http://web.archive.org/web/20190122061150/ 2019, archived at http://web.archive.org/
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org/web/20170126143436/http://www.foodscraps- 134 See note 10.
recovery.com/EPA_FoodWasteReport_EI_Region5_
v11_Final.pdf. 135 See note 26.

119 See note 21. 136 Ibid.

120 Ibid. 137 See note 21.

121 See note 26. 138 Ibid.

122 See note 27. 139 See note 26.

123 See note 26. 140 North Carolina Composting Council, Indus-
trial Composting, accessed on 5 March 2019, archived
124 San Francisco: See note 27; on-site educa- at https://web.archive.org/web/20190306013026/
tion: Juri Freeman and Lisa Skumatz, Econservation https://carolinacompost.com/compost-process/.
Institute, Best Management Practices in Food Scraps
Programs, archived at http://web.archive.org/ 141 Jacques G. Fuchs and Willemijn J.M. Cuij-
web/20170126143436/http://www.foodscrapsre- pers, Handbook for Composting and Compost Use in Or-
covery.com/EPA_FoodWasteReport_EI_Region5_ ganic Horticulture, Chapter 2: Compost Types, Feedstocks
v11_Final.pdf. and Composting Methods, pg. 29-42, 11 April 2016.

125 See note 6. 142 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA), Types of Composting and Understanding the Pro-
126 See note 21. cess, accessed on 5 March 2019, archived at http://
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127 Alessandra DiGiacomo et al., “Convenience www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/
Improves Composting and Recycling Rates in types-composting-and-understanding-process.
High-Density Residential Buildings,” Journal of En-
vironmental Planning and Management, 61(2):309-331, 143 Ibid.
doi: 10.1080/09640568.2017.130533, 12 April 2017.
144 Ibid.
128 See note 21.
145 Ibid.
129 Ibid.
146 Ibid.
130 See note 23.
147 Ibid.
131 Judith Layzer, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Municipal Curbside Compostables Collec- 148 Mary Diambro, Francis Rayns, Joachim
tion: What Works and Why?, 2014. Steiner and Phil Wallace, “Literature Review: Com-
post Stability – Impact and Assessment,” July 2015,
132 See note 21. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15076.58248.

149 Tom Kraemer and Scott Gamble, “Integrat-

ing Anaerobic Digestion With Composting,”BioCycle,
55(10):32, November 2014.

PAGE 27
 150 Ann Wilkie, University of Florida, Biogas: A 164 See note 30.
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gas.ifas.ufl.edu:80/biogasdefs.asp.
166 See note 21.
151 See note 149.
167 Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Com-
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169 See note 33.
153 World Bank Group, Sustainable Financing
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ber 2016.
171 Seattle: Seattle Public Utilities, Food Waste
154 See note 21. Requirements, accessed on 5 March 2019, archived
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155 Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), Com- http://www.seattle.gov:80/Util/MyServices/
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at http://web.archive.org/web/20150405032113/ uirements/index.htm; San Francisco: Brenda Platt,
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156 Garbage to Garden, Frequently Asked Ques- web.archive.org/web/20150405080503/http://ilsr.
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www.garbagetogarden.org/faq.php. 172 20 states: Kate Bailey, “Zero Waste for the
Rest of Us,” Waste 360, 22 June 2017, archived at
157 See note 1. http://web.archive.org/web/20180704115232/
http://www.waste360.com:80/waste-reduction/ze-
158 San Francisco Department of Environ- ro-waste-rest-us; Five states: Jennifer Shultz, “Fight-
ment, Mayor Lee Announces San Francisco Reaches 80 ing Food Waste,” National Conference of State Legis-
Percent Landfill Waste Diversion, Leads All Cities in latures, 25(46), December 2017, archived at http://
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sfenvironment.org/news/press-release/mayor-lee- development/fighting-food-waste.aspx.
announces-san-francisco-reaches-80-percent-landfill-
waste-diversion-leads-all-cities-in-north-america. 173 See note 36.

159 See note 21. 174 See note 37.

160 Ibid. 175 See note 38.

161 Ibid. 176 See note 1.

162 See note 28. 177 Ibid.

163 See note 29.

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