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Apr 28, 2023

Avon to apply for USDA Composting and Food Waste Reduction grant for regional pilot program

News News | May 30, 2023 [email protected] By mid-June, the town of Avon

News News | May 30, 2023

[email protected]

By mid-June, the town of Avon will submit a grant application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The town aims to secure a grant within the U.S. Department of Agriculture Composting and Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program, an initiative with the goal of diverting organic waste from restaurants to generate compost and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, should Avon receive the grant, the Composting Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program would contribute to the Eagle County Climate Action Plan's goal of diverting 80% of organic materials currently sent to landfills by 2030.

Through the 2018 Farm Bill, the U.S. Department of Agriculture established the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. According to a March 16 Department of Agriculture press release, since 2021, the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production has offered the funding opportunity Avon hopes to seize as part of a broad investment in urban agriculture.

In the March 16 release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the availability of up to $9.5 million for compost and food waste reduction pilot projects applying for funding in 2023.

During the regular Avon Town Council meeting on May 23, present Town Council unanimously voted to submit a grant application for the Composting and Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program for a two-year regional commercial composting pilot program between the towns of Avon and Vail. Avon Deputy Town Manager Patty McKinney said the towns aim to secure up to $400,000 in grant funding for the program.

"The purpose of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Composting and Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program is to enter into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to develop and test strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans," a May 16 memo from Avon sustainability coordinator Charlotte Lin read.

As the application is in the works, McKinney said Vail Honeywagon has expressed interest in hauling for the program and Avon is in communication with other potential compost haulers.

A joint media release by the towns of Avon and Vail noted that the pilot project would work with local hauling vendors and utilize an existing regional composting site. According to the release, the program would also fund ongoing training and education for the staff of participating restaurants.

McKinney said the pilot program would focus primarily on tackling restaurant food waste in its initial stages. Eventually, the program could grow to include community-wide composting, she said.

"There are over 150 restaurants located in Avon and Vail which serve the region's 2+ million visitors and 60,000 residents," the joint media release regarding the regional composting pilot program read. "The projected pilot project participation is estimated to be half of the restaurants."

If it goes underway, the pilot project will involve launching composting services for restaurants located in Avon and Vail, purchasing and distributing composting supplies to the restaurants, launching an education and training program for restaurant personnel, launching a promotional and marketing program and monitoring the pilot program implementation from there.

"By addressing the largest source of waste in the area, the Avon-Vail Commercial Composting Pilot Program will not only alleviate landfill overfilling concerns and reduce methane emissions, but also promote job creation, sustainable tourism, and public awareness of composting practices and benefits," Lin's memo read.

Lin's memo referenced a 2017 Northwest Colorado Waste Diversion Study, which revealed that food waste makes up the largest portion of inbound waste at the Eagle County Landfill. If food waste continues to enter the landfill at the same rate it has been, long-term landfill capacity may be threatened, it read.

Other benefits to composting outlined in the memo include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions —particularly methane, improvement of soil quality and reduction of erosion and runoff. Additionally, McKinney said with successful implementation, the regional commercial composting pilot program would also help educate and inform the community on composting and encourage sustainable-mindedness.

As Avon continues to draft its grant application, McKinney said the town is looking to Pitkin County and Glenwood Springs, as both have implemented composting programs that can inform local decisions.

"Pitkin County's model is generating revenue in excess of half a million," McKinney said. "We’re just trying to check it out and see what's out there and then, if we can, launch this and see where it takes us."

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