New Stories From 'Urban Agriculture Notes'
Random header image... Refresh for more!

LA, Philadelphia, DC compost leaders look to better leverage city park sites

Establishing public-private partnerships and sustainable distribution of responsibility at community sites are important to consider, panelists at a USCC event said.

By Maria Rachal
Waste Dive
Mar 30, 2021

Excerpt:

As U.S. cities pursue climate action plans to divert more waste from disposal and cut emissions, municipally-supported composting is growing in some parts of the country.

City employees and private partners in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. shared their best practices and solutions to roadblocks in leveraging parklands for composting programs at a U.S. Composting Council (USCC) event last week.

With expertise in urban agriculture, parks and sustainability, panelists’ common threads included the need for public-private partnerships, community education and empowerment, and balanced distribution of responsibility.

Washington, D.C.

Josh Singer, community garden specialist in D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation, shared details on the agency’s Community Compost Cooperative Network. Since launching in 2015, it now has 57 compost co-op sites across the city (49 of which are operational), with about 1,000 active participants. Those sites process around 29 tons of food and garden waste a month, or 348 tons annually.

Read the complete article here.