Top Photo: Compost facility image courtesy of Mike Kelcourse
Paula Luu
A string of recent grant awards is putting millions of dollars into new and expanded composting infrastructure across the U.S., with communities using the funding to move projects from planning into construction and operation. Recent awards in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and several Tribal Nations are funding everything from full-scale processing facilities to food scrap collection, composting equipment, vehicles, staffing, and site improvements.
One of the largest recent awards is in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, which received nearly $5 million through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling, or SWIFR, program. Part of the award will finance a countywide composting facility at the Delaware County Solid Waste Authority’s Transfer Station #1 in Chester Township. The facility will use aerated static pile composting to process food and yard waste and is expected to provide capacity for about 12,000 tons of organics annually.
The grant will cover site development and equipment, along with compost collection and community education. Businesses, municipalities, residents, and organizations will be able to bring organics to the facility at a reduced tipping fee. Chester Township residents are also expected to receive approximately three years of free community composting service as the new program gets established. Construction and related projects funded by the award are scheduled for completion by the end of 2028.
Several states are also putting their own money behind organics infrastructure. Clay County, Minnesota, received $2 million from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to develop a food waste composting program. The county plans to begin collection at schools and other facilities that regularly serve meals before expanding to public drop-off locations for residents.
The award comes through Minnesota’s Climate-Smart Food Systems work, which has included dedicated funding for new and expanded organics management infrastructure. That funding can support the less visible pieces of a composting system, including collection and processing equipment, vehicles, transfer infrastructure, staffing, and site improvements. Clay County’s phased rollout will allow the program to build around larger, more predictable generators before adding residential participation.
Federal SWIFR grant funding is also supporting several Tribal composting projects.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan received $1.5 million for improvements to its materials management system, including development of a composting program on the L’Anse Indian Reservation. Plans call for purchasing composting equipment and diverting an estimated 49,000 pounds of fish waste each year to make compost for use in community gardens. The Tribe already operates a solid waste facility and curbside collection service in the L’Anse and Baraga area, giving the new composting program an existing waste management system on which to build.
On Long Island, the Shinnecock Indian Nation received $750,000 for a project that includes new composting capacity. Funding is expected to support composting equipment, a collection truck, sorting and storage infrastructure, staff training, and additional employees. Rather than funding a single piece of machinery, the award addresses several of the operational needs that come with establishing a local collection and processing system.
Two New Mexico Pueblos are taking similar steps. The Pueblo of Isleta received $1.5 million, while Pueblo de Cochiti received $640,994 through the Tribal SWIFR funding round. Their projects include composting programs alongside sorting areas and community education intended to increase diversion and improve local materials management. EPA specifically allows Tribal SWIFR funding to pay for composting programs and equipment, as well as food and organics recycling infrastructure.
The recent awards also show the range of ways public funding can expand composting. Delaware County is investing in a permanent regional processing facility capable of handling thousands of tons annually. Clay County is building its program outward from schools and other institutional generators. Tribal Nations are investing in systems tailored to local waste streams and community needs, including the recovery of fish waste for use in community gardens.
