Environmental Management Composting Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

New Hanover County’s Environmental Management Department recognized that a tremendous amount of food waste and other compostable materials were being needlessly landfilled. An innovative “in-vessel” system of composting food waste was selected over other technologies based on the system’s ability to generate commercial-grade compost without the usual challenges associated with managing odors, wastewater, and long processing times. Once installed, the composting system had the ability to process 75 cubic yards of food waste and vegetative debris in only 3 days, and generated nutrient-rich compost in less than 30 days. This compares favorably to other methods, which can take 90 days (or more) to achieve the same results. With this program, food waste is accepted from residents at no charge, and finished compost is made available to the county’s parks and gardens. The program reduces reliance on the county’s landfill while generating a valuable product that is in high demand.