Residents Dig Composting

Education, free bins and online resources are effective

by Sheryl S. Jackson, Florida League of Cities

More than 30% of what people throw away is compostable: food scraps, shredded paper and yard waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Composting keeps these materials out of landfills, where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. After the material undergoes a chemical and biological transformation, composting creates a rich, dark soil that suppresses plant diseases and pests and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers.

Several Florida cities have implemented composting programs as part of their sustainability initiatives.

MIAMI BEACH PROVIDES COMPOST HUBS

The City of Miami Beach collaborated with the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens to start a central composting hub at the Botanical Gardens using a $50,000 environmental sustainability grant and create signage for the pilot program. Gardens’ staff use the finished compost throughout the gardens and offer it for sale.

Amy Knowles, the City’s Chief Resilience Officer, said the Gardens provided a great location in South Beach. There was an easy entry for community members who were dropping off materials for composting, and staff could oversee drop-offs. Public response to the community compost hub was so great that the North Beach Compost Hub was opened in 2020 to serve the North Beach area, she said. “The second site serves residents that live farther away and is a 24-hour self-serve drop-off hub.”

The City of Miami Beach offers a 24-hour, self-serve composting hub.

Photos courtesy of City of Miami Beach

While the community hubs stay busy, the City is taking steps to promote home composting. Rolando Martinez, Sustainability Specialist for the City, said, “We recently awarded a grant to a local community organization to create a program that provides bins to residents who want to compost in their own yards.”

Partnering with community organizations is important to the success of composting and the overall sustainability program, said Knowles. The City partnered with nonprofit Oolite Arts to hold a Sustainability in Action PSA video contest to encourage residents to reduce waste. “One of the winning videos focused on composting and featured the South Beach Compost Hub at the Botanical Gardens,” she said. There is also a regular schedule of community education, workshops and social media posts about the benefits of composting. (See the video at bit.ly/3zNYDwT.)

Volunteers with the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens oversee the placement and turning of compost materials.

Photos courtesy of City of Miami Beach

LARGO OFFERS FREE BINS

Since the launch of its Community Composting Bin Program in October 2020, the City of Largo has had over 700 residents request free bins. “About one-half of the residents who started composting as a result of our program had never composted before,” said Julianne Perez, Community Engagement Administrator. The first 500 bins were part of a pilot program, but the City leaders have decided to make it a permanent program.

While the bins are a key part of the program, the City worked with community partners to create a robust educational component. “We partnered with a local nonprofit, Keep Pinellas Beautiful, City of Largo Outreach, Sustainability and Multimedia team members and one of our Community Ambassadors, a Largo resident passionate about sustainability, to develop educational materials,” said Perez.

The group created a web page (bit.ly/3MGtorn) that describes the program and includes resources such as educational videos in English and Spanish, flyers and FAQs. The page also includes the request form for a bin. Once the form is submitted, it goes to the Public Works Department to schedule delivery, which typically takes a week or two.

“This was a pretty easy program to implement, and we continue to receive positive feedback from residents,” said Perez. While “low-touch” makes the program easy to maintain, Perez would like to increase direct support to residents. “Now that individuals have a bin, we want to make sure folks are actually using the bins and enjoying those benefits,” she said. “We are always looking for ways to improve, and we keep in close contact with our community partners to update information on the website and schedule educational events, including an upcoming compost workshop for bin users.”

CLEARWATER COMBINES EDUCATION AND BINS

The City of Clearwater partners with Pinellas Community Compost to provide an online class, A Clearwater resident’s composting bin. “Create Compost,” to encourage residents to learn about the benefits of backyard composting. The online platform includes educational videos that are free and open to the public with required registration.

“Once Clearwater residents register for and complete the course, we provide instructions on how they can arrange pickup of their free composting bin,” said Sheridan Gemuendt, Sustainability Coordinator.

Registration for the online course has topped 2,000, including people who don’t live in Clearwater. “We have distributed 490 bins and feel confident that people are using them because they’ve invested time to learn about composting and picking up their bin,” said Gemuendt.

A Clearwater resident's composting bin.

Photo courtesy of City of Clearwater

Challenges that the City had to overcome included storage space for the bins, she said. “You do need to order the bins in bulk to get the best price, but before ordering them, know where you’ll store them,” Gemuendt said. “Our Public Utility Department had space, but our Solid Waste and Recycling staff are stretched thin, so we could not deliver the bins to residents.”

The distribution challenge was solved by designating a Saturday each month for pick up at a central location, she said. “About 95% of residents pick up their own bins, but if someone is disabled or does not have access to a vehicle that can transport the bin, we’ll make arrangements for the bin to be delivered,” Gemuendt said. There was a lot of interest in picking up a bin at the beginning of the program in 2020, but it is now a steady, continual level of interest that is easily managed, she added. For more information about the Clearwater program, go to bit.ly/3cnaIjs.

PALMETTO BAY FOCUSES ON EDUCATION

The Village of Palmetto Bay promotes composting to residents through a How-To Gardening Workshop series presented by Miami-Dade County Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Terri Stephen that includes one session on Composting 101. The series was offered virtually in 2020-2021, but in-person classes have resumed in 2022.

“The Village does not provide bins, but residents of Miami-Dade County are eligible for a voucher for one free composting bin from the County when they attend any of the Extension’s composting workshops,” said Stephen. The Village hosts the gardening series at Thalatta Estate Park, a 4-acre park that is home to two historic residential buildings, gardens, green space and unobstructed views of Biscayne Bay. “Village leaders wanted to encourage residents to use the park more, which led to gardening workshops at the park.”

Palmetto Bay offers educational workshops to encourage composting from collection in a kitchen bucket through the beginning, middle and final stages to soil for garden beds.

Photo courtesy of Terri Stephen

Mayor Karyn Cunningham is proud of this program, which is offered free of charge to Village residents. “This is yet another fun way to promote environmental responsibility and sustainability in Palmetto Bay and get folks out to our parks.”

Response to the composting workshop is higher than in other gardening workshops, said Stephen. “We usually get 30 people registering for a class, but composting typically has 50 people,” she said. About 75% to 80% of attendees say they will obtain a bin and begin composting in the end-of-class survey. “I also receive emails asking follow-up questions once they begin composting, so I know the classes are effective.”

Stephen, an extension service volunteer, said that Palmetto Bay’s educational offering is so successful because a city staff person, Lisbeth Benivegna, Events and Program Supervisor, oversees logistics and publicity. “We have also posted videos of the 2020 workshop on the Village website to make it easy for people to learn if they can’t attend or re-watch the seminar as a refresher course,” said Stephen. (See the video at bit.ly/39OQP2Q.)

ST. AUGUSTINE DELIVERS COMPOST BINS

A pilot residential compost bin distribution program was launched in May 2022 to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week in the City of St. Augustine. “It is a pretty inexpensive way to reduce the amount of organic material in trash,” said Todd Grant, Utilities Director for the City.

The City delivered a free bin and composting instructions to the first 50 residents who signed up. The event was funded by miscellaneous income such as scrap material sales and franchise fees collected by the City.

Composting yields rich, dark soil.

Photo courtesy of Terri Stephen

While coordinating a giveaway program can be overwhelming, Grant said that the City had just completed a tree giveaway program, so a process already existed. “The program was promoted on social media and the City website, an online application was available on the website and the request went into our work order system,” he explained.

A community survey conducted two years ago showed significant interest in composting, said Grant. “We plan to offer free bin delivery again next year, and if demand warrants it, we’ll continue it as an ongoing program.”

For more information on composting, go to epa.gov/recycle/ composting-home.

Sheryl S. Jackson is a Writer/Editor for the Florida League of Cities.

Largo’s fun, educational videos educate residents about the benefits of composting.

Photo courtesy of City of Largo