In the middle of an urban farm, hidden behind houses and tall greenery, sit seven piles of food waste each in different stages of composting.
Brooke Salvaggio and Daniel Heryer take a scoop from one of the piles of what they call “black gold” and lift it up to their noses to inhale.
“It just smells like very rich soil, and when we put our fields in it becomes very rich soil,” Heryer said.
Not all their neighbors agree about the smell. While Salvaggio said the compost improves the yields of their farm, Urbavore, neighbors have complained to officials that it is a nuisance.
The city of Kansas City, Missouri, now says the business requires a special-use permit, and Herrier says they did an audit before expanding in 2021. He wonders why the city isn't embracing their efforts to manage food waste sustainably.
“I want to create more composting hubs like this around the city and metro area,” he said. “The cities and other municipalities around this area, but certainly the city of Kansas City, are going to have to help us do that.”
Food waste is the largest category of garbage going into landfills, according to a 2018 estimate by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Even more alarming, rotting food produces methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Municipal solid waste landfills were the third largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States in 2021.
Community composting — creating and using the compost in the same community that created the waste — is popping up in cities across the country. It keeps this waste out of landfills and returns nutrients to the soil. It can also save municipalities money on landfill fees.
However, not all cities welcome composting operations, especially when neighbors complain about bad smells and pests.
Gray setting area
Brenda Platt, director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance's Community Composting Project, said composting can be a challenge for municipalities.
“Local governments can either say, 'Oh, you've got a problem,' or they can help these businesses that support their communities overcome obstacles,” he said.
He said cities often don't have up-to-date zoning rules that specifically address composting.
John and Stacey Cline of New Earth Farm faced this problem in St. Louis when they tried to start community composting. There is only one ordinance related to composting in the city code, but it refers to composting leaves and grass clippings, not food waste.
Because a neighbor complained to the city while they were in the process of purchasing land for their farm, they agreed not to compost on that land in order to proceed with the purchase.
“There were no laws that said, 'Well, hey, neighbor, it's actually totally legal,' because it wasn't legal or illegal,” Stacey Cline said. “That's the gray area that makes it difficult because you have to build bridges.”
Bad reputation
The Midwest is particularly behind in composting support, said Jennifer Trent, program manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa.
“A lot of times it's a preconceived idea or perception that composting sites are dirty places and that they won't be beneficial to the community,” he said.
Luis Chen runs Wormies, a composting service for Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is in the process of getting approval from Cascade Charter Township, where the land he acquired is located, to begin composting. He said the biggest hurdle is convincing the municipality that its operation will not be disruptive and will add value to the area.
“I knew what I was doing and I knew this would be a sight, but this needs to be explained,” Chen said.
He agreed to fulfill most of the municipality's conditions on how the business would operate. This includes limits on how much fertilizer its operation can take, as well as no drops. Now awaiting approval.
Composting doesn't have to be a hassle when done right, according to Trent. For example, odors can be reduced even outdoors by ensuring that the combination of materials is correct. He warned that an operation that gets it wrong could destroy the practice for an entire region.
“If you have a composting site that doesn't comply with the regulations, enforce those laws. Do not allow them to continue until it is fixed,” he said.
The US Composting Council says having good zoning laws, enforcing them and educating residents about composting helps ensure everything runs smoothly.
“You can go to the zoning officer and say, 'Show me a plan. Show me you know how you're going to operate,” said Frank Franciosi, executive director of the US Composting Council, “but I think the best thing you can do is bring people into these facilities and show them what it's like to run.”
What cities can do
When Ben Stanger wanted to start his business, Green Box Compost, he approached several municipalities in Dane County, Wisconsin. Many of them said no. He eventually landed in Sun Prairie, a suburb of Madison, which not only allowed the business to find a home there, but also changed a zoning code for his business.
“It just happened that Sun Prairie really rolled out the welcome mat and helped us work on it,” he said.
Stanger composts indoors with containers and uses a slightly more technological approach to preventing problems, but the city is also doing its part by educating residents, said Jake King, the city's strategic communications and diversity officer.
“We're really trying to look at that public outreach and engagement,” he said, “so people know what we're doing and, more importantly, know why we're doing it.”
In Kansas City, Urbavore is appealing its violations and hopes that will lead to larger changes to the city's rules. Assistant City Manager Melissa Kozakiewicz said city leadership is currently in discussions with Urbavore about how it can best support composting and urban agriculture.
“Kansas City and every other city in America has an opportunity to think about how it manages its waste differently,” he said.
