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 hold 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 compost improves their farm's yields, Urbavoreneighbors complained to officials that it was a nuisance.
The city of Kansas City, Missouri now says the operation requires special use permitwhile Heryer says they did an audit before expanding in 2021. He's concerned the city isn't embracing their efforts to sustainably manage food waste.
“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.”
Carlos Moreno
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KCUR 89.3
Food waste is the largest category of garbage going into landfills, according to an estimate by US Environmental Protection Agency in 2018. Even more worryingly, 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 area around regulation
Brenda Platt, its director Institute of Local Self-Reliance's Composting for Community 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.
Carlos Moreno
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KCUR 89.3
of John and Stacey Cline New Earth Farm faced this problem in St Louis when they tried to start community composting. There is only a regulation related to composting in 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 when it comes to supporting composting, said Jennifer Trent, program manager at the Iowa Waste Reduction Center at the University of Northern Iowa.
“ONE A lot of times it's a preconceived idea or perception that composting sites are dirty places and won't be beneficial to the community,” he said.
Jennifer Salzman
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Worms
Louis Chen is running Worms, 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 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 it has good zoning lawsimposing them and education of residents about composting helps make sure 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, approached several townships 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 changed a zone code for his business.
“It just happened that Sun Prairie really rolled out the welcome mat and helped us work on it,” he said.
You Ponce
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Green Box Compost
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.
Eva Tesfaye covers agriculture, food systems and rural issues for KCUR and Harvest Public Media and is Report on America limb.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a partnership of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. He reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
