The City of Grand Junction received a two-year grant for a composting and food waste reduction pilot project.

The grant includes an allocation of $89,600 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a total of $36,906 in matching funds from the city and Mesa County.

Goals for the effort include demonstrating the need for food waste composting facility upgrades at the Mesa County composting facility, improved resource management and compost use and enhancing the health and water holding capacity of soil.

“We are thrilled to have received this grant, which allows us to demonstrate the need for increasing food waste composting,” said Jay Valentine, general services director for the City of Grand Junction. “Through our recent pilot study, we realized the benefits of using compost to conserve water while repurposing this valuable natural resource. This two-year grant will allow for an expansion of our efforts.”

“By increasing the amount we are able to compost for use on our gardens and for our orchards and farms, we conserve valuable space in the landfill and increase our capacity for collection on a local level,” Valentine said.

The City of Grand Junction identified recycling, reuse and waste reduction as goals in a 2020 comprehensive plan as well as in a strategic plan outlined by the Grand Junction City Council in 2023.

According to a Western Colorado waste diversion study conducted by Souder Miller and Associates in 2018, 13 percent of Mesa County waste is comprised of food. This is equivalent to 21,420 metric tons of organic material that goes into the landfill annually because food waste isn’t accepted at the Mesa County compost facility. As more compost is used for agriculture and gardens, additional space will be made available to accept food waste for composting.

One aspect of the grant program will demonstrate the need for food waste processing at the compost facility. The City of Grand Junction is implementing a food waste collection program in its efforts to support sustainable development and demonstrate demand for local processing.

By establishing an organic waste collection route with a temporary composting outlet within 100 miles of the county, the program will create the density and demand needed to show the economic benefits of accepting more organic waste at the local facility. This grant will help make organic waste diversion possible for participants of all income levels and socio-economic classes.
By partnering with schools, hospitals and hunger relief organizations, the project will address food waste reduction by feeding people first and then composting what’s left. The grant also makes entry level participation in the program economically viable so participants can take the time needed to implement sorting habits necessary to affect trash collection fees that will offset future composting fees and attract more participants as the program grows.

Another aspect of the program focuses on marketing, education and distribution of finished compost to create more space for incorporating food waste into local operations. Through partnerships with Mesa County and the Colorado State University Western Colorado Research Center, and with the assistance of this grant, a compost use program will be implemented to promote compost use and demonstrate the benefits for water conservation and soil health.

Benefits of compost use and recommendations for application rates will be highlighted through a partnership with the CSU Orchard Mesa Research Station that began in 2023, the first year of the grant. On-farm trials will demonstrate how compost can be applied to various crops — including peach trees, vegetables and ornamental plants. Data collected, such as water holding capacity and organic matter content, will help agricultural producers connect with state and local incentives to use compost to enhance soil health. Compost will also be donated to community outreach and demonstration sites, such as community gardens and schools.