Madison, Wisc. is ending its compost collection program because residents were putting too many non-compostable items in their carts and the city can’t afford its own biodigester. The city said that ending the program will give officials time to study other options for collecting food scraps and other compostable materials.
The program began in 2011 with about 500 participants. It currently has about 1,100 households and 40 businesses involved.
Separating non-compostable materials like plastic bags and metals is a labor-intensive and slow process that requires additional water. The digester’s operator, GL Dairy Biogas, charges a $200-per-ton fee to separate debris from compostable material.
The county landfill has a $50-per-ton dumping fee.
Initial program plans had called for the city building its own biodigester in 2016, but the project never happened. Constructing a biodigester would cost up to $35 million. – Wisconsin State Journal, host.madison.com
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