Most of us have heard the adage, “One person’s trash is another’s treasure.”
This couldn’t be truer for Table to Farm Compost, a locally owned small business and team of self-described “climate activists and carbon farmers” working in the La Plata County region.
Their mission? “To divert waste from landfills, reduce methane emissions, and recycle organic materials such as food scraps and wood shavings into living soil.”
That’s their daily work. Their bigger mission is to “recycle food waste into compost and save the earth!” And they are inviting all residents to join in this mission by signing up for compost pickup, and encouraging the city of Durango at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to help, by writing letters and attending the meeting.
Since 2019, Table to Farm and the city have engaged in a public-private partnership to increase community participation. Currently, 800 households and businesses participate in curbside pick up. With a goal of 5,000 households, there are still some compost piles to climb.
Table to Farm has been adaptable and responsive to residents’ needs. Initially offering weekly pick up, too frequent for some households, it added a biweekly, less expensive offering and compost kiosks west of Durango, Florida Road and, as of late October, curbside and kiosk service in Pagosa Springs.
Table to Farm and city councilors will discuss this partnership at a study session scheduled for Dec. 3. Beginning in 2025, Table to Farm has proposed the city provide a 50/50 cost-share for food waste pickup service as an incentive for all city residents to participate.
That would mean current consumer costs would be halved. The weekly cost for a single family would drop from $7 to $3.50 and the kiosks from $5.50 to $2.25. Small change for big returns.
It makes financial sense to increase composting. Almost 50% of what goes into our landfill is food and other organic matter; the Bondad landfill is approaching its capacity, and the cost to expand would cost $1.5 million per cell (a unit within a landfill). In stark contrast, expanding composting within city limits with a city 50/50 share would cost $173,000.
The Herald’s Editorial Board gets behind this idea, especially because it is voluntary, would help reduce costs currently borne by participating residents, encourage others to sign up, help with our solid waste problem, and help the city meet its sustainability and greenhouse emission reduction goals.
Diverting food scraps from landfills has numerous other benefits, too.
To date, Table to Farm has collected and diverted 6.7 million pounds of food scraps and 4,062 tons of CO2 emissions. The impact of composting can help grow higher quality food as “black gold” is added to local soil, carbon is sequestered reducing the impacts of climate change, and we transform our waste into living soil and build greater local self-reliance to support people, the planet and prosperity for all.
Three Ps is also embedded into the mission of Local First, La Plata County’s local independent business alliance, that Table to Farm’s managing member and chief visionary, Monique DiGiorgio, also used to run.
Doing well by doing good. That’s what DiGiorgio and her team are trying to achieve and the City of Durango should, too. More information about Table to Farm Compost, including its free 10-bag leaf pick up (schedule before the service concludes on Nov. 29), can be found at tabletofarmcompost.com.
