Converted To Compost: Grand Junction Pilot Program Diverts Food Waste Away From The Landfill

Photo by Jennifer Richardson/Mesa County Solid Waste Management

For the past year, Grand Junction’s recycling department has been collecting food scraps from a dozen downtown restaurants and coffee shops as part of a two-year pilot program, in partnership with Mesa County and Colorado State University (CSU) Extension Tri-River Area, to determine the feasibility of turning that food waste into compost — a soil amendment beneficial to farmers and landscapers.

The food scraps would otherwise have gone into the Mesa County Landfill, where organic materials create methane, a climate-impacting greenhouse gas. Diverting this organic waste can prolong the life of a landfill, and be used instead to create a valuable soil amendment.

The food waste is tossed in containers that the city collects once a week, then taken to the landfill where it is stored in a 30-yard capacity container before being transported to 3XM, a class-3 composting facility outside of Delta. There the waste is converted into compost, where it is later bagged and made available for purchase. The city also collects food scraps from Community Hospital and Food Bank of the Rockies.

While Mesa County has its own composting facility, it currently accepts only yard waste. Though the county is exploring the possibility of expanding its operation and has applied for a permit from the state of Colorado to accept food waste and biosolids, says Jennifer Richardson, solid waste and sustainability division director at Mesa County Landfill.

“Once a permit is approved, the county will then determine if it makes economic sense to proceed,” says Richardson, adding, “We are working on a feasibility study with the city. One thing that must happen is securing an end market for the compost.”

In April 2023 the Colorado Senate passed the Organics Diversion Study SB23-191 that is looking at how the state can put millions of tons of these organic materials — currently destined for landfills — into more productive uses, such as, “more productive agricultural lands, and building healthier soils that are more resilient to flooding and drought.”

“Colorado State University Extension will conduct trials this spring to study the benefits of adding compost to crops,” says Kym Beck, Grand Junction’s recycling and waste reduction supervisor.

“Eventually organic materials will be banned from the landfill,” she notes. “We’re staying ahead of the game by trying to develop a program. We want to make sure we have the proper infrastructure. This is a top priority of the city’s sustainability and waste management department.”

“Although there’s no guarantee that the Mesa County compost operation will expand, there’s been a big shift in finding better ways of managing our waste to reduce greenhouse gases,” says Richardson. “It’s a high priority for Mesa County, Colorado and the United States.”

Originally published in the Spring 2024 issue of Spoke+Blossom.