HomeMy WebLinkAboutJefferson County Decentralized Organics Management StrategyJefferson County Decentralized Organics Management
Strategy
Between 2009 and 2010, the Jefferson County Department of
Public Works launched an organics management strategy that
encouraged the community to see food waste and yard debris as
a soil nutrient source and provided education and equipment to
self-manage these materials at home, within their neighborhood,
or on their school’s campus.
Partnerships were formed with two school districts and a School
Garden Coordinator was hired whose enthusiasm gained the
support of administrators, teachers, and grade school students
in implementing a cafeteria-to- garden food waste diversion
program with hands-on instruction in thermophilic and
vermicomposting. Public Works also provided composting bins
and hands-on instruction to the members of sixteen
neighborhood gardens. Workshops on backyard
vermicomposting along with free bins were delivered to over a
hundred community members and many more participants
learned how to make self-fertile growing beds using woody yard
debris at several Hugelkultur workshops.
The success of this people-powered strategy can be seen in the
School Districts’ continued support of the school garden
programs, in the high demand for annual backyard composting
workshops that Public Works continues to provide, and by the
rate of organics diversion which is now close to the 75%
diversion goal in the Organics Management Act.
Jefferson County School Gardens All photo credits: Candice Cosler