CSWD's Green Mountain Compost reports lower contamination after year of new policy, flags liner bags and school cafeteria waste

Chittenden Solid Waste District staff reported progress and continuing challenges on July 30 from the district's organic recycling facility (Green Mountain Compost) following the first full year of a board-approved contamination policy.

"Our contamination policy is a volumetric threshold. If a load is over 5% contaminated, it goes into a contaminated load branch," Allison Smith, organics contamination and quality control lead, told commissioners. Loads exceeding 5% are charged a fee; loads over 10% are rare and subject to higher fees or removal.

Staff said the policy went into effect July 1, 2024, and that routine load checks and targeted outreach have improved incoming feedstock quality. Allison said she performed about 350 load checks over the past year and that…