Skokie board approves new contracts to expand compost drop-off and subscription service

The Skokie Village Board on Jan. 21 approved contracts with Waste Not Incorporated and Collective Resource Compost Cooperative to expand container-swap compost services for village drop-off sites and subscription accounts.

Village Manager John Lockerbie said the program has grown since its 2020 start, from 76 subscribers and about 14 tons of food scraps that first year to 343 customers and 12 free community drop-off sites; he said the village now projects more than 280 tons of food scraps will be composted this fiscal year. "Food scrap composting continues to expand within the village since its inception in 2020," Lockerbie said.

The contracts emerged from a recent request-for-proposals process that Lockerbie said produced competitive pricing and new container options. According to staff, Waste Not will offer larger 64–65 gallon toters and 7-yard rodent-resistant dumpsters for drop-off sites, while both vendors will maintain flexible service options including biweekly collection schedules that better fit commercial customers.

Max Lankard of the Public Works Department, whom Lockerbie identified as a resident expert on the program, said the next outreach priority is multifamily housing and condo buildings, and cautioned that the program's growth raises education and contamination risks. "The biggest challenge that I see with the program as we grow is maintaining strong education and keeping contamination out of the compost," Lankard said, noting contamination in compost streams is harder to remediate than contamination in recyclable streams.

A resident who identified herself as a subscription customer praised the service to the board, saying the household had less garbage and fewer odors after subscribing and that communications about pickup schedules had been "outstanding." Trustee Robinson asked the resident and staff questions about program operations during the discussion.

A motion to approve the container-swap compost services contracts, made by Trustee Johnson and seconded by Trustee Klein, passed in a roll call vote with six ayes and one absence; Trustee Pierce Logan was recorded as absent.

Board members framed the vote as supporting the village's environmental sustainability plan, which the manager said targets a 5% annual increase in residential participation. The manager recommended board approval of contracts for Waste Not for both village drop-off sites and subscription accounts, and for Collective Resource Compost Cooperative for subscription accounts.