Commission explores pilot composting and food‑waste diversion; nonprofit offers partnership and recovered food donation

Commissioners discussed composting at two scales: an internal pilot for city facilities (city hall, park shop, DPW shops) and a potential community food-waste composting pilot.

Members suggested piloting internal collection and using partners such as the Conservation Corps for collection and transport to an established composting site. Questions for the pilot include bin sourcing, routine maintenance and collection cadence, partnering organizations, and where finished compost would be used.

For a broader community composting effort, commissioners and staff identified multiple barriers: securing funding to purchase bins, arranging compost management and residual handling, and identifying partners to process collected material. Members suggested learning from other municipalities that have run community compost programs and exploring group‑purchase models for bins similar to past rain-barrel efforts.

In public comment, Selena Darrow, founder and executive director of Rooted In, described food‑waste work and offered partnership. Darrow reported that Rooted In recently recovered 700 pounds of food donated by Delaware North at Lambeau Field and said potential federal grant funding (if awarded to a regional applicant) could support coordinated food‑waste reduction initiatives among Wisconsin municipalities and organizations.

Commissioners directed the waste work group to follow up with staff and community partners to develop a phased approach — beginning with small, fundable pilots and research into best practices — and to identify funding pathways for a community composting pilot.