Evansville staff recommend phased community composting at retired Moto Park landfill tract

Lauren Norville, director of the Evansville Climate Collaborative staff, told the advisory board on July 15 that consultants had completed a community composting feasibility study and recommended using a retired landfill tract north of Moto Park on Saint Joe Avenue for the initial facility.

“we could be, diverting about 3 to 4,000 tons of yard waste annually,” Norville said, summarizing the study’s near-term estimate and adding that the consultants believed the program could scale to “10 or 20,000 tons with years of success in the program and...more resident awareness and participation.”

The study recommends a phased approach, Norville said. Phase 1 would deploy chipping and shredding equipment to process material generated by city and county agencies (parks, urban forestry, highway), share equipment and part-time staff, and secure permitting and site work. Later phases could add windrow turning and public/commercial drop-off days if demand warrants.

Norville said the consultants estimated an 18-acre footprint would be needed to process the projected yard-waste stream and that the project team evaluated about 15 city- and county-owned sites before narrowing to three candidates and selecting the retired landfill tract. She said the city owns the land and the Parks Board manages Moto Park; staff plan to brief the Parks Board and the Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District Board because the district paid for the study and the site is adjacent to park-managed property.

The study modeled operating economics under different funding assumptions. Norville said the analysis showed the operation would run at a negative per-ton cost if the city alone paid startup costs, but that with grants covering roughly 50% of startup expenses the facility could move into a positive net position and charge a modest tipping fee for commercial users. Norville gave example figures from the study: a local landfill tip was described as about $70 for roughly 800 pounds, while the compost yard’s modeled tipping fee would be “like, $20 tipping fee per ton.”

Norville emphasized that the study covers only yard and land-management waste (tree debris, leaves, brush) and does not include food waste, which she called “a whole other ballgame.” She said federal and state grants could cover up to half of startup costs and that the project team planned to apply in the next grant cycles; she told the board she would “assure the mayor that we would find the grants first.”

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) was described in the discussion as enthusiastic about the site’s reuse; Norville said permitting would be required and estimated six months for Phase 1 from contracting to permit approval once grant funding is in hand. She noted some grants operate as reimbursements and that grant-draw mechanics are a factor for budgeting and cash flow.

Board members asked about ownership and park impacts; Norville confirmed the city owns the tract and the Parks Board manages Moto Park property. She said the tract has been idle since about 1991 and would not affect Moto Park’s active areas.

Next steps described to the board were: briefings to the Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District Board and the Parks Board (completed or scheduled), seeking grant funding in upcoming rounds, and then returning to boards in a month or two to request permission to pursue land use and grant applications formally. Norville said start of on-site work would depend on grant awards and that realistic earliest operation timing would be mid-2026 or later, contingent on grant timing and reimbursement rules.