Study recommends Moto Park site for countywide yard-waste composting; grants key to viability

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A 15-month feasibility study presented to the Board of Parks Commissioners on July 16 recommends using an underused portion of Moto Park as a site for countywide yard-waste composting, and says grant funding will be necessary to make a full-scale operation financially viable.

Lauren Norvell, director of the Evansville Climate Collaborative, said the city and Vanderburgh County Solid Waste Management District partnered on the study to evaluate options for managing brush, leaves, grass trimmings and other yard debris that currently have few local processing options. Danny Schoust of GT Environmental delivered the consultant presentation and described the study's findings and recommendations.

GT Environmental estimated the county generates on the order of 30,000 tons of yard trimmings and yard-waste material annually (residential and municipal combined), and said current local diversion is limited — the study referenced older state estimates and the Mesker Park Zoo and Republic Services Lobster Meadows as the only permitted in-county composting sites that accept such material. The consultant estimated roughly 3,000 tons of yard trimmings currently are diverted and said that number is likely higher now than older statewide data indicate.

The study recommended a turned-windrow facility as a suitable technology and identified a footprint of roughly 18 acres for active compost operations, buildings and storage. Consultants vetted several public parcels and recommended a portion of Moto Park — described as a largely unused area in the park's northern end — because it is near I‑69 and close to the existing landfill, and because it is not part of the park area currently used for recreation.

GT Environmental said short-term implementation could begin with a mulching and grinding operation primarily for municipal material, with a part‑time laborer shared across departments. A medium-term option would convert the site to a drop-off yard-waste compost facility for county residents and municipal operations. The study estimated that if 50% of capital and equipment costs were covered by grants (the consultant cited Indiana Department of Environmental Management grant opportunities), the facility could operate at about a $130 per-ton surplus; without grant funding the model showed an operating loss of about $115 per ton.

Board members asked about impacts to active park areas and ownership. Consultants said the recommended parcel is offset from active soccer fields and playgrounds, and that operations could be staged to limit disruption — for example, starting as a municipal-only operation and limiting grinder hours. Ownership and management models are to be determined; GT Environmental provided public–private partnership examples but did not recommend one specific ownership model. Staff noted the parks department currently lacks bandwidth to operate a new compost facility without additional staffing or interagency agreements.

The presentation was informational only; the board took no action. Staff said next steps would include further conversations with county partners, exploration of grant funding and, if approved in the future, securing site surveys and any necessary approvals before launching operations.