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Carbondale environmental board prioritizes composting pilot at middle school, defers paid ad campaign
Summary
The Carbondale Environmental Board voted to defer a paid public‑education ad campaign and instead prioritize bag‑fee funding for pilot composting at Carbondale Middle School and other local sites; staff will seek trustees’ approval for seed funding.
The Carbondale Environmental Board on its regular meeting decided to delay a paid advertising campaign and instead prioritize funding for a pilot composting program that would start at Carbondale Middle School and potentially expand to other schools, multifamily buildings and restaurants.
Board members debated the cost and expected impact of a year of paid ads in the local paper and limited radio underwriting versus targeted, measurable pilots. Estimates discussed included a half‑page monthly ad package for a year costing about $4,800 and radio underwriting packages of roughly $1,500–$2,000 for several dozen spots. Several members and outside consultants told the board that small ad buys are unlikely to produce measurable reductions in contamination and that money is probably better used directly where behavior change can be taught and monitored — for example, in schools and multifamily complexes.
Kevin (presenting a memo to the board) said staff and Alyssa developed a school composting plan that will track weekly volumes at the Pitkin County solid waste center. "We will be tracking that," he said, adding the plan currently estimates about "1.5 cubic yards per week" at the middle school based on comparable programs. Board members described the proposed approach as a one‑year incubator: the eboard would seed startup costs and expect schools or partners to seek longer‑term funding after the pilot proves results.
The board discussed bag‑fee fund availability and the need to spend prudently. Staff provided a range of estimates for funds that could reasonably be proposed to trustees for projects this year (discussed figures ranged from roughly $8,000 up to a safer planning figure of $30,000–$40,000, depending on assumptions about declining bag‑fee revenue). Members emphasized that the bag‑fee stream is diminishing and that pilot funding should be structured as time‑limited "startups" rather than permanent subsidies.
The board agreed not to move forward with a paid ad program at this time and to pursue the composting pilot as a priority. Kevin will present the composting proposal to the Board of Trustees at the next trustees meeting seeking funding approval. Staff will report back on outreach to multifamily buildings and restaurants and on conversations with haulers about co‑funding messages.
The board also requested that pilot metrics (tonnage/volume diverted and weekly measurements) be tracked and reported to the eboard to assess whether a program should be scaled or made ongoing.
