Sustainable BC Committee wins $7,500 recycling grant, to pilot food‑scrap composting in Battle Creek

The Sustainable BC Committee announced on June 22 that it had been awarded a $7,500 Michigan Recycling Coalition grant to make a recycling-transparency video and to fund a six‑month city pilot for food‑scrap composting, staff and volunteers said.

"So we got $7,500 from them," Patty Hoeltzel Malewitz, a City of Battle Creek environmental staff member, said, adding that most of the funds will support a food‑scrap pilot operated by vendor My Green Michigan.

The pilot will place communal drop‑off carts at four public locations (two carts per location) and run for six months. My Green Michigan will collect compostable material weekly and take it for commercial composting, Megan Fritch, the city’s environmental program coordinator, said.

Committee members discussed potential sites that would be open to the general public and regularly observed: Saint Peters (near Beckley) is confirmed; other candidates include locations at KCC, Leila Arboretum, Washington Heights/Sunlight Gardens, and Kingdom Builders (contact suggested: Bishop Tino Smith). Members emphasized geographic distribution across the city and said staff will follow up to confirm sites.

The group debated whether to require a sign‑up to track participants or to leave drop‑off locations open to everyone. "It might be handy to have a contact list of people," one member said, but others argued sign‑ups increase administrative burden and that open access reduces barriers. No final tracking model was adopted at the meeting.

Operational details discussed included hours/access, the need for regular on‑site observation to prevent misuse, and accepted materials. Committee members clarified that the program will accept commercially compostable items (BPI‑certified materials) and that it will not be promoted initially to restaurants to avoid overloading cart capacity. The vendor uses compostable liners in carts to limit odor and mess.

Members also raised potential risks and mitigation ideas: distributing small kitchen buckets or labeled lids to residents to reduce contamination and provide messaging; concerns about rodents and unintended uses (including comments that an unmonitored site elsewhere attracted people seeking food); and theft of equipment if left unattended. The committee discussed learning from other municipalities’ pilots and vendor partnerships; staff noted My Green Michigan already works with Firekeepers Casino, Bronson Hospital and others in the region.

Next steps: staff will follow up on site confirmations, finalize the operational model (open access vs. sign‑up), and return to the committee with details before the pilot begins. Committee members said outreach (utility bill stuffers, school resources and a short video) will accompany the pilot to educate residents.

The committee made no final policy decision at the meeting but directed staff to continue site outreach and vendor coordination ahead of the pilot launch.