12
Community-Scale Composting Systems
Model Components
The most basic formula of composting models is
generator, collection, recycler, end user. Let’s look at the
individual roles and basic economics of these elements.
The Generator
Compostable materials are being generated literally
everywhere we look, from leaves senescing in fall to
leftovers passing their prime right now in my refrig-
erator. Living involves the creation and expiration of
unutilized organic matter. Enter decay.
These points of generation are opportunities for
composters in our communities to intervene. Food
scraps in particular are a unifying material for the most
recent generation of community-scale composters.
The use of food scraps as a feedstock is rapidly growing;
the US Environmental Protection Agency estimates
that food scrap composting increased from 2.2 percent
of generation in 2000 to 5.1 percent in 2014.2
Figure 1.1. Food scraps are source-separated at a festival. Note Tyler Buswell (right) educating festival-goers at the Close the
Loop recovery station. Courtesy of Highfields Center for Composting and Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund.
Sources of food scraps are what we at the former
Highfields Center for Composting called food scrap
generators (FSGs). Many people just call them gen-
erators. FSGs = everybody. FSGs can be classified as
residential, commercial, institutional, and manufac-
turing (see chapter 4). The most likely sources of food
scraps will depend on factors within your individual
community, such as regional food scrap densities and
the FSG sectors that local food scrap collection pro-
viders serve (for instance, many haulers serve either
residential FSGs or commercial, institutional, and
manufacturing FSGs).
Composting food scraps requires the addition
of other raw materials to create a balanced recipe.
Depending upon the community, any number of sec-
ondary feedstocks might be generated and available
for composting. In general, food scrap composters
seek dry, high-carbon feedstocks such as leaves,
wood chips and shavings, animal bedding, and clean
shredded paper (to name just a few) to balance out
the wet, nitrogenous character of food scraps.
 Common Models in Community-Scale Composting 13

Where there is a need for disposal in the commu-
nity, sourcing additional feedstocks may be simple
and free. In many places, however, obtaining ade-
quate feedstocks may take considerable effort and
money. Composting operations’ demand for feed-
stocks increases as food scrap processing increases,
so keeping the two in balance requires planning and
thought. In general, one part food scraps by volume
requires three to five parts other materials in order
to create a balanced recipe and mitigate problems.
Feedstock characteristics, estimation, and recipe
development are covered in depth in chapter 4.
Basic Generator Economics
At the time of writing, diverting compostable
materials is essentially an economic wash for most
organics generators. Sometimes generators save
money, sometimes they break even, and sometimes
it costs them a little bit more for composting versus
disposal. It all depends on the constantly shifting
local economics of trash and organics recycling. In
many cases composting through a collection service
is a separate expense from trash, but renegotiating
trash collection fees once the organics component
has been removed can make up for it.
Collection and Transport
Diverting local food scraps and other feedstock to
composting requires some form of collection and
transport. Organic material is separated from other
discards at the point of generation, and then trans-
ported to the compost site or to another transfer
point. If the composting takes place at the point of
generation, it’s typically called on-site composting
and transport is minimal. If the composting takes
place elsewhere, more transport is involved.
Some models involve self-hauling, such as residential
food scrap drop-offs, where individual households take
their scraps to a local drop point. There are also com-
mercial or municipally operated food scrap collection
services. Collection services are the literal go-betweens

Figure 1.2. Bicycle collection is a thriving model in many cities around the country. Here Madeleine Froncek of Compost Pedallers
in Austin, Texas, moves food scraps and other residential organics using a bicycle and cargo trailer. Courtesy of Compost Pedallers.
14 Community-Scale Composting Systems
for FSGs and compost sites, and are sometimes oper-
ated as side businesses by composters themselves.
Composters also sometimes self-haul their sec-
ondary feedstocks or contract haulers to do it. The
dramatic increase in food scrap recycling has spurred
a diversity of innovative new collection apparatuses
at the community scale, from bicycle-powered sys-
tems to trucks with capacities from 1 to 10 tons of
food scraps per load (see chapter 12).
In order to collect clean organic material, it is vital
to provide education on source separation to FSGs
and other feedstock sources. While in some cases
third parties can provide this education to FSGs, it is
often the responsibility of the collection service, and
those who can’t get clean material risk paying more
for tipping fees or losing a compost processor alto-
gether. For more on source separation, see Generator
Training and Education in chapter 12, page 347.
Basic Collection Economics
Typically haulers charge the generators for collection
of food scraps. They then pay a composter a tipping
fee to receive and process the material. Transporta-
tion distance and route density are crucial factors in
the profitability of collection services. The faster they
can fill their hauling unit, the better the economic
return. Many food scrap haulers report that they can
make money in the current economic climate.
The economics of transporting secondary feed-
stocks varies considerably depending upon supply
and demand for the given material (see Feedstock
Economics in chapter 13, page 352). In general,
though, this cost is paid by either the composter or
the generator depending upon the material.
Composter (Organics Recycler)
Once material has been captured and collected, it
is then transported to the compost site. There are
a wide variety of options and methodologies for
composting food scraps and other organics. All of the
common composting methods are viable options for
community-scale composters. The system needs to
have the capacity to manage the intended volume of
organics, and some methods are better suited for cer-
tain applications than others. Beyond the standard
types of composting, other options that can add value
for composters include integrating animals into your
composting system, composting with worms, and
adding heat recovery infrastructure to your compost-
ing system. All of the standard composting methods,
as well as composting with animals, are covered in
great depth throughout this book. (I ran out of time
and room to cover vermicomposting and compost
heat recovery in as much depth, but hopefully there
will be more to come on those topics.)
On-Site and Off-Site Composting
Two subsets of composter types are on-site composters
and off-site composters. Where the composting
takes place at the point of generation, it’s typically
called on-site composting. All other composters are
considered off-site, although we just refer to them
as composters and leave the off-site part out. When
we look at specific models, the location where the
composting takes place is distinguished in this way.
In the ILSR guide Micro Composting: A Guide to
Small Scale & On-Site Food Scrap Composting Sys-
tems,3 we wrote about the choice to compost off-site
versus on-site and what it takes to make composting
on-site work. For many businesses, schools, and other
food scrap generators, the simplest option is letting
a well-managed composting operation handle the
actual composting process off-site, assuming there is
an acceptable food scrap collection option available.
When we look at the on-site and other non-commer-
cial composting models in this guide, we focus a lot
on the motivations behind each, which have a large
impact on the sustainability of these models.
Basic Composter Economics
Composter revenues typically include compost
sales and tipping fees. It is standard practice for
composters to receive a tipping fee from a hauler
when they accept and process food scraps. The fee
is a justifiable cost to haulers, because it replaces the
tipping fee that they would be charged at the landfill.
Ultimately that cost is passed down to the generator.
 Common Models in Community-Scale Composting 15

Composter tipping fees currently range from $30 to
$65 per ton, and they appear to be increasing with
the changing economics of trash.
Many food scrap recycling models are also based
on saved costs or other values yielded as a result of the
compost and composting process. These might include:
• Improved soil quality and crop productivity on a
farm or in a garden
• Heat captured generating or offsetting energy
(methane in the case of anaerobic digestion)
• Food scraps and compost offsetting animal
feed costs
Costs associated with composting typically fall
under the basic categories of site/infrastructure,
feedstocks, marketing and sales, equipment, labor,
and permitting. These costs are often not insignifi-
cant. Indeed, composting can be an economically
challenging proposition given the current economic
valuation of organic matter and waste, which is highly
disproportionate to composting’s environmental and
social value in my humble opinion.
The economics are different in almost every case;
some composters make money, many break even, some
lose money. Any veteran composter will tell you that the
economics of the composting business are challenging,
and for many this will be a conversation ender. The
reality is that, as for so many businesses, economic con-
ditions change every day, and composting mandates,
as eggs, thermal energy, or methane in the case of
anaerobic digestion. Composts can be used to build
soil and support fertility along with the use of com-
plementary practices such as cover cropping, crop
and grazing rotations, and manure application for
sustainable nutrient and soil management.
Compost can be sold through a wide range of mar-
kets including as bagged products such as potting
mixes, in bulk retail to home gardeners (for instance,
by the individual cubic yard), or wholesale to other
farms, landscapers, distributors, and the like. Eval-
uating potential markets for compost products is
critical if the sale of compost is a part of your oper-
ation’s business model. Even in many rural regions,
there is a demand for high quality local composts
and sales in the 300–500 cubic yard/year range can
be met by primarily bulk retail sales (e.g. 1–20 cubic
yards at a time), assuming that the local market isn’t
Food Scrap Generator
Residential
Commercial/Institutional
Food Processing / Manufacturing
Agriculture Compost Commercial

Collection
End User

rising trash prices, transportation, and food prices are Horticulture Model Municipal
Green Components Micro Routes
all working to (hopefully) make localized composting Infrastructure Drop-Offs
and compost use more attractive economically. But the
economics can also be deceiving, and I’ve seen many
would-be-composters with dollar signs in their eyes.
Their projects usually don’t amount to much. For this
reason, I strongly encourage composters to consider the Compost
economics of composting for their specific operation. Animals
Anaerobic Digestion

End User Organics Recycler

Composters can create a wide variety of compost
products from their community’s organic refuse. Figure 1.3. The basic components of the community
Some systems also deliver secondary yields such compost model.
16 Community-Scale Composting Systems
Figure 1.4. A food scrap recovery hierarchy that prioritizes local- and community-oriented solutions. Courtesy of Institute for Local
Self-Reliance.
already saturated. Chapter 14 discusses this topic in
much greater detail.
Basic End User Economics
The economic return on compost end use varies
widely from situation to situation. Consider that wine
growers in California often pay over $500 a yard for
vermicompost. I couldn’t even begin to explain the
economics of that or the literally thousands of other
cost benefits associated with one end use or another.
What I can say is that in most cases, the use of com-
post is an investment, and that investment’s returns
increase over time. As soil improves, costs decrease,
pollution decreases, biological diversity increases,
and so on. Exactly how that is valued is extremely
scenario-specific, but it is worth understanding to
the greatest extent possible.
10 Common Models
In the following section we’ll look at the com-
mon components across the 10 community-scale
composting models, and then delve into the core
concepts, composting methodologies, and unique
considerations associated with each.
Composter Networks
Managing organic resources locally at the commu-
nity scale in theory involves a diverse and dispersed
network of composters. If you took the nine other
community-scale models and applied them across any
region of our country, what you’d end up with would
be a patchwork of composting activity: collection
services, residential drop-offs, on-farm composters,