Plan, design, and create infrastructure for a municipal composting site for organics diversion and recovery

This Cooperative Agreement award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Congressionally Mandated Projects program (CFDA 66.202) provides $2,500,000 to the City & Borough of Juneau, Alaska to plan, design, and create infrastructure for a municipal composting site. The project activities include travel to a composting facility, compost facility design, site infrastructure construction, and planning for a proposed Zero Waste Subdivision. The anticipated outcomes are a reduction in organic waste entering the landfill, decreased landfill leachate and greenhouse gas emissions, and the establishment of a publicly-owned compost facility to increase community participation in organics diversion. This award aims to develop critical composting infrastructure that can be leveraged for future funding opportunities to benefit the Juneau community.

Description

The purpose of this project is to plan, design, and create infrastructure for a municipal composting site for organics diversion and recovery. This funding will provide basic infrastructure that can be used for pilot projects and can be leveraged for future funding opportunities. The future composting facility (to be completed with future funding) will be the first in a proposed zero waste subdivision (ZWS) that will benefit the entire community of juneau, alaska. The ZWS will be planned concurrently with the compost facility by the city and borough of juneau. Future composting activities, to be contracted to a third party, will increase local organics recycling efforts without the need for long-haul overseas transportation to the lower 48 states.activities:project activities under this grant will include: travel to kodiak, AK biosolids composting facility, compost facility design and zero waste subdivision (ZWS) site planning, design of a new compost facility, construction of compost facility site infrastructure, site preparation and stormwater management, installation of utilities, improvement of roads, and construction of the concrete pad and fencing. The project will also include ZWS planning, which will include conceptual placement of utilities, conceptual placement of roads, conceptual placement of stormwater controls, and a general idea of where future facilities/uses could be placed in relation to the compost site/facility. Subrecipient:no subawards are included in this assistance agreement.outcomes:anticipated deliverables and expected outcomes of this project will include: a reduction in the volume of organic wastes entering the landfill, a reduction in the amount of leachate from their local solid waste landfill, a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill, reduced odor issues at the landfill, extending the volume of materials entering juneau's aging landfill, and once completed, a publicly owned compost facility which will increase equity in the participation of organics diversion in the community. The project will benefit all citizens of the city and borough of juneau, AK (CBJ) and will also result in a number of beneficial community partnerships developed by CBJ with: the juneau commission on sustainability, central council of tlingit and haida indian tribes of alaska, university of alaska fairbanks cooperative extension service, sustainable southeast partnerships, southeast alaska solid waste authority, and juneau composts! (a privately-owned business).