Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** for the first time, the city of…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** for the first time, the city of sutherlin (city) in the rural area of southern oregon will be diverting food waste from the landfill and processing IT into a natural fertilizer, compost and worm castings, to make IT accessible in this agricultural region that has a high demand for compost products but nearly non-existing infrastructure for composting facilities. The city of sutherlin will be working with the two main partners: garbage hauler sutherlin sanitary services - which currently transports garbage to a landfill about 100 miles away - will be responsible for collecting food waste and bringing IT to the newly founded social enterprise worm farm healterra, which will be the second partner in this proposed pilot project. The social enterprise worm farm is operated by non-profit source one serenity (source one), which serves veterans with ptsd. Source one's healterra composting and vermiculture facility was the first private organics recycling program in douglas county (county), an economically disadvantaged region of oregon. Although the social enterprise has demonstrated numerous positive effects in douglas county, due to the numerous challenges this rural community faces, healterra is not ready yet to be self-sustainable and still depends on external funding such as grants and donations. The city of sutherlin is taking the first step to provide more recycling options and collaborate with grassroots organizations in support of local economic development and veterans as this area has a high rate of the veteran population at approximately 13%. The city of sutherlin is also pursuing the goals of food waste reduction as fostered by the oregon department of environmental quality (DEQ).the pilot project includes ten kitchens in the city of sutherlin, and targets diversion of 10-15 tons of food waste a year from the landfill. Based on oregon DEQ estimates, 16% of landfilled material is food waste. The county and city are aware of the negative environmental impacts of landfilling organic materials, including surface and groundwater contamination and greenhouse gas generation. DUR tothe budgetary constraints and global challenges in recycling, the county has struggled to identify opportunities and develop a plan for composting and food waste reduction. This pilot project will test and demonstrate the feasibility of expanding food waste collection in the city and gather data and information on the viability of the program. Evaluation will include the effect of such a program as a starting point for the jurisdiction to move the region toward the united states' 2030 food loss and waste reduction goal. Several partners, including the oregon state extension office and sutherlin farmers market, will also participate in outreach that will play a critical role in helping this rural community - with almost non-existing infrastructure for recycling - move towards more environmentally sound and sustainable practices.