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Using a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, city officials are preparing to launch a pilot program to collect food waste from citizens to create compost.
A network of food waste receptacles will be distributed at community garden sites, Richmond Public Libraries, recycling convenience centers and other community organizations, Kate Rivara, community garden coordinator at Richmond’s parks and recreation facilities, said in a statement. The waste will be processed at a central composting site and redistributed to community gardens and partnering organizations, Rivara added.
Expected to begin on March 1, the program is being funded through a $2 million grant distributed by the USDA to waste reduction projects across the country, U.S. Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, said in a statement. Richmond is expected to receive $90,000 over the next two years to get the composting program up and running, Rivara said.
The composting initiative could lead to an appreciable reduction in food waste, but the results depend on the city’s execution, says John Jones, an assistant professor of urban food systems at Virginia Commonwealth University, who is conducting research on the challenges that cities face regarding urban food production and distribution.
Turning Richmond’s food waste into compost can lead to more urban farming and produce development, Jones says. And growing food locally helps reduce the need to import food from elsewhere, reducing food waste.
“There is a potential with programs like this to rethink the nature of what 21st-century cities look like,” Jones says.
