HOUSTON — Houston City Council is moving forward with an effort to improve food waste composting as the city grapples with limited landfill space.
The council approved an item to give Solid Waste Management authority to reapply for a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which aims to give the city more resources for food waste composting.
The grant is worth $400,000 and if acquired, would also lead to an additional $100,000 contributed by the Special Recycling Revenue Fund.
“The urgency is we are running out of landfill space and food waste is 24% of our municipal landfills,” At-Large Councilmember Sally Alcorn told KHOU 11 News. “Also the way it breaks down creates methane gases so it’s bad for the environment, so when I talk about composting, it's not so much that you have to go in your backyard and turn up the food and make your own compost, it's really just diverting your food waste.”
“Houston can improve the diversion rate of recyclable materials generated through the solid waste system by developing and testing strategies for planning and implementing municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans,” an explanation of the item by Solid Waste Management said.
The grant would aim to use funds for the following:
- Social media
- Broadcasting and public service announcements (PSA’s)
- Website development
- Focused direct education
- Food waste diversion collaboration with the Houston Food Bank and haulers.
- Residential food waste drop-off locations
- Compost distribution through Houston area multiservice centers and non-profit urban farms.