Publication Summary

The Department of Ecology (Ecology) in Lacey, Washington, developed its Compost Demonstration Program in order to "walk the talk" of sustainability. By doing so, they reduced the organic portion of their trash and created a valuable product called compost. Based on that experience, Ecology has written this guide to help you set up and carry out a food scrap management program at your facility.

The first portion of the guide provides general steps that all institutions, agencies and business can take to develop a successful composting program.

Appendix A, Ecology′s Story details the birth and life of the composting program at Ecology. Appendix B, Lessons Learned, tells about some of the good and bad experiences that Ecology had when planning the Compost Demonstration Program. Appendix C, Case Studies gives a glimpse of various On-Site compost programs directed by institutions and agencies of different sizes. Appendix D, Tools, holds useful documents that can make managing your program easier. These include examples of waste audit procedures, food scrap collection logs, trouble shooting at the Compost Center and examples of graphics used to promote Ecology′s program.