Compost Is Coming!

This Earth Day, we took a meaningful step in our effort to get a composting facility started in Topeka. But to fully tell the story and really catch you up, we need to go back to last Earth Day [cue flashback sequence]...

Last Earth Day, in conjunction with the "How to Recycle (Almost) Everything" presentation, we met Jim Tuchscherer. We really connected with Jim as someone who is truly passionate about environmentalism. As you might expect from the man who started Topeka's first and longest-running curbside recycling service (Home Recycling Service), Jim is all-in on sustainability. So of course he's not just into recycling; he also knows a lot about composting.

When we met Jim, we had just started our partnership with Compost Collective KC. We were thrilled to have a composting option for people without their own system at home but knew we ultimately wanted to see a compost facility started locally. We had heard Shawnee County Solid Waste was interested in pursuing it, but when we met with them to talk, it was clear they were not planning to take action in the foreseeable future. Something needed to happen, but we knew Full Circle didn't have the bandwidth to tackle it all by ourselves. So Jim—who had a truck, a tractor, land suitable for a composting site, and decades of composting experience—was the perfect partner! Our meeting was a little Earth Day miracle. 

We immediately started partnering with Jim to recycle plastics and cartons that we could not recycle through Shawnee County Solid Waste and gradually started formulating our composting plans. We came up with a model and a site diagram. And we started the compost site registration process with the Kansas Department of Health & Environment, which is required for any site that processes compost from more than four households.

During that process, we learned we would need a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from Shawnee County in order to put a compost site (even a small one) on Jim's land. That sounded a bit intimidating and even somewhat risky, since it would mean putting down a sizable application fee with no guarantee that the permit would be approved. So we took the winter to reflect and regroup. But this spring, we decided to take the chance, got all the documents together, met with County staff, and submitted the CUP application this week.

Once accepted, our application will go to the Planning Commission for consideration—likely in June—and to the Board of County Commission—hopefully in July. We're crossing our fingers that the permit will be approved without much concern or discussion. We believe the site, which is located outside city limits, is an appropriate location that will not present a nuisance to neighbors. We trust Jim to maintain it properly to prevent smells and rodents. And the public will not be able to drop off compost there directly, so it will not increase traffic on those rural roads. The Kansas Department of Health & Environment has indicated that if the County approves the Conditional Use Permit, they will approve the composting site. So we are optimistic that if we can get through these next two steps, we will have the go-ahead from all the entities involved. 

That being said, you never know what will occur and who might come out in opposition to our plan. We would love to have some of you attend the upcoming hearings to show public support for a compost facility in Shawnee County—both the one we are proposing and, one day, an even larger one operated or funded by Shawnee County Solid Waste.

Stay tuned for details about the meeting dates, times, and locations as well as how to voice your support in advance of the hearings. We'll update this post with those details as they emerge and include them in the Full Circle newsletter.

As someone who likes moving fast and getting stuff done, the process of bringing community composting to Topeka has felt painfully slow. But in that way, it's a little like composting itself. If you look at your pile every day, it'll feel like nothing's happening. But look back over months or a year, and you'll be amazed at the transformation. From a bunch of banana peels, apple cores, leaves, grass, and twigs...compost is coming!

-Justine

Photo Credit: Freepik