JACKSON, Wyo. — Teton County Integrated Solid Waste and Recycling (ISWR) was recently awarded $300,000 in funding through the Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Pilot Projects, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
The funding comes in tandem with a local cash match of $100,000. The funds will be used to pilot an air knife density separator, aimed at improving the ease of food waste diversion and increasing the number of commercial operations that can participate in ISWR’s composting program.
According to ISWR, the facility currently lacks a means of separating small, light, unpickable items like PLU stickers, so those items are prohibited from the stream.
“With the purchase of an air knife density separator, ISWR estimates that 500 tons of food waste could be removed annually from the waste stream by February of 2025, and by adding 500 tons each additional year, it will meet its goal of composting 4,000 tons of food waste annually, moving Teton County closer to its goal of 60% diversion of all waste from the landfill,” ISWR said in a press release announcing the funding.
ISWR began accepting food waste in February 2021 and rolled out the “Curb to Compost” program in July 2022.
According to ISWR, The “Curb to Compost” program focuses on commercial food-producing entities such as restaurants and grocery stores.
“The ISWR compost infrastructure is designed to handle 4,000 tons of food waste per year. In Fiscal Year 2022, the program processed 21.4 tons of food waste, leaving 3,978.6 tons remaining in the potential capacity,” states the press release.
The funding is part of a broad investment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture totaling $9.4 million to programs in 27 states and one territory.
The USDA announced the funding awards on Feb. 3.
“These Compost and Food Waste Reduction projects play important roles in building resilient, local food systems, including strong food recovery networks and food waste reduction solutions that benefit farmers and communities,” Terry Cosby, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, said in a press release. “With an estimated 4% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions attributable to uneaten food, local strategies and tools like these are important climate solutions.”
