Yard wastes and vegetable scraps can make up as much as 20% of household garbage. Composting effectively recycles that waste into valuable, nutrient-rich organic matter that can be used as soil amendments to lawns and gardens much like you would a commercial fertilizer.

The Kentucky Extension Service Community Needs Assessment for Campbell County indicated that residents are concerned about illegal dumping and littering in their community. Meetings with the Extension Environmental Advisory Council and the County Extension Council in the winter of 2020 for the preparation of the Plan of Work indicated that there was a need for the for provision of composting options to reduce the dumping of food wastes.  Around the same time, a meeting was held with the County Solid Waste Coordinator and the Campbell County Conservation District Coordinator because they were hearing similar interest regarding composting in various communities. I composed a news article on the subject that was published in the Recorder Newspapers (circulation: 17,000 households) on May 7, 2020.

Additionally, the Campbell County Extension Service and the Campbell County Conservation District applied for and received a $3500 grant from the Kentucky Division of Waste Management for composting education and implementation in these communities of Campbell County: Alexandria, Bellevue, California, Crestview, Cold Spring, Dayton, Fort Thomas, Highland Heights, Melbourne, Mentor, Newport, Silver Grove, Southgate, Wilder, Woodlawn and the unincorporated county. Every household in Campbell County will receive the opportunity to register for the educational workshop where they will receive the compost bin.  The workshop will be hosted and taught by the Extension Agent for Natural Resources and Environmental Management.  Attendees will be required to provide a description and the amount that was input into their bin. They will have from the time they receive their compost bin (fall 2020) until the following growing season (spring 2021) to fill their compost bin. Once they begin to use their yield they will be asked to record the scoops used in their own garden.  Data will be reported to the Extension Service through a Qualtrics survey.  This information will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and for grant reporting purposes.  This is a new program in the county and the hope is that the compost bins will be enticing for registrants to come and learn about composting and the benefits.   The grant funding will allow up to 100 households to participate.