384 Campbell County residents responded to the Kentucky Needs Assessment Survey that was completed in 2019.  Focus Groups were held to provide additional data for the community assessment. Since then, County Extension Council and Environmental Advisory Council meetings have identified composting education and implementation as a need in the county.  

The Campbell County Extension Service and the Campbell County Conservation District agreed to collaborate to address the issue and developed the Composting Education and Implementation Program. We received a $3500 grant from the Kentucky Division of Waste Management in the summer of 2020 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.  The partners matched grant funds and four events were held on September 22 and 23, November 18 and 23, 2020. Two hundred Campbell County households received a compost bin.

Due to COVID-19, the education and distribution programs were re-invented into “Composting 101 Drive-Through Events”. Participants stayed in their vehicles and the Extension Agent provided instruction on how to compost using the bin from a safe distance using safety protocols.  Participants received user agreements obliging them to provide data on the amount of food waste diverted from the landfill and the amount of compost produced. 

As an outcome of the Composting Education and Implementation program, 200 people were educated regarding the environmental benefits of composting. 71% of participants were first-time users of Extension and 95% live in the highly urban Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky metro areas according to the United States Census.  Data reported to the Extension Service through 155 Qualtrics surveys (78% response rate) indicated that the average household diverted 112 pounds of food waste from the landfill by composting since fall 2020. 36 gallons of yard waste were diverted from the landfill as well. The average household made 28 gallons or 114 pounds of compost. They indicated using compost as a soil amendment / fertilizer in vegetable and fruit gardens, yards, and around trees and shrubs.

Additional events were held May 5 and 11, 2021. Another 100 Campbell County households received compost bins.  Good news was received recently with the Kentucky Division of Waste Management awarding $7000 in the summer of 2021 for more events throughout 2021-2022.