QC
FEATURE
PHOTO COURTESY OF CITY OF LARGO
Largo’s fun, educational videos educate residents about the benefits of composting.
SUSTAINABILITY
Residents Dig Composting Education, free bins and online resources are effective by Sheryl S. Jackson Florida League of Cities
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ore than 30% of what people throw away is compostable: food scraps, shredded paper and yard waste, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Composting keeps these materials out of landfills, where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. After the material undergoes a chemical and biological transformation, composting creates a rich, dark soil that suppresses plant diseases and pests and reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. Several Florida cities have implemented composting programs as part of their sustainability initiatives. MIAMI BEACH PROVIDES COMPOST HUBS
The City of Miami Beach collaborated with the Miami Beach Botanical Gardens to start a central composting hub at the Botanical
Gardens using a $50,000 environmental sustainability grant and create signage for the pilot program. Gardens’ staff use the finished 36 QUALITY CITIES | FOURTH QUARTER 2022
compost throughout the gardens and offer it for sale. Amy Knowles, the City’s Chief Resilience Officer, said the Gardens provided a great location in South Beach. There was an easy entry for community members who were dropping off materials for composting, and staff could oversee drop-offs. Public response to the community compost hub was so great that the North Beach Compost Hub was opened in 2020 to serve the North Beach area, she said. “The second site serves residents that live farther away and is a 24-hour self-serve drop-off hub.” While the community hubs stay busy, the City is taking steps to promote home composting. Rolando Martinez, Sustainability Specialist for the City, said, “We recently awarded a grant to a local community organization to create a program that provides bins to residents who want to compost in their own yards.” Partnering with community organizations is important to the success of composting and the overall sustainability program,