Colorado grant helps to increase capacity at composting company

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has granted more than $101,000 to Table to Farm Compost, Durango, Colorado, to help achieve the state’s waste reduction goals.

“In the midst of a crisis, we are supporting jobs and the economy,” Table to Farm Compost co-owner Monique DiGiorgio told The Journal.

Colorado aims to divert 28 percent of solid waste from landfills into composting or recycling operations by 2021. The soil created by Table to Farm Compost is delivered to local farms that grow organic produce, keeping the money in the community, DiGiorgio said.

“We were so pleased to support Table to Farm Compost in reducing waste in rural Southwest Colorado,” said Kendra Appelman-Eastvedt, program administer for Colorado’s Pollution Prevention Advisory Board.

According to The Journal, Table to Farm Compost used the grant to purchase new equipment that will help make their work more efficient as well as handle a larger array of compostable items, such as glass. DiGiorgio and the company’s other co-owner, Taylor Hanson, can now grind, mix, sift and bag their compost by machine.

DiGiorgio said ground-up glass is a great addition to their soil, and perfectly safe.

Table to Farm Compost opened four years ago to encourage residents to save their scraps for the creation of soil, instead of for a landfill. The city gave the company a permit to compost instead of setting up their own composting system from scratch.

The producers have since grown to 340 customers who donate their food scraps to create a healthier organic soil for local farmers and gardeners. It is $18 per month for customers to compost a 5-gallon bucket with Table to Farm Compost, but the company started a promotional deal earlier this week that gives customers the first month free.

“It’s too cheap and easy to throw stuff into the trash,” DiGiorgio said. She and Hanson said they hope to work with waste haulers and the city of Durango to level the playing field for composting in terms of cost. But the equipment is a good start because it will make their work more efficient.

In December, Table to Farm Compost partnered with the grocery store Albertsons and nearby community Twin Buttes to increase the amount of food waste they composted. DiGiorgio and Hanson are also working with both north and south City Market to include the high-producing grocery stores in their composting program.

Jessica Trowbridge, a spokeswoman with King Soopers/City Market, said the company has a zero-waste plan that aims to eliminate any waste created by the company by 2025.

“As part of eliminating waste, we have implemented composting programs in our stores across the state,” Trowbridge said. “We are currently engaged with Table to Farm and hope to bring this partnership to life in our Durango stores in the near future.”