A Giant Leap Towards Community Composting in Atlanta

(l-r) Food Well Alliance Project and Impact Manager Britni Burkhardsmeier, Director of Programs and Outreach J. Olu Baiyewu and Executive Director Kim Karris celebrate the EPA Sustainable Materials Grant with Truly Living Well Executive Director Carol Hunter and EPA Region 4 Administrator Mary S. Walker.

We have reached a new milestone for Community-based Composting in Atlanta. A $50,000 Sustainable Materials Grant recently awarded to Food Well Alliance by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will further the potential for a new Community Composting Lab under construction at Truly Living Well Center for Natural Urban Agriculture in Southwest Atlanta. 

The expansive Composting Lab, a pilot project funded by Food Well Alliance, is the first of its kind in metro Atlanta. Construction began in January 2019 and is expected to wrap up over the next several weeks with an official launch planned for spring of 2020. The 32 x 120 lab sits on a half acre of the farm’s property and will have two bays for collecting carbon and nitrogen materials that contribute to creating compost (feedstock), four bays for building and turning compost piles, and three bays for storing finished compost.

Community Composting Lab at Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture

“Thanks to the new EPA Grant, we’ll now have financial resources to help fund operations, maintenance, business plan development, and training for the lab,” said Food Well Alliance Director of Programs and Outreach J. Olu Baiyewu. “This lab will support Truly Living Well’s ability to have a ‘closed-loop’ system, where the creation of compost will go directly towards the growing of their crops. This presents a cost savings to the organization, which will positively impact the organization’s ability to deliver quality produce and programming to the community. As compost production levels increase, opportunities will be created for individuals and community gardeners to purchase high-quality, affordable, nutrient-rich compost.” 

Once the lab is fully installed, there will be numerous training opportunities for a wide audience of varying skill levels, including other compost experts, urban farmers, community gardeners, local food enthusiasts, and nearby residents and neighbors. 

Expanding the farm’s capacity to reach the community 

Training will be an especially important component prior to the lab’s launch and during its initial phases. While Truly Living Well’s staff are already skilled in community composting, they’ll receive additional composting best management practices from the Institute for Self Reliance, equipping them to conduct regular hands-on sessions for their neighbors and the surrounding community. Southface Institute will provide training on business and workforce development skills. All trainings will take place at the Composting Lab. 

According to Truly Living Well Executive Director Carol Hunter, the composting lab will expand the farm’s capacity to produce rich compost for local farms and growers. It will also divert tons of natural waste from local landfills. 

Hunter is equally excited about the potential to reach new people. “Our lab will involve residents and new growers in learning about natural food scrap diversion, the benefits of composting for local food production and environmental stewardship.” 

Ensuring effective design and construction

Quinton Watson of Urban Construction, LLC led the construction of the project. He traveled to New York to visit The New York Compost Project and Earth Matter NY so he could see existing compost facilities of this scale or larger. He wanted to understand their operations and maintenance in order to construct the facility appropriately and determine the best way to make adaptations. He was particularly interested in how the aeration systems functioned to ensure he designed, built, and installed the systems to fit Truly Living Well's facility.

“What was exciting about New York was to see the scale of their facilities,” said Watson. “They’ve figured out how to educate the public, get the public involved, and employ people. It’s a solution to problems we’re facing here in Atlanta and across the country. We have to take care of the soil because locally grown food is going to be the order of the day.”

The concept for the Community Composting Lab was developed at a Compost Design Table convened by Food Well Alliance in 2017. The table included representatives from Truly Living Well, Compostwheels (now CompostNow), and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Erik Martig of Conscious Compost worked closely with Truly Living Well staff on the initial designs for the facility. The Compost Design Table was tasked with addressing the issue that there is insufficient supply of “clean feedstock” (food scraps and other compostable materials free of pesticides, trash, etc.) that urban farms and community gardens in metro Atlanta can use to produce high quality compost. 

“This project is a marriage of resources being utilized towards the capacity building and self-sustainability of an organization (TLW) and all the individuals that are impacted by their presence and work,” said Baiyewu. “To grow healthy, nutrient-rich food requires healthy nutrient-rich soil; compost is a key element of this. It’s an honor to be a part of this partnership and project. This is a victory for all who care about the environment, healthy food, and sustainable communities.”