WM2-1 Conduct, or hire a consultant to conduct legislative research to analyze compost facility permitting in states with robust commercial composting (e.g., California, Washington, Minnesota) vs. Illinois legislation and regulations and make a proposal for legislative change to enable robust food scrap composting in Illinois and Kane County communities.
WM2-2 Combat food waste by partnering with municipalities to encouraging retailers and restaurants to donate, reduce, reuse, or compost their unsold food, creating “zero-waste sections” where products are sold close to their expiration dates, and designating “zero-waste coaches” to raise awareness among staff and help manage products reaching the end of their marketable life. Edible unsold products will be donated. When not edible, organic waste will be composted through a City-approved vendor.
WM2-3 Expand networks for food rescue efforts to connect to hunger services. Collaborate with partners to create, incentivize, promote and expand networks for food rescue efforts to connect to hunger services as well as sourcing, distributing and marketing cosmetically imperfect produce particularly those which provide affordable produce to low income and food insecure community members.
WM2-4 Work with municipalities that do not currently include comingling of food scrap collection with yard waste in their waste programs to include it in their next bid for hauling services and to advertise it to residents.
WM2-5 Establish a pilot organics diversion and composting program. Explore the potential for compost pickup as well as on-site composting programs.
WM2-6 Close the loop on organics recycling; use compost as a soil amendment for all Kane County projects, prioritizing locally developed compost where possible. Encourage private construction projects to do the same.
WM2-7 Highlight the benefits of compost being used as a soil amendment and integrate the usage during routine landscape maintenance on local government or public properties.
WM2-8 Increase support for back-yard composting for communities without curbside compost pickup including compost education and improved access to materials like compost bags and composters.
