IMPLEMENTING A COUNTY-WIDE COMPOSTING PROGRAM

The anticipated closure of landfills, combined with the growing trend to minimize on-land disposal, motivated the passage in 1980 of the 'Waste Management Act. ' In response to the law, Ramsey County, Minnesota, developed a plan, called the landfill Abatement Proposal, which describes different strategies to minimize the County's future dependence on sanitary landfills for waste disposal. One of the study's recommendations suggested that the County develop a network of yard waste composting sites. Ramsey County staff identified a seven-step planning process for implementing the new program: Identify potential markets, estimate quantity of yard waste generated, estimate land requirements, site selection, site preparation, project publicity, and site operation. This process is discussed in the article.