Help Keep Food Scrap Composting Growing in Dubuque
*Recently Green Dubuque requested that the Public Works Dept. extend the "Green Cart" food scrap composting pilot through the winter months. The Public Works Dept.responded favorably with a proposal that offers year round pickup to interested participants.
The Dubuque landfill (DMASWA) is petitioning the Iowa DNR to increase its
composting capacity from 2 tons per week to 6 tons per week.
This
expansion will allow Dubuque to reduce the amount of waste going into the
landfill, create valuable compost for use by local businesses, and
substantially reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions.
Please join us in this worthwhile cause by kicking off an email campaign to
the Iowa DNR to encourage them to accept Dubuque's requested composting
increase.
We are trying to get 100 emails sent to the DNR. Thank you for
doing your part for a better future.
Keep up the good fight!
Below is a sample email to the DNR, which you can copy and paste into your
email, sign with your name and address, and email to Matt McDonald of the
DNR (
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
) with the subject “Composting in
Dubuque.”
Also, please forward this to anyone who might be willing to send an email
to the DNR.
Dear Mr. McDonald,
It was brought to our attention that the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid
Waste Agency (DMASWA) facility has reached its current maximum of managing
2 tons per week and has requested an additional 4 tons per week week to
meet increased demand. Green Dubuque Inc. along with other citizens of
Dubuque, Ia. are lobbying for an expansion of the limited composting
opportunities for food residuals in the business and residential sectors of
our city.
Composting is a waste to wealth conversion that creates a useful product
from organic waste that otherwise would have been landfilled. When organics
are landfilled instead of composted, their decomposition produces methane,
which is estimated by the IPCC to have 72 times the heat trapping potential
of carbon dioxide over a 20 year period. In order for Dubuque to reach its
landfill diversion and air quality goals, composting must be combined with
existing recycling programs.
The finished compost product has many beneficial applications.
Compost
application is one of the most effective soil retention strategies for
severe slopes and can also be used as a soil enhancer and storm water
pollution filter.
Due to Dubuque's location along the river, its hilly
topography, and its history of storm water runoff problems, these
improvements are central to the city's sustainability goals.
Currently, demand for compost exceeds production rates in the DMASWA
facility.
This forces purchasers to look to other, possibly out of state,
sources.
Many local businesses have expressed interest in composting their
organic waste, which would help meet the growing demand for compost, but
have been denied due to the 2 ton per week limit at the current facility.
This bottleneck impedes the growth of Dubuque's green economy and
frustrates those who are pursuing sustainable business practices.
As a citizen working toward a more sustainable future for Dubuque, I
request that the Iowa DNR grant the requested increase to 6 tons per week
maximum food residuals management at the DMASWA composting facility. This
will meet the current demand for compost and allow for the anticipated
future growth of best practices in our city. Thank you for your leadership
towards improved soil and water in the state of Iowa.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
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