Montezuma County has been building something special at our local landfill: an 11-acre commercial composting facility that turns food scraps into compost.

The Montezuma County Landfill has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into its composting infrastructure in the past few years. In 2020, the facility acquired a new trommel screener with help from a $127,500 grant from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In 2022, the operation expanded further with the purchase of a Backhus A58 Windrow Turner, funded largely by a $379,000 state grant. Together, this equipment handles the turning and mixing of compost piles and the screening of finished compost into a high-quality soil product.

Right now, the landfill primarily produces compost from biosolids. This type of compost is great for flower gardens, lawns, and trees, but is not recommended for vegetable gardens. But the composting area was intentionally designed to keep different compost types separate, which means the facility has the equipment and capacity to produce a second grade of compost from food scraps. Unlike biosolids compost, food waste compost is safe for use in vegetable gardens, making it more versatile for local growers.

That's why having two types of compost matters.

That's where we come in. Our service will be the first food waste collection in the area, and the landfill has expressed strong support for this effort.