2022-157-E-AMS-Eno River Farmers’ Market-Eno River Farmers’ Market Compost Monitors

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P a g e 7 o f 2 3 6. Project Name: Paid Compost Monitors for the Eno River Farmers’ Market Community Compost Collection 7. Please briefly describe the proposed project and the target population to benefit from the program. How many people will benefit? (100-300 words) This project will provide funding for compost monitors at the Eno River Farmers’ Market Community Compost Collection site. This will provide the oversight we need to ensure that only compostable items are collected. The monitors will also provide education to community members about composting and encourage household compost collection. This will help Orange County to decrease the amount of waste going to landfills, reduce methane emissions at the landfill, reduce transportation to a Waste and Recycling Center to drop off food waste, and will lead to the creation of rich compost that will increase the carbon capture of the soil in Orange County and the surrounding area. The Hillsborough Farmers’ Market draws primarily from northern Orange County, which is an area that is often left out of climate initiatives. Many community members have expressed appreciation for the Compost Collection at the Farmers’ Market: they are no longer having to make the longer car trip to the Walnut Grove Waste and Recycling Center; others who never composted before are starting to do so and have significantly decreased the amount of food waste they throw out as a result; others who were already composting at home are appreciative of the fact that they can bring items to the ERFM Community Compost Collection site that they cannot compost in their back yard, since the compostables are picked up by Brooks Contractors, an industrial composter with the ability to accept a broader range of compostables. This project will contribute to carbon reduction in several ways: by reducing methane levels at the landfill; by helping our soil to sequester more carbon and by reducing the carbon emissions from cars by providing a closer food waste drop off for residents of Northern Orange County. Based on current use numbers, we estimate that 400 community members per month will utilize this collection site. In addition, most of Orange County waste is sent to a landfill in Sampson County, where a poor minority community has had to deal with the smell and pollution of the mega landfill in their backyard. Reducing the waste that ends up in the landfill will have a positive impact on this community. *Please submit for each project if applying for funding for more than one project. DocuSign Envelope ID: AFC9D9B8-B7DD-46DF-8603-54762363FD20