HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-26-22 Public Comment - K. Johnson - Compost Pilot Program in BozemanFrom:YES Compost LLC
To:Christopher Coburn; Agenda; Terry Cunningham; Jennifer Madgic; Jeff Mihelich; Cyndy Andrus; I-Ho Pomeroy
Subject:Compost Pilot Program in Bozeman
Date:Wednesday, October 26, 2022 3:51:46 PM
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Hello,
I am the owner of YES Compost LLC, a foodwaste composting and vermicomposting
business that operates in Bozeman and surrounding areas. I spoke at the commission meetingthe other week in response to the city's composting pilot project. I asked a number of
questions regarding the suggested pricing for trash/recycle/compost as well as made somesuggestions regarding the Opt-in / opt-out policy for the organics. However, I have yet to hear
answers or responses from anyone even after additional emails have been sent.
In short, after 5 years of managing food waste from our community I have a lot of experiencethat I think would be valuable for the city to hear about prior to rolling out the pilot organics
program. I have included a few bullet points below that I would like to discuss with therelevant parties:
Cost - $10/month - How was this determined? The average cost/month for bi-weekly
compost service that is offered in our community through private haulers is $16/month. I have a hard time seeing how the collection of the material using large garbage trucks
and the processing of that material (6-8 months of active management) can be paid forthrough a $10/month fee. Additionally, I think many other municipalities charge more
per month for this service, so Bozeman could be missing out on significant revenue withthis price.
Education - the key to getting a clean stream of organic waste is education. What is theplan for this, and how much money is earmarked for this process? I didn't see this
mentioned in the presentation, Mr Pasternak only mentioned the expense of the twogarbage trucks, which I believe should cost a similar amount to the funds required for a
proper educational campaign.Processing - co-mingled yardwaste and foodwaste is difficult to process together.
Woody sticks and branches must be ground up prior to composting which cannot bedone without specialized equipment if the woody matter also has foodwaste mixed in
with it. Also, yardwaste is notoriously contaminated with herbicides and pesticides, soany compost that is generated using this material CANNOT be used on farms without
risk of damaging their crops.Yardwaste Program - Mr. Pasternak was realistic about how BSW, under current
affairs/pricing, cannot maintain a proper buffer within the enterprise fund. How aboutcharging for the yardwaste collection that is currently being offered for free?
MSU - currently the city hauls and processes over 500K lbs of foodwaste from theuniversity annually, without charging the university for the service. Where is this
money coming from, and why isn't the university paying for this service?Commercial Accounts - will the city offer curbside foodwaste collection for businesses
within city limits?Procurement - The city has partnered with Happy Trash Can for this pilot without going
through a procurement process to notify other operators in the area of the opportunity towork with the city. After the pilot stage, will the city follow procurement process in
order to choose the most suitable vendor for managing the composting process?
I have worked really hard to build my business over the past 5 years and based on the cost of
the city's pilot program I stand to lose a significant amount of customers that don't understandthe true differences between the services that I offer in comparison to the city.
I would love an opportunity to speak with some or all of you about this (ideally with Kevin
Handelin as well) so that we can make sure the city's pilot and eventual service offerings are asuccess.
Thanks for your time!
-Karl
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KARL JOHNSON | OWNER-OPERATOR
(406) 219-7011 | yescompost.com
215 ARDEN DRIVE, BELGRADE, MT 59714