Compost Pilot Program

Compost Pilot Program is sponsored by City of Detroit's Office of Sustainability. A pilot program launched in August 2025 to divert food waste from landfills, improve soil health, and lay the groundwork for a citywide composting system in Detroit.

Detroit's pilot compost program aims to reduce food waste – Planet Detroit Jøn Kent at Sanctuary Farms inspects finished compost. Planet Detroit file photo by Nina Ignaczak. -The Detroit pilot is funded through a one-year, $100,000 grant from Carhartt.

-“The pilot is an exciting step forward in how Detroit manages food waste and invests in our communities,” says Patrice Brown, the city's deputy director of urban agriculture. -The pilot program announcement comes in the wake of multiple grassroots composting projects that got started in Detroit.

A pilot food waste drop-off program launches in Detroit next week, bringing the city once step closer to operating a citywide composting system . The city’s Office of Sustainability announced Thursday that Detroiters can begin to register for its Composting Pilot Program Aug. 21.

The program, officials say, will start off with 200 residents and will help “divert food waste from landfills, improve soil health, and lay the groundwork for a citywide composting system. ” “The pilot is an exciting step forward in how Detroit manages food waste and invests in our communities,” said Patrice Brown, deputy director of urban agriculture at the city’s Office of Sustainability, in a statement.

“By turning scraps into nutrient-rich soil, we’re not only reducing what ends up in landfills, we’re creating a circular system that supports local forms, healthier neighborhoods, and sustainable food production. We’re proud to support residents with the tools and knowledge to be part of this change.

” The Detroit pilot is funded through a one-year, $100,000 grant from Carhartt, and administered via a partnership between Doers Edge , the city’s Department of Public Works, composting nonprofit Scrap Soils , and the city’s urban farms. The pilot program announcement comes in the wake of multiple grassroots composting projects that got started in Detroit.

Most recently, Sanctuary Farms announced the co-launch of the Detroit Community Compost Collection Project , a collaboration between the east side urban farm and six other Detroit “food, waste and environmental justice organizations. ” Several Michigan cities and school districts have launched or experimented with food scrap diversion programs, with Ann Arbor leading the way with its citywide curbside compost pickup .

Detroit officials say the pilot program “lays the foundation for a citywide composting system, beginning with multiple drop-off sites and working to expand to include curbside pickup. ” Voices: Michigan has a big food waste challenge. Here’s a roadmap for change Food waste is an environmental and economic failure.

Here are some ideas for how Michigan can do better. May 25, 2025 December 20, 2025 Guide: 6 ways to fight food waste in Michigan Michigan residents are taking action against food waste, leveraging tech tools like Flashfood and Too Good To Go to save surplus food from landfills. Composting initiatives, both at home and through local services, are gaining traction.

Community efforts to donate excess food to nonprofits are empowering neighbors, while smart shopping and meal planning are reducing… by Nina Misuraca Ignaczak May 23, 2025 May 30, 2025 A Detroiter’s guide to urban composting Here are some easy tips to get you started with composting while avoiding rodents and bad smells.

Pilot program helps curb citywide food waste problem Michigan ranks eighth in the nation for landfilled food waste , according to ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on reducing food waste across the U.S. food system. THe landfilled food waste contributes to climate-warming methane emissions. City officials say the pilot program supports Michigan’s 2030 statewide goal of diverting 50% of food waste from landfills.

They hope the pilot can divert as many as 220 pounds of food scraps daily, or over 80,000 pounds over the course of a year. Dropped off food scraps will be processed by an on-site composter, officials say, and the digested material will be transported to local farms to help with their food production efforts.

The city’s Urban Agriculture Division, part of the Office of Sustainability, is responsible for tracking the total waste diverted throughout the pilot program and sharing the data with the Department of Public Works’ Solid Waste Division. Program participation will be tracked in monthly reports.

“Composting gives us a special opportunity to turn the problem of unmanaged food waste into the solution,” said Liana Li, co-founder and COO of Scrap Soils. “Healthier soil structures and nutritionally dense foods produced at the local level, are a few of the major impacts Detroiters will make by engaging with this program. ” To register for the pilot program, residents must fill out a sign-up form .

Those who need assistance filling out the form can directly email sustainability@detroitmi. gov with “composting program” in the subject line. Composting drop-offs will take place weekly at the Detroit People’s Food Co-op from 3 p.

m. to 7 p. m.

Thursdays and from 9 a. m. to noon Saturdays.

Five-gallon composting buckets are free for the first 200 residents to register. Ethan Bakuli Climate Solutions and Service Journalism Reporting Fellow Bakuli joins the team after covering education and community issues for Chalkbeat Detroit and working as a freelance journalist reporting on race and labor issues.

Before launching his career as a reporter, he taught high school students how to produce audio and visual stories about their communities, an experience that cemented his belief in the power of community-led journalism. Planet Detroit Families — local environment & health news for parents + kids. Free.

Independent nonprofit journalism Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license. Close window Republish this article This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4. 0 International License .

Detroit launches pilot composting program, ‘lays the foundation’ for citywide system by Ethan Bakuli, Planet Detroit <h1>Detroit launches pilot composting program, ‘lays the foundation’ for citywide system</h1> <p class="byline">by Ethan Bakuli, Planet Detroit <br />August 14, 2025</p> <p>A pilot food waste drop-off program launches in Detroit next week, bringing the city once step closer to operating a citywide <a href="https://planetdetroit.

org/2024/03/detroit-urban-farming-tepfirah-rushdan/">composting system</a>. </p> <p>The city’s Office of Sustainability announced Thursday that Detroiters can begin to register for its Composting Pilot Program Aug. 21.

The program, officials say, will start off with 200 residents and will help “divert food waste from landfills, improve soil health, and lay the groundwork for a citywide composting system. ”</p> <p>“The pilot is an exciting step forward in how Detroit manages food waste and invests in our communities,” said Patrice Brown, deputy director of urban agriculture at the city’s Office of Sustainability, in a statement.

</p> <p>“By turning scraps into nutrient-rich soil, we’re not only reducing what ends up in landfills, we’re creating a circular system that supports local forms, healthier neighborhoods, and sustainable food production. We’re proud to support residents with the tools and knowledge to be part of this change.

”</p> <p>The Detroit pilot is funded through a one-year, $100,000 grant from Carhartt, and administered via a partnership between <a href="https://www. linkedin. com/company/doers-edge-llc">Doers Edge</a>, the city’s Department of Public Works, composting nonprofit <a href="https://scrapsoils.

com/">Scrap Soils</a>, and the city’s urban farms. </p> <p>The pilot program announcement comes in the wake of multiple grassroots <a href="https://www. c40.

org/case-studies/detroit-composting-for-community-health/">composting projects</a> that got started in Detroit. </p> <p>Most recently, <a href="https://planetdetroit. org/2025/05/michigan-food-waste-composting/">Sanctuary Farms announced</a> the co-launch of the <a href="https://www.

sanctuaryfarming. com/soil/dcccp">Detroit Community Compost Collection Project</a>, a collaboration between the east side urban farm and six other Detroit “food, waste and environmental justice organizations. ”</p> <p>Several Michigan cities and school districts have launched or experimented with food scrap diversion programs, with Ann Arbor leading the way with its <a href="https://www.

a2gov. org/trash-recycle-and-compost/compost/">citywide curbside compost pickup</a>. </p> <p>Detroit officials say the pilot program “lays the foundation for a citywide composting system, beginning with multiple drop-off sites and working to expand to include curbside pickup.

”</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pilot-program-helps-curb-citywide-food-waste-problem">Pilot program helps curb citywide food waste problem</h2> <p>Michigan<a href="https://planetdetroit. org/2025/05/michigan-food-waste-crisis/"> ranks eighth in the nation for landfilled food waste</a>, according to ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on reducing food waste across the U.S. food system.

THe landfilled food waste contributes to climate-warming methane emissions. </p> <p>City officials say the pilot program supports Michigan's 2030 <a href="https://www. michigan.

gov/egle/about/organization/materials-management/composting/food-waste">statewide goal of diverting 50% of food waste</a> from landfills. They hope the pilot can divert as many as 220 pounds of food scraps daily, or over 80,000 pounds over the course of a year.

</p> <p>Dropped off food scraps will be processed by an on-site composter, officials say, and the digested material will be transported to local farms to help with their food production efforts.

</p> <p>The city’s Urban Agriculture Division, part of the Office of Sustainability, is responsible for tracking the total waste diverted throughout the pilot program and sharing the data with the Department of Public Works’ Solid Waste Division. Program participation will be tracked in monthly reports.

</p> <p>“Composting gives us a special opportunity to turn the problem of unmanaged food waste into the solution,” said Liana Li, co-founder and COO of Scrap Soils. </p> <p>“Healthier soil structures and nutritionally dense foods produced at the local level, are a few of the major impacts Detroiters will make by engaging with this program. ”</p> <p>To register for the pilot program, residents must <a href="https://app.

smartsheet. com/b/form/42158a2327a54771abcc7b682a069160">fill out a sign-up form</a>. Those who need assistance filling out the form can directly email sustainability@detroitmi.

gov with "composting program" in the subject line. </p> <p>Composting drop-offs will take place weekly at the Detroit People's Food Co-op from 3 p. m.

to 7 p. m. Thursdays and from 9 a.

m. to noon Saturdays. </p> <p>Five-gallon composting buckets are free for the first 200 residents to register.

</p></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://planetdetroit. org/2025/08/detroit-launches-food-waste-pilot/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://planetdetroit. org">Planet Detroit </a> and is republished here under a <a target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.

org/licenses/by-nc/4. 0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4. 0 International License</a>.

<img src="https://planetdetroit. org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cropped-globe-1-150x150. png" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"></p> <img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://planetdetroit.

org/? republication-pixel=true&post=24150&ga4=G-5QQJ9SVV07" style="width:1px;height:1px;"> Detroit launches pilot composting program, ‘lays the foundation’ for citywide system Ethan Bakuli, Planet Detroit A pilot food waste drop-off program launches in Detroit next week, bringing the city once step closer to operating a citywide composting system.

The city’s Office of Sustainability announced Thursday that Detroiters can begin to register for its Composting Pilot Program Aug. 21. The program, officials say, will start off with 200 residents and will help “divert food waste from landfills, improve soil health, and lay the groundwork for a citywide composting system.

” “The pilot is an exciting step forward in how Detroit manages food waste and invests in our communities,” said Patrice Brown, deputy director of urban agriculture at the city’s Office of Sustainability, in a statement. “By turning scraps into nutrient-rich soil, we’re not only reducing what ends up in landfills, we’re creating a circular system that supports local forms, healthier neighborhoods, and sustainable food production.

We’re proud to support residents with the tools and knowledge to be part of this change. ” The Detroit pilot is funded through a one-year, $100,000 grant from Carhartt, and administered via a partnership between Doers Edge, the city’s Department of Public Works, composting nonprofit Scrap Soils, and the city’s urban farms.

The pilot program announcement comes in the wake of multiple grassroots composting projects that got started in Detroit. Most recently, Sanctuary Farms announced the co-launch of the Detroit Community Compost Collection Project, a collaboration between the east side urban farm and six other Detroit “food, waste and environmental justice organizations.

” Several Michigan cities and school districts have launched or experimented with food scrap diversion programs, with Ann Arbor leading the way with its citywide curbside compost pickup. Detroit officials say the pilot program “lays the foundation for a citywide composting system, beginning with multiple drop-off sites and working to expand to include curbside pickup.

” Pilot program helps curb citywide food waste problem Michigan ranks eighth in the nation for landfilled food waste, according to ReFED, a national nonprofit focused on reducing food waste across the U.S. food system. THe landfilled food waste contributes to climate-warming methane emissions. City officials say the pilot program supports Michigan's 2030 statewide goal of diverting 50% of food waste from landfills.

They hope the pilot can divert as many as 220 pounds of food scraps daily, or over 80,000 pounds over the course of a year. Dropped off food scraps will be processed by an on-site composter, officials say, and the digested material will be transported to local farms to help with their food production efforts.

The city’s Urban Agriculture Division, part of the Office of Sustainability, is responsible for tracking the total waste diverted throughout the pilot program and sharing the data with the Department of Public Works’ Solid Waste Division. Program participation will be tracked in monthly reports.

“Composting gives us a special opportunity to turn the problem of unmanaged food waste into the solution,” said Liana Li, co-founder and COO of Scrap Soils. “Healthier soil structures and nutritionally dense foods produced at the local level, are a few of the major impacts Detroiters will make by engaging with this program. ” To register for the pilot program, residents must fill out a sign-up form.

Those who need assistance filling out the form can directly email sustainability@detroitmi. gov with "composting program" in the subject line. Composting drop-offs will take place weekly at the Detroit People's Food Co-op from 3 p.

m. to 7 p. m.

Thursdays and from 9 a. m. to noon Saturdays.

Five-gallon composting buckets are free for the first 200 residents to register. This article first appeared on Planet Detroit and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4. 0 International License.

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