As of July 2023, The finished compost is being provided to participating community gardens and organizations, and will soon be extended to the entire network of community gardens, parks and public works planting projects.

The Richmond Compost Initiative is funded through September 2023.

Funds are being used to design and construction a processing site and install drop off stations across the city. We are contracting RealRoots Food Systems to manage the processing and quality of the finished product. Some funds will be used to supplement labor costs associated with picking up and processing the food scraps.

The pilot program is designed to prove the concept of community composting so that we can move toward fully adopting municipal composting in the City of Richmond. Participation and feedback from you will be critical as we seek future funding opportunities.

Carbon retention is the long-term storage of carbon in soils and vegetation resulting from applications of compost and mulch to land. Soils hold more carbon than the atmosphere or plant and animal life combined.