Compost Incentive Program

The Town of Mountain Village is currently working to reach a zero-waste goal by 2030, which means reducing the amount of trash sent to landfills from our community.

Food and yard waste can take up as much as 30 percent of your trash bin. By composting, you can significantly reduce the amount of waste you send to the landfill, and help the Mountain Village community achieve our zero-waste goals. The Mountain Village’s Green Team Committee is offering a recently revamped Composting Incentive Program that will allow Mountain Village homeowners to receive a fully-subsidized home composting unit.

How Does This Work?

The first 20 applicants will receive a home composting unit and scale. AS OF NOW, THERE ARE ONLY THREE SPOTS REMAINING. Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Along with a completed application, residents must also attend one of three trainings and provide food diversion data to the Green Team Committee through an online form. If participants fail to provide accurate data, they will be invoiced for the full amount of the composting unit and scale.

Composting Program Steps

01. Applying for your compost unit

The Town of Mountain Village requires all trash, recycling and composting units to be bear-proof and stored in an enclosure as approved by the Planning and Development Services Department. Amazingly, your subsidized composting unit can live INSIDE your home, or on a top deck. The unit's dimensions are 20" x 12" x 20", weighing only 22lbs!

Composting rebate incentive program application and supplemental documents must be submitted to Zoe Dohnal, Business Development and Sustainability Sr. Manager, by email, mail or in person at Town of Mountain Village, 455 Mountain Village Blvd, Suite A, Mountain Village, CO, 81435.

Documents required for a complete application include:
- Completed Application Form
- Proof of Ownership - Copy of current deed or title report on the affected property.
- Agency Letter - If the application is not submitted by the owner of the property, a letter of agency, signed by the property owner giving permission to a person to apply.
- Homeowners Association (HOA) Letter - For placement of the personal composter in a property that is owned in common by a homeowners association, the development application shall include:
  - A letter from HOA board giving permission for the application (Attached), and where a vote is required by the HOA governing documents, a copy of the proof of the vote and outcome of such vote.
  - A copy of the HOA governing documents, including bylaws and declaration.
- Application Narrative - A short, written narrative of the application that outlines the request and how requirements will be met. The narrative should include a summary of how the application will meet the key requirements of the composting unit, and how they will commit to providing Town staff a food diversion weight report (this helps calculate landfill diversion rates and greenhouse gas reductions).
- Site Plan - A site plan showing all proposed compost location showing:
  - Compost unit location (BioCOMpet Unit is 20” x 12” x 20”)
  - Compost distribution area for curing
  - Scale location
- Introduction and Letter of Acknowledgment - All applicants must participate in an introduction to composting meeting and sign a letter of acknowledgment with a full understanding of the correct composting process and program requirements.

APPLY NOW

02. Attend an in-person training

All applicants must participate in an introduction to composting meeting/training to ensure all have a full understanding of the correct composting process and program requirements. Applicants will also receive their composting unit and scale at this time.

Current training dates are:

Friday, February 28, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

03. Provide compost waste diversion data

Participating households MUST track and record the weight of compostable materials each time they access the unit for disposal. Reporting details required include details of the unit’s operation, the weight of materials removed from the waste stream, the weight of usable compost materials produced, purpose and use of the finished compost material, and any best practices for the operation of the unit discovered!

*If participants do not provide consistent and accurate data, they will be invoiced by the town for the full amount of the compost unit and scale.

PROVIDE YOUR WEIGHTS HERE

04. Compost Curing and Questions

Curing is the final stage of the composting process. The subsidized composting unit system includes a cure tray, we recommend leaving the compost in the tray as long as possible to cure and dry. The tray needs to be emptied once it is half full. This fresh compost attaches earthworms and other beneficial insects, so we encourage the cured compost to be deposited outside.

The compost can be stored outdoors to continue curing.

If participants do not have enough room to cure their compost in their yard or garden, we suggest working with our local farms, like Tomten Farms! They have ample space and always need compost!

UNFINISHED COMPOST may stress plants, causing them to yellow or stalling their growth. As an alternative, use compost as a mulch, and you don't have to worry about whether the compost is "finished" or not.
FINISHED COMPOST is dark brown, crumbly, and earthy-smelling. Small pieces of leaves or other ingredients may be visible. If the compost contains a lot of materials that are not broken down, it is only partly decomposed. This product can be used as a mulch, but adding partly decomposed compost to the soil can reduce the amount of nitrogen available to plants. The microorganisms will continue to do the work of decomposing but will use soil nitrogen for their own growth, restricting the nitrogen's availability to plants growing nearby.

05. Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) composting requirements

If your in-vessel compost is 10-square feet or smaller, is only used for vegetative and/or animal waste, and the compost is not being sold for any fee, then the CDPHE DOES NOT require reporting.
This does not apply to the Town of Mountain Village in-home composting unit. If your composting structure is larger than 10-square feet or has open-air elements, you will be required to report quantities and temperatures to the State of Colorado (CDPHE). They will ask you to follow their composting requirements by completing reporting requirements and providing additional documentation for the proposed composting structure.

For further assistance with this, please contact the CDPHE Solid Waste Materials Management Unit at (303) 692-3337.

Compost Incentive Program

How Does This Work?

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