LEXINGTON, Ky — The City of Lexington is looking to expand its composting pilot program. Currently, the city offers mulch for yard waste, but more and more people are interested in food waste composting.

Steven Rogers, recreation manager for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said the composting program will help not only the city, but also the environment at McConnell Springs Park.

“I’m turning the compost so that it has an opportunity to aerate and material can workaround. So the material on top can work down to the bottom,” Rogers said. “It’ll get morning sun, it’ll get some sunlight that’ll come through in the afternoons and he gets some really good leaf litter that falls directly into this compost bin.”

One of the composts on display for people visiting McConnell Springs Park in Lexington. (Spectrum News 1/Khyati Patel)

Rogers used a compost bin to show not only the process, but the importance of composting.

It’s all set up by the Environmental Services department to show people the process.

“The park is using it with education programs. So as kids come in for field trips and they have lunch here. If they have carrots and bags leftover or any kind of food that would be leftover, that could be composted,” Roger said. “We can talk to them about composting and use those materials as this bit.” 

The material will eventually break down into the soil for use in flower beds at the park, which will reduce the amount that goes into landfills.

“So instead of adding that waste and reducing the footprint of those landfills, we’re re-purposing it in a natural area,” Rogers said. “And hopefully, we’re educating people on how they can do this at their home at the same time because that’s really where we see the bigger impact.”

Angela Poe is working toward that impact. She’s with the Environmental Quality and Public Works division.

“The organic matter that is in compost is such a great resource,” Poe said. “It’s kind of a shame to put it in a landfill and seal it up.”

Poe is educating people through workshops so that the compost cycle continues to help grow vegetables or flowers right in a backyard.

“The city doesn’t have a large-scale composting program,” Poe said. “We have mulch that we do, but for just yard waste. People ask about food scraps all the time, so we wanted to help enable people to do that at home if they’re interested.”

It’s turning food scraps into fertilizer.

“We’re actually reaching out and hopefully helping the problem and making a new sustainable action for people to use daily,” Poe said.

She said they’re planning on a couple of workshops next year. They’re partnering with Seedleaf, a Lexington community garden organization, to educate people and they’re expanding the program from 60 to 100 households.