Susan Alexander manages the Lamoille Soil Composting Facility in Johnson, VT. Originally established to process landfill-banned food scraps from residents at municipal facilities, Lamoille Soil now also serves small commercial haulers in the 12-town District. Together with her team, Alexander built Lamoille Soil from scratch and it is now an award-winning compost operation selling all finished material directly back into the local community. Alexander was an early supporter of composting operations in Vermont serving on the Board of Directors for the Highfields Institute and the Highfields Center for Composting and is a member of the Composting Association of Vermont. Alexander has a degree in Soil Science from Cornell University and has spent most of her career working in water and soil quality. She completed a year-long training in Allen Savory’s Holistic Management and Regenerative Agriculture program and currently is a member of the Vermont Farm to Plate Exchange on Soil Health, Climate, and the Environment.

Session Code: 1E

Track: Advocacy/Policy

Session Name: Permitting-Experiences Around the States

Session Time: Wednesday, February 7, 8:15 – 9:45 AM

Presentation Title: Lamoille Soil: The Perfect Trifecta of Regulation, Infrastructure, and Money

Presentation Description: Vermont’s legislature unanimously voted to ban food scraps from its only landfill. This may seem unusual for a rural state with a reputation for homesteading however, climate change and diminishing landfill space inspired lawmakers to pass the first-in-the-country statewide ban on food scraps. Beginning with the largest generators (Cabot cheese, Alchemist beer, Ben and Jerry’s) the law required separation based on quantity and proximity to a processing facility. The ban was phased in over time eventually covering every waste basket and trash bin in the state. No mercy!

LRSWMD has 5 facilities that accept two dozen materials such as books, computers, lightbulbs, and textiles, yet food scraps were not in our portfolio. The law required we also accept food scraps at our facilities and the challenge was what to do with those putrescibles once on site. So, the search ensued including neighboring compost facilities, an out-of-state depackaging and AD facility, and building a compost facility from scratch. We settled on a 4th option: renovating a long abandoned biosolids composting facility.

With a regulatory timeline looming, and a nearby (albeit decrepit) location selected, paying for this enterprise was our next hurdle. As with so many laws this was an unfunded mandate and frugal Vermonters were not willing to throw money at something they could throw to their chickens. Serendipity struck in the form of a federal grant opportunity and we were able to successfully demonstrate that (re)building a local composting facility would satisfy the economic development criteria attached to those federal funds.

Today Lamoille Soil is fully operational, produces stellar compost, and has attained our financial goal of being self-supporting. This can happen in your community too and we are ready to share our story!