STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction
AGENDA DATE: December 8, 2021
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S): All
DEPARTMENT: Department of Sanitation Services
EXECUTIVE: Joey Zapata
______________________________________________________________________
SUBJECT
title
Authorize (1) the acceptance of a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service for FY2021 Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production for the Community Compost and Food Waste Reduction CCFWR Pilot Project (Grant No. NR213A750001C039, CFDA No. 10.935) to provide two years of funding for contractual services to collect and compost food scraps from special events and selected commercial entities in the amount of $90,000.00 for the period October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2023; (2) the receipt and deposit of grant funds in an amount not to exceed $90,000.00 the FY2021 USDA Community Compost & Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program (ZERO WASTE) Fund; (3) the establishment of appropriations in an amount not to exceed $90,000.00 in the FY2021 USDA Community Compost & Food Waste Reduction Pilot Program (ZERO WASTE) Fund; (4) an In-Kind match in an amount not to exceed $30,000.00 of staff time and costs for outreach and education from the Office of Environmental Qualify & Sustainability-Zero Waste; (5) execution of the grant agreement and all terms, conditions, and documents required by the grant agreement; and (6) execution of a Memorandum of Understanding with Dallas County, Health and Human Services Department - Total not to exceed $120,000.00 - Financing: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Funds ($90,000.00) and In-Kind Contributions ($30,000.00)
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BACKGROUND
The overall objectives of the USDA Community Compost & Food Waste Reduction Pilot Grant Program is to develop and test strategies for planning and implementation that will (1) generate compost; (2) increase access to compost for agricultural producers; (3) reduce reliance on, and limit the use of, fertilizer; (4) improve soil quality; (5) encourage waste management and permaculture business development; (6) increase rainwater absorption; (7) reduce municipal food waste; and (8) divert food waste from landfills within the context of commercial outlets and special events.
The CCFWR Pilot Project entitled the Dallas Commercial Compost & Special Events Pilot Project helps the City of Dallas Sanitation Services Department (SAN), Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability (OEQS), and Office of Special Events (OSE), in partnership with Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services (DCHHS) meet this goal. OEQS, SAN, OSE, and DCHHS will work together to implement this project to reduce food waste and simultaneously provide compost to local community gardens. The City will contract with a company that will collect food waste from restaurants and special events held in one or more designated commercial areas of Dallas.
This award will be used to fund via contracted services the collection of organic waste from businesses and events in the one or more Dallas entertainment districts. The third-party vendor will conduct the physical collections, supply exterior hardware, and process material into compost and redistribution the end-product.
The finished compost will be transferred to the City of Dallas’s partner Dallas County HHS. DCHHS will be responsible for allocation of compost generated from the collected organic waste to community gardens who have memorandums of understanding in place with DCHHS’s Community Gardens Program.
The “in-kind” portion of the grant will be supplied by OEQS-Zero Waste, who will initially identify and recruit commercial entities into the program. They will then supply support through the provision of education and outreach materials on the goals, operations, and benefits of the program to all stakeholders. This will include participating business owners, special event organizers and the public.
In addition to the compost produced, the program will generate data that will facilitate and assist the City in the authoring of future mandates or ordinances on food wastes generated by commercial businesses and special events. This data will also be provided as feedback to the participants in support of the “Reduce, Reuse” upper tiers of the Waste Management hierarchy.
The period of this pilot program will be from October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2023.
PRIOR ACTON/REVIEW (COUNCIL, BOARDS, COMMISSIONS)
This item has no prior action.
FISCAL INFORMATION
|
Fund |
FY 2022 |
FY 2023 |
Future Years |
|
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Services Funds |
$ 90,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
In-Kind Contributions |
$ 30,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |
|
Total |
$ 120,000.00 |
$0.00 |
$0.00 |