Client
Davis County Community School District & the City of Bloomfield
Location
Bloomfield, IA
In the state of Iowa, over 20% of municipal solid waste in the landfills is comprised of food waste, and K-12 schools are a big contributor to that total. The IWRC worked with the district to conduct three waste audits to measure kitchen and post-consumer food waste.
The IWRC calculated that Davis County CSD generates 48,420 pounds (24 tons) of food waste each year that is sent to the landfill. In-school prevention and reduction strategies were provided by the IWRC but the most effective method for diverting this waste from the landfill is through composting. The IWRC worked to help forge a partnership between the school district and the city to implement a composting pilot project.
With the IWRC’s expertise and assistance, the City of Bloomfield will begin composting the school district’s food waste off-site at the city’s yard waste composting site. The school district will be able to reduce its food waste sent to the landfill and the city will receive food scraps and waste that will help them increase the amount of compost they are able to create and provide to the community.
To learn more, visit: https://iwrc.uni.edu/food-waste/case-studies/bloomfield