Lessons Learned from Colorado and Michigan: aligning organics diversion programs with regulatory and planning initiatives.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment commissioned a Statewide Organics Management Plan to identify options and recommendations to increase organic waste diversion throughout the State. Tetra Tech evaluated the current organics management infrastructure and identified barriers that may be limiting organics diversion growth to understand the gaps and challenges relating to successful organics diversion across the state. While the project was specific to Colorado, the methodology is applicable to other states and regions.

During this session, we will also hear from the Cedar Rapids Linn County Solid Waste Agency about how organics management strategies align with climate action plan strategies, highlight the climate mitigation potential, and begin the discussion on how we can better align solid waste planning with climate action planning. To help learn how these organics management strategies are applied in our solid waste community, you will hear directly from the Agency about its multiprong approach to finding organic solutions and the greenhouse gas reduction quantification for each solution.