4.7 Encourage and facilitate commercial composting and redistribution for rebuilding soils

Key Message: State law mandates that Sarasota and other large counties recycle 75% of their waste stream. Composting of yard waste contributes to that goal, but food waste is not collected or composted at large-scale. Conflicting interpretations of food waste management within county codes should be resolved to facilitate recovery and recycling of organic waste as a source of clean energy, an alternative to synthetic fertilizers, and a small-business opportunity.

Importance

The Sarasota County region is embracing an emerging strategy of managing urban and agricultural landscapes with biology, thereby minimizing, if not eliminating, chemical applications. Enhancing soil biology may be the most effective strategy to reduce the use and overuse of chemical fertilizers. When educated, residents and communities show strong interest in alternatives that promote soil health without relying on chemicals.

Policies that encourage and facilitate neighborhood and commercial composting for rebuilding soils are a priority that can fundamentally shift urban and agricultural nutrient management. Composting also reduces organic waste—including yard trimmings, food waste, and potentially wastewater biosolids—that would otherwise take up landfill space (see Chapter 3.2). When applied with key mineral nutrients as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers, compost provides organic material and microbial communities that rebuild soil carbon and nutrient storage, improves water retention, and enhances soil productivity. In turn, healthy soils hold more water, reducing water runoff, soil erosion, nutrient leaching, and pesticide loading to water bodies. In contrast, continued use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers depletes organic carbon, reduces soil capacity to fix nitrogen over time, and exacerbates polluted runoff.

Increased diversion and recovery of organics from the waste stream supports Sarasota County Government’s vision for sustainable and integrated waste management and moves the county closer to compliance with state legislation targeting a 75% recycling rate for large counties. Food and yard waste are valuable commodities that provide multiple environmental and economic benefits when converted to compost.

Overview

Large-scale commercial composting facilities are regulated by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), with exemptions for small- and medium-scale operations. Examples of large-scale composting operations include Harvest Power in Orlando, which processes Disney’s food waste into methane power, fertilizer, and reclaimed water, and Synagro’s facility in Punta Gorda, which composts yard waste and wastewater biosolids (though emerging concerns exist about PFAS contamination) (see Chapter 3.2).

The Sarasota County Solid Waste Master Plan proposed establishing a privately owned and operated Mixed Waste Recovery Facility (MRF) to capture additional recyclables and compost organics. However, no MRF has been built. The County is exploring the feasibility of a landscape waste/biosolids composting facility at the Central County Landfill (see Chapter 3.2).

While yard waste is collected and recycled, food waste is not. Mandatory recycling ordinances in the unincorporated County as well as the cities of North Port, Sarasota, and Venice all require separation, collection, and mulching of yard waste from all residential and commercial properties. Meanwhile, a 2011 study found that food waste (34,500 tons) and compostable paper (20,721 tons) comprised 15% of Sarasota County Government’s landfilled material (HDR 2016). Recovery and composting of food waste could help meet recycling goals, but County staff report that contractual obligations tied to landfill gas-to-energy programs require collection and sale of methane from landfilled organics. The scale of this commitment and its impact on composting opportunities warrants further analysis with County Solid Waste staff.

Conflicting definitions within Sarasota County Code add to the challenge. Food waste is classified both as a Commercial Waste requiring hauling by approved government contractors and as a Recyclable Material exempt from mandatory contractor hauling. This ambiguity affects whether private haulers can legally transport food waste for composting without violating government contractor agreements. So, food waste hauled as Recyclable Material intended for composting could be hauled by any private commercial company under a similar exemption as landscape waste haulers if Sarasota County Government reconsidered its interpretation of the code. In that case, food waste would still need to be hauled to an authorized county designated site, but currently, no sites have been designated by Sarasota County Government for the receipt and processing of food waste into compost.

In the City of Sarasota, recent code reinterpretations now allow food waste to be considered Recyclable Material. Commercial customers can contract with any City-registered hauler to transport food waste to an FDEP-permitted composting facility, such as 1 Stop Landscape Supply in Manatee County. The City is also considering a municipal program for residential and commercial food waste collection.

At small scales, neighborhood composting initiatives led by volunteers, such as those in Gillespie Park, Arlington Park, and North Water Tower Park (supported by Sunshine Community Compost), offer cost-effective, hyper-local solutions. Commercially, compost sells for about $30 per cubic yard at outlets like 1 Stop Landscape Supply and Big Earth Landscape Supply. While initial application costs exceed synthetic fertilizer by 15–50%, long-term savings result from improved soil health, reduced irrigation, and less frequent fertilizer applications.

Approach

Sarasota County Government could accelerate development of private commercial food waste composting by clarifying its code to allow authorized haulers to deliver food waste to FDEP-registered compost facilities. Since FDEP already has a regulatory framework for compost facilities, the Board of County Commissioners could designate any FDEP-permitted facility or exempt site as an authorized designated site under county ordinance.

Small business entrepreneurs could establish composting operations guided by best practices, creating new markets for food waste diversion and organic soil amendments. Organizations such as UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County, Sunshine Community Compost, Community Harvest SRQ, the Science and Environment Council, and local farm and garden centers could promote compost and biologically based fertilizers (“compost juice”) as alternatives to synthetic fertilizers.

The Gulf Coast Community Foundation, in collaboration with diverse partners, proposed the Restoring Ecosystems, Agriculture, and Community Health (REACH) Center to build a regional effort focused on healthy soils. The REACH Center will:

• Educate residents about the benefits of biologically diverse soils;
• Demonstrate sustainable farming practices; and
• Train individuals in biological fertilizer production for home and community-scale applications.

Once production scales, local farms and suburban communities have committed to adopting biologically based soil amendments. As of Spring 2025, the REACH Center proposal is under consideration for national funding support and should be locally supported for its tremendous co-benefits: regenerating soil productivity, improving rainwater infiltration, and sequestering carbon to mitigate climate change.