$15 million EPA grant for Southeast composting projects latest in local expansion efforts

The Central of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has received $15 million in funding via the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction grant program.

The Tribe will use the money to expand composting in Juneau and tribal communities across Southeast Alaska. It’s part of a larger trend of funding for composting in the region.

Tlingit & Haida Environmental specialist Cer Scott said the Tribe was surprised to receive the grant. They’re still developing more specific plans for how to use it, but they hope it will go towards strengthening existing composting operations in the region. 

“We’re not looking to reinvent the wheel,” Scott said. “We’re more so looking to serve as a resource to help these composters expand and reach new heights, whether that be with their local composting groups or the local municipalities, forming together partnerships across the region.”

The Tribe’s environmental department said they’re interested in working Tribal communities like Wrangell, Hoonah, Petersburg and Yakutat, which already have local composting programs. They’re in preliminary talks with leaders in those places, but the Tribe says they’re open to working with other communities too. 

Brandi Tolsma is also an environmental specialist for Tlingit and Haida. She said they’re relatively new to the world of composting, but they’re eager to invest in it. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, annual CO2 emissions from food waste and food loss are comparable to that of 42 coal-fired power plants.

And food waste is the single most common kind of waste in U.S. landfills. In Juneau, a recent draft waste characterization study estimated that 32% of the material in our landfill could be composted instead. 

“There’s still a lot of potential for expanding composting and really trying to divert as much as we can from these landfills,” Tolsma said. “Whether it be the Juneau landfill, to help expand that lifespan of the landfill, or also in these tribal communities, trying to divert waste. Also the other communities that are shipping their waste down south to help alleviate that economic burden.”

This is at least the third round of federal funding that Tlingit and Haida has received for composting and recycling in recent years. There was a $1.5 million earmark from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to develop a regional composting hub last year.

And $300,000 via the U.S. Department of Agriculture for composting at the Tribe’s Taay Hít greenhouse in Juneau. Those projects are not yet up and running. 

The City and Borough of Juneau is also looking to invest in composting, with early plans to develop a municipal facility, also supported with $2.5 million in federal funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. Tlingit and Haida said they plan to collaborate with the city, but they have yet to figure out what that partnership might look like.

Juneau already has one private composting business, run by Lisa Daugherty since 2017. Juneau Composts collects and processes food waste from 40 local businesses and at least 500 households. 

“I know that the people and the businesses of our community really support the work that we’ve done for the past seven years,” Daugherty said. “I hope that community leaders who are going to be shaping the compost future can recognize that and ensure that composting is going to be wonderful for everyone.”

In the past, Daugherty has publicly expressed concerns that the influx of federal money for composting in Juneau could put her out of business. She said she hasn’t seen any of Tlingit and Haida’s plans yet.

While she’s eager to grow composting in Juneau and the rest of Southeast Alaska, she said she hopes the process is collaborative, with room for public-private partnerships.