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Backyard composting could continue growing in Lexington neighborhoods

Lexington composter
Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works
Lexington composter

Lexington residents will have another opportunity to get involved in backyard composting in 2025. A City organizer sees great potential for ramping up compost users in the years ahead.

Senior Program Manager in Environmental Quality and Public Works Angela Poe said close to 200 composters have gone to workshop participants in three years. Poe sees the possibility of a third to a half of all City-served households having composters a decade from now.

“I would just as much emphasis on growing this program…I would put just as much emphasis on reducing contamination for the yard waste stream too, because both of those are gonna have huge benefits,” said Poe.

Poe said the composting program empowers those interested in organics while not forcing others to set up a backyard spinning cylinder. Currently there’s about 50 to 60% contamination in yard waste collection, often found in bagged material in a Lenny container.

And Poe said it saves landfill space and carries environmental benefits a little bit at a time.

“Just putting the program in the hands of the people who are engaged we avoid having to move a whole bunch of waste all over town. People are keeping it in their backyards. They’re able to use it in their backyards,” said Poe.

Poe said good soil can be scraped off during residential construction. Using a mix of greens and browns in a composter can help replenish the soil. Poe said a composter can take on everything from raw veggies and fruit scraps along with leaves, for instance.

Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works is a financial contributor to Weku.

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Stu Johnson retired from WEKU in November, 2024 after reporting for the station for 40 years. Stu's primary beat was Lexington/Fayette government.
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