A Sustainable City Network article (2016-06-01) examined the efforts of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to encourage both public and private composting efforts. From the article:

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation hopes to change that, and in 2016 provided the first round of grant funding to promote composting and build or update infrastructure that supports an increase in the diversion of organic wastes away from Tennessee landfills.

“Grants offered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Division of Solid Waste Management will help to support and encourage the spread of composting programs both public and private across the state,” said Patrick Flood, director of the Division of Solid Waste and Hazardous Management. “Providing incentive to reuse and repurpose food wastes is a priority with our department.”

The article specifically focused on the composting efforts of Tennessee-based business, The Compost Company:

Ed Wansing, founder and COO, along with company president Clay Ezell, owns and operates The Compost Company LLC. …

Customers of The Compost Company include Caterpillar, US Smokeless and Organix, a vendor to Wal-Mart. Nashville’s new Music City Center, which has its own sustainability management plan, provides feedstock to The Compost Company, as well, which includes food prep waste, compostable plates, box lunches, and paper towels and napkins.

The bulk of The Compost Company’s customers includes farmers, landscapers, and gardeners, “but there have been some surprises as well,” adds Wansing. “The most unusual use of our product was by a pet food facility for a bio-filter. They built the bio-filter to clean the air before discharge from the facility (to minimize odor).” The Compost Company has also sold compost for use in several rain gardens that filter stormwater runoff from parking lots before it enters the watershed.

The article also discussed the composting and sustainability efforts of American Snuff, a Memphis-based snuff and chewing tobacco manufacturer.

Useful Links

TN Department of Environment and Conservation Composting Webpage

The Compost Company LLC Website