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Longmont and Boulder County Consider Opportunity to Partner on Compost Facility

Longmont City Council to discuss a land swap that will meet several Council goals, including a compost facility, at Jan. 14 meeting

Boulder County with City of Longmont –A presentation at Tuesday’s Longmont City Council meeting will consider a land swap that would potentially further several Council goals, including the proposed creation of a compost facility to meet residents’ needs while also contributing to the City’s open space purposes. There are many steps involved in this process and the County has been working with local jurisdictions to bring a regional composting facility to the county.

“We think this is a great partnership opportunity and we are committed to supporting this should the Council move this forward in the development,” said Boulder County Commissioner Ashley Stolzmann.

The proposal comes in response to ongoing requests from residents and businesses for a compost facility that accepts a wider range of compostable materials such as paper products, coffee filters, and napkins. A1 Organics previously accepted those items at their compost facility in Keenesburg, Colorado, but beginning last spring, they restricted their operations to processing only food and yard waste.

Feasibility Studies and a Possible Site

Longmont and the county are both currently exploring the feasibility of building and operating a commercial compost facility to support zero waste and emission reduction goals. The county’s feasibility study is anticipated to be complete in the second quarter of 2025.

One possible solution is a compost facility on Longmont-owned property east of the City. The proposed plan would require a change to the designation for one of the properties. On Tuesday, the city council will consider whether to refer this proposed plan to the Longmont Parks and Recreation Advisory Board for consideration and public hearing. Under the same proposal, a second nearby City-owned property with less industrial activity would be designated for open space, adding to Longmont’s buffer and allowing a number of possible uses consistent with open space purposes, including riparian and upland habitat restoration.

Commercial Compost Facility

Representatives from Boulder County and the City of Longmont recently visited Republic Services’ commercial compost facility in Chula Vista, CA and the City of San Diego’s Miramar Greenery to experience the sites first-hand and learn directly from operators about how they manage a compost facility and mitigate environmental and social impacts to residential neighborhoods that are in close proximity to operations.

"It was impressive to see how simple, clean and effective these facilities were," said Bob Allen, Longmont’s Director of Water & Waste Services. "We have a lot of residents in our community who would like us to accept a wider range of compostable materials, and what we saw opened up some real possibilities."

“Our community is eager to reduce waste and emissions, and to do that, we need local solutions for composting,” added County Commissioner Stolzmann. “Our trip to Chula Vista showed me that this vision we have for the future can become very real. The award-winning facility highlighted for me just how feasible this community driven concept is. At both facilities we toured, they are reducing emissions, creating valuable compost that the goes back into the community for soil amendment, and all of it is being done successfully at a large-scale commercial facility, and in the case of the Otay facility, even in close proximity to residential areas. I look forward to collaborating with Longmont and being a part of the county’s own effort at making this significant move towards zero waste.”

Watch a video of the tour and hear from Commissioner Stolzmann and Director Allen about their experiences at the facilities.

Get Involved

City of Longmont City Council Meeting

Tuesday, Jan. 14

7 p.m.

Longmont Civic Center Council Chambers, 350 Kimbark St.

Public comment will be heard at the meeting during Public Invited to Be Heard – please sign up ahead of time outside of the City Council Chambers. Residents can also email their thoughts to City Council; more information on doing so can be found at https://longmontcolorado.gov/government/how-to-contact-city-council/.

For more information about the county’s compost facility exploration efforts, visit www.boco.org/compost-facility or contact Meghan Wiebe, Zero Waste Strategic Advisor, at mwiebe@bouldercounty.gov or call 720-864-6468.

For more information about the City of Longmont’s compost facility exploration, contact Bob Allen, Longmont’s Director of Water & Waste Services, at bob.allen@longmontcolorado.gov.