The City of Norman has a yard waste compost facility that began operations as an effort to divert waste from landfills to offset landfill fees, and to provide a valuable service to the community. Residents of Norman are able to drop off yard waste only at the facility, such as grass clippings, leaves, and small limbs. The city also has a residential yard waste pick up service during growing seasons. The compost facility uses a natural process that does not require starters or additives. The compost is turned, and watered, at certain temperatures and moisture content levels. This type of composting takes a few days longer to produce, but provides a high quality compost at a low cost to residents. Plans are approved to implement the use of treated water from the water reclamation (wastewater treatment) plant to control the moisture content.
Over 10% of the City of Norman’s total waste and recyclables collection is diverted to the compost facility. The total incoming yard waste at the compost facility equates to 26,000,000 pounds (or 13,000 tons) each year. The annual compost production varies each summer, depending on the weather. Finished compost is available for residents approximately every 90-120 days. The compost is free for Norman residents with options to either load individually, or pay a loading fee of $10 per scoop.
To help promote awareness of the program, City of Norman Sanitation services staff gave away bags of compost as the recent Earth Day Festival. As part of International Compost Awareness Week, the city will provide compost loaded for free to a randomly selected winner who likes and shares on the OK Compost Conference Facebook page.