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Page last updated on October 18, 2022 at 3:49 pm

Compost Up, Downtown 

BEAD Restaurant Composting Incentive Program 

*Application capacity has been met for the Compost Up Downtown Program for 2022*
 

The City of Bloomington’s Department of Economic and Sustainable Development (ESD) is partnering with EarthKeepers to offer a three-month composting trial period for 16 restaurants and food service businesses through the Compost Up, Downtown program. Through this initiative, eligible food service businesses will receive a waste audit, assistance in setting up compost collections, and three months of compost collection through EarthKeepers, a trial valued at $5,000. Businesses will participate as cohorts and this program will take place between April 2022 and May 2023 with businesses onboarded to participate each quarter. Businesses will receive customized, discounted quotes for continuing service by the end of the three-month trial period. The purpose of the Compost Up, Downtown program is to incentivize businesses in downtown Bloomington to reduce food waste generation and increase diversion from the landfill. 

 

Restaurants and food service businesses can apply to participate by completing an application linked on this page. After the business is approved to participate, EarthKeepers will perform an on-site waste audit that will require ten hours of time and includes a presentation and Q&A for owners and staff, a staff training session, discussions with staff to identify common composting contaminants, technical support to determine optimal bin placement, and assistance in developing standard operating procedures to effectively and sustainably recover and divert organic waste from landfills. Sorting posters, bin labels, and educational materials will also be provided for each business. Restaurants and food service businesses participating in the program are responsible for maintaining communication with EarthKeepers throughout the process. 

 

Each business will be provided with a customized quote to continue service after the trial period. After the three month trial period is over, businesses will decide whether to continue their composting pickup services by contracting directly with EarthKeepers.  

 

Benefits for participating include: 

  • Subsidized waste audit- free to restaurant
  • Reduced food waste sent to the landfill
  • Potential cost savings in procurement and in non-organic waste disposal
  • Increasing Bloomington’s organic waste recovery rate
  • Reduced cost, time and effort to start and train staff on composting practices

 

Program Incentive:
 

Participating restaurant and food service businesses in the program will receive the following during the three month trial:  

  • Weekly collection of hot-stamped rollers (32-gallons each) and delivery of sanitized replacement rollers. Rollers may be collected two or three times per week, depending on assessed needs
  • 5-gallon buckets and 1.5-gallon pails, with lids, for internal use
  • Waste audit, including presentation and Q&A for owners and staff, a staff training session, discussions with staff to identify common composting contaminants, and custom signage and bin placement
  • Window decals for participant
  • Personalized web-profile on the EarthKeepers website
  • Mixed-media promotions of participating restaurants as EarthKeepers partners.

The program incentive is valued at $5,000 per participating business. 

 

Program Eligibility: 

  • Food service businesses must be located in the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District (Downtown Bloomington) to be eligible for this program. A map of the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District is attached below.

    Note: If capacity is not reached by the cohort application deadline, other restaurants not in the BEAD, may be able to participate on a first come, first served basis. Please contact Lauren Clemens to get placed on a waiting list, if interested at lauren.clemens@bloomington.in.gov. 
     
  • Food service businesses must also hold a valid Monroe County Health Department permanent retail food establishment license. 

    Note: for questions about eligibility, please contact Lauren Clemens at lauren.clemens@bloomington.in.gov.
     
  • Mobile food vendors or other businesses with a temporary or seasonal food service license are not eligible for this program at this point in time. 
     

Not eligible, but ready to start composting? Contact EarthKeepers to get a quote for a commercial compost pick-up subscription for private, corporate, institutional, or public events by filling out this quote request form.

 

How to Apply: 

To apply for the Compost Up, Downtown, use our online application portal or complete and send the fillable application form below, along with an attached copy of your Monroe County Health Department permanent retail food establishment license to Lauren Clemens at lauren.clemens@bloomington.in.gov. For instructions on applying through the online portal, please reference the "How To Apply" instructions attached at the bottom of the page. 

Applications must be returned by the dates listed below. When participation is confirmed, a contact person must be designated as  the primary point of contact with EarthKeepers during the course of the trial period.

Completion of the application does not guarantee participation in the program and applications will be received until the  submission date for each cohort (see dates below). Applicants will receive confirmation of participation on the dates listed below. 

Interested participants can attend an informational webinar on March 7th at 4 pm. The webinar was recorded and is available at the following link

 

Cohort Dates: 

Cohort 1: April 2022 - July 2022

  • Application due date: March 25th
  • Confirmation of participation: March 31st
  • Program prep and waste audit: April 4th - April 18th
  • 12 week trial period: April 18th - July 17th
     

Cohort 2: June 2022 - October 2022

  • Application due date: June 10th 
  • Confirmation of participation: June 17th 
  • Program prep and waste audit: June 27th - July 11th
  • 12 week trial period: September 16th
     

Cohort 3: September 2022 - January 2022

  • Application form due date: September 9th
  • Confirmation of participation: September 16th
  • Program prep and waste audit: September 26th - October 10th
  • 12 week trial period: October 10th - January 8th, 2023 
     

Cohort 4: January 2023 - May 2023

  • Application due date: January 13, 2023
  • Confirmation of participation: January 20, 2023
  • Program prep and waste audit: January 30, 2023 - February 12, 2023
  • 12 week trial period: February 12, 2023 - May 14th, 2023

 

Email Lauren Clemens, Assistant Director of Sustainability at lauren.clemens@bloomington.in.gov if you have questions related to the program or application process for this program.

Applications are now available by emailing the application attached at the bottom of this page, or applying through our online application portal. Slides from the information webinar on March 7th are also available below and the recorded webinar is available here.


About EarthKeepers: 

EarthKeepers is a Bloomington-based Benefit Corporation that is woman-owned, minority-owned, and a living-wage employer. Our mission is to educate and activate the Bloomington and Monroe County community around the importance of reducing food waste and increasing composting, for a healthier planet and a happier hometown! Through our commercial, institutional, and community organics collection & consultation services, we can now close the loop on food waste in Bloomington and Monroe County, feeding scraps to the happiest chickens in the land and turning waste into rich compost for urban and rural food production, landscaping, erosion control, stormwater management, and environmental bioremediation.


About the Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District: 

The Bloomington Entertainment & Arts District (BEAD) is a state-designated cultural district and city-led economic development project that supports the galleries, performing arts venues, public parks, hotels, and nearly 100 restaurants and more than 100 specialty shops spread across 60 city blocks in the heart of downtown.