USCC’s Model Zoning Template Goes Live!

Do you know a compost entrepreneur who is considering siting a new facility?

Tell them to check the zoning on their parcel before they go for permitting, and if their municipality does not have a zoning designation for a compost land use, the USCC Model Zoning Template is now live!

This template was compiled after two years of research, discussion, debate and feedback and provides municipal land use zoning language for small, agricultural and large compost facilities, as well as consolidation facilities (where organics is collected and handled for further processing).

USCC had found that only a small portion of US counties and cities have zoning for compost use, and most of those are for agricultural use only. For compost manufacturers larger than that size, without specific zoning they are forced to comply with heavy industrial uses—often required to fulfill the same land use specifications as municipal solid waste landfills. Needless to say this has been an obstacle to many compost manufacturers.

Now, you can download the actual Model Template as well as a ‘handbook’ of guidelines meant to help planning/zoning and elected officials unfamiliar with composting to navigate decisions they need to make to customize the template to their jurisdiction.

Please alert your green business friends, local planners and advocates for zoning. The sooner jurisdictions adopt a place for composting in their land uses, the easier it will be for all scales of compost manufacturers to start this hyper-local business in your region!

Find the information here: https://www.compostingcouncil.org/page/Zoning