FOOD WASTE COMPOSTING PILOT PROGRAM
Project Overview
The Lakes Region Planning Commission has been awarded a USDA Composting and Food Waste Reduction grant totaling $87,300 to launch the region’s first Food Waste Composting Pilot Program. This funding will support the development of two large-scale food waste composting sites and provide free composting tumblers to 160 residents in participating communities. The program is designed to equip households with the essential tools and knowledge to compost at home while collecting data to measure the program’s effectiveness.
The program’s data collection will equip our grantor and LRPC with valuable insights on food‑waste composting, trainings delivered, landfill diversion, and additional key outcomes.
For an introduction to home composting, refer to Home Composting Basics (LRPC presentation).
Training & Support
The program will offer comprehensive training for both participating residents and solid waste operators to ensure successful implementation of the Lakes Region Food Waste Composting Pilot Program.
Resident Training
This training is available exclusively to residents of the following participating communities: Ashland, Bristol, Gilford, Moultonborough, and Wolfeboro. Sessions will be held throughout May 2026, with one training course offered in each participating community.
Resident training will cover:
- Fundamentals of food waste composting
- Tips for achieving successful composting at home
- Instructions for assembling the provided composting tumbler
- Guidance on required data collection for the pilot program
Residents will receive a free composting tumbler only after attending a training session and agreeing to participate in the program’s data collection effort.
See Participant Program Requirements for additional criteria.
Solid Waste Operator Training
Training for solid waste operators will take place at the program’s two pilot transfer stations—Gilford and Wolfeboro—during June 2026. These sessions will equip operators with the knowledge and skills needed to manage a food waste composting site at a municipal transfer station.
SWO Resource: Coordinator’s Guide for Public FAQs
Additional Program Support
Throughout the pilot program, participants will receive ongoing technical assistance. This support will cover matters such as troubleshooting composting challenges, assisting with data reporting, and providing extra educational materials as needed to keep both residential and transfer station composting efforts on track.
Scheduled Resident Training Locations
| Town | Location Address | Date/Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bristol | Bristol Historic Town Hall 45 Summer Street | April 23, 2026 5:00 – 7:00 pm |
| Gilford | Gilford Town Hall Conference Room 47 Cherry Valley Road | May 7, 2026 6:00 – 8:00 pm |
| Ashland | Town Conference Room 6 Collins Street | May 12, 2026 6:00 – 8:00 pm |
| Moultonborough | Moultonborough Public Library 4 Holland Street | May 21, 2026 5:30 – 7:30 pm |
| Wolfeboro | Wolfeboro Town Hall 84 South Main Street | May 28, 2026 5:00 – 7:00 pm |
Additional Resources
Jora tumbler assembly instructions.
Jora tumbler assembly helpful hints.
For answers to the most common problems that can occur with composting, visit the Jora Composters website.
Tip from Jora:
OUR FAVORITE FOOL-PROOF CARBON SOURCE:
If a carbon source is hard to come by (lack of deciduous trees / dead leaves) our favorite carbon source – mentioned above -is wood pellets. The wood pellets we recommend are actually bedding pellets – for horses – you can buy them at your local Tack shop / Horse Supply Shop or order them online (shipping can be pricey – the product itself is quite inexpensive so if you can find a local dealer it is beneficial).
At our Jora Composters office we have MegaZorb Bedding Pellets, they are comprised of pine flakes and zeolite (which is a naturally occurring mineral with properties that absorb, hold and release water). As a component of your compost it will parlay these beneficial properties to the compost itself. (Picture below my signature)
We use these horse bedding pellets as they are inexpensive and contain no glues or harmful chemicals. There are many other brands, just make sure they contain only wood or wood and zeolite – no chemicals.
We do not recommend stove or fuel pellets.