{"id":31462,"date":"2026-08-28T11:54:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T15:54:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/?post_type=article&p=31462"},"modified":"2026-08-28T12:28:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T16:28:59","slug":"case-study-philadelphia-pennsylvania-ccn","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/ilsr.org\/es\/article\/composting-for-community\/case-study-philadelphia-pennsylvania-ccn","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer Network Expands Access to Composting and Community Engagement"},"template":"","class_list":["post-31462","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_type-case-study","initiatives-composting-for-community","topics-community-composting","impact_areas-climate-and-environmental-justice","impact_areas-democratic-governance","authors-linda-bilsens-brolis"],"acf":{"details":{"featured_image":31485,"background_color":"tan","article_type":[712],"initiative":15,"display_event_fields":false,"display_case_study_fields":false,"start_date":null,"end_date":null,"start_time":"","end_time":"","time_zone":"America\/New_York","virtual_event":false,"location":"","locality":"Philadelphia","state":"Pa.","topics":[42],"impact_areas":[16,19],"abstract":"This case study is from the Keep Compost Local report featuring the City of Philadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation and Farm Philly\u2019s Community Compost Network.","authors_tax":[635]},"sidebar":{"title":"\u00cdndice"},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"This case study was originally published in Mant\u00e9n el compost local<\/a>, a report offering survey data, case studies, and policy recommendations to equip governments to collaborate with local composters and foster community prosperity. <\/span>\u00a0<\/b><\/em>","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Municipality and Interviewee:<\/strong> Philadelphia Parks and Recreation,\r\nAndrew Kirkpatrick, Urban Greening Coordinator, Farm Philly","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Program Overview"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Program Overview<\/h3>\r\nPhiladelphia launched its Community Compost Network<\/a> (CCN) in 2019 as a partnership<\/a> between the City\u2019s Office of Sustainability and Department of Parks and Recreation (Parks & Rec) under its Farm Philly program. Originally inspired by the DC Department of Parks and Recreation Community Compost Cooperative Network<\/a>, Park & Rec\u2019s Director of Urban Agriculture, Ash Richards, developed the program further, and it continues to evolve beyond the original concept. The CCN currently consists of 20 sites across Philadelphia \u2013 a mix of community gardens, farms, and schools \u2013 where residents are invited to compost their food scraps and yard trimmings. The program began with 11 sites in 2019, added a second cohort of nine sites in 2024, and accepted applications for up to ten additional sites in 2025.\r\n\r\nFarm Philly provides each site with a 3-bin composting system, educational materials, hands-on and virtual training, and tools and supplies at no cost. Since the beginning of the program, Farm Philly has collaborated with PowerCorpsPHL<\/a>, a youth workforce development initiative, to construct the composting bins and the Instituto para la Autosuficiencia Local<\/a> (ILSR) for support with program design and composting educational materials and training. A list of existing CCN sites can be found on Farm Philly\u2019s website.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Municipal Motivation"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Municipal Motivation<\/h3>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_31486\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"424\"]\"Philadelphia\u2019s Philadelphia\u2019s Food Policy Advisory Council tours DC compost sites. Credit: Philadelphia Urban Agriculture Office[\/caption]\r\n\r\nIn 2016, Philadelphia\u2019s then mayor, Jim Kenney, signed the Zero Waste and Litter Executive Order<\/a>, committing Philly to the goal of becoming 90% zero waste and diverting nearly all waste from incinerators and landfills by 2035. Kenney\u2019s Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet determined that efforts curtailing food waste, such as composting, would be the most impactful way to begin meeting that goal. According to Farm Philly, the CCN \u201cprovides a grassroots approach to reducing waste [and] is having a direct impact on neighborhoods and landfills, and is making a new resource from which residents can benefit. Residents in the Network are actively reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, and directly contributing to the City\u2019s litter free and recycling goals.\u201d\r\n\r\nAccording to Parks & Rec<\/a>, reducing wasted food is its primary waste reduction target, and the CCN now plays an important role in creating more equitable access to composting in the city. The City does not currently have a curbside organics collection program, though there is an interesting historical precedent: from the 1930s to the 1990s, Philadelphia collected tens of thousands of tons<\/a> of food scraps from residents each year and paid farmers in New Jersey to feed them to their pigs. At the time the CCN launched, food scrap composting options were limited: a small number of private collection services were operating (such as Bennett Compost<\/a> and Circle Compost<\/a>), and nonfarm onsite composting was not yet a permitted activity. Pennsylvania has since created a new permit tier to allow for small-scale composting of source-separated organics via General Permit WMGMO17<\/a>. Now the CCN is part of a broader composting ecosystem that features exemplary public-private partnerships<\/a>.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_image_grid","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_image_grid":{"repeater":true,"images":null,"images_repeater":[{"image":31484,"caption":"Compost bins under construction. Credit: Philadelphia Parks and Recreation","link":""},{"image":31483,"caption":"Compost bins under construction. Credit: Philadelphia Parks and Recreation","link":""},{"image":31482,"caption":"Volunteers mixing organics. Credit: Philadelphia Parks and Recreation","link":""}],"ratio":"normal","width":"wide"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Composting Activity"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Composting Activity<\/h3>\r\nCCN sites use a 3-bin composting system called the Compost Knox that was designed by Urban Farm Plans (which no longer exists). The system, which consists of three 4-foot modular cubes, was originally designed for the DC DPR Community Composting Cooperative Network to withstand \u201cabuse,\u201d such as youth climbing on the bins, and to deter rodents.\r\n\r\nCCN sites sign a simple Memorandum of Understanding with the City that outlines expectations for program participants and roles and responsibilities for each party. Sites then receive necessary supplies, including thermometers, wheelbarrows, shovels, and ongoing support from Farm Philly. Participants must \u201cbe willing to accept food scraps at their site and\/or local neighborhood and assemble a dedicated team of volunteers committed to expanding this grassroots network.\u201d Each site determines how it wants to manage members and accept and process food waste onsite: some sites are only open to members, while others are open for drop-off on a regular schedule.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Outreach"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Outreach<\/h3>\r\nAccording to its website: \u201cFarm Philly seeks enthusiastic partners interested in collaborating with residents to provide a valuable public resource to their neighborhoods.\u201d Sites must apply to qualify for participation in the CCN, but applications are open to any publicly accessible spaces, including community gardens, farms, parks, places of worship, schools, and recreation centers. In the 2025 expansion of the CCN program, Farm Philly is prioritizing neighborhoods not currently served by a CCN site in an effort to achieve equitable distribution of program resources.\r\n\r\nThe initial idea for the CCN grew out of a compost design competition<\/a> hosted by the Philadelphia Food Policy Advisory Council (FPAC) Zero Waste Subcommittee in 2017. Its solicitation<\/a> gave designers a tall order with the prospect of a $500 reward. Successful entrants needed to create a system that is enclosed, affordable, rodent- and weather-proof, easy to build and maintain, and scaled to accommodate a neighborhood\u2019s waste. Despite 20 submissions, none of the designs were deemed appropriate. Members of the FPAC instead selected Urban Farm Plan\u2019s Compost Knox, a design they had seen during a tour of the DC DPR Community Composting Cooperative Network the year prior.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Education"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Education<\/h3>\r\nBefore the CCN program began, various City agencies and staff learned about local composting models and sought lessons learned from other cities. Philadelphia FPAC toured the DC DPR Community Compost Cooperative in 2016. PPR has consulted with ILSR at various points in their development of the CCN program. ILSR has provided program design support and a variety of composting training and education resources, including hands-on and virtual training, site signage templates, a site agreement template, and other resources to assist sites training their own participants. Farm Philly now partners with Bennett Compost for hands-on training.\r\n\r\nThe importance of exposing prospective CCN site managers to basic training on composting best management practices has been a priority of the program since it began. In 2019, ILSR led a two-day in-depth, hands-on composting training for 20 individuals representing the 11 organizations that made up the CCN\u2019s first cohort. The training covered the fundamentals of composting recipe development and compost pile building and management. Participants were asked to brainstorm and plan how they would compost at their specific sites. To re-engage these sites after the pandemic, ILSR hosted virtual technical support sessions, and Bennett Compost provided local hands-on training. Now, participants are provided with access to ILSR\u2019s Curso en l\u00ednea con certificado \u00abCompostaje comunitario 101\u00bb<\/a> in addition to local hands-on workshops.\r\n\r\nTo further support local composting in the city, Philadelphia released its Philadelphia Community Compost Manual<\/a>. The manual was written in collaboration with local composters and ILSR, with ILSR providing editing support and contributing key sections. It provides an accessible way for community groups, community gardens, or a collective of residents to take on environmental justice and waste in their neighborhoods by creating their own community-led composting sites.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Compost Markets"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Compost Markets<\/h3>\r\nThe CCN sites collect food scraps and turn them into compost for use in gardens, parks, and green spaces.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Costs & Benefits"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Costs & Benefits<\/h3>\r\nEach 3-bin system costs roughly $1,500 in materials, plus $750 for additional tools and equipment. PowerCorps is contracted for $2,000 per bin to build and deliver to each site.\r\n\r\nFarm Philly has one full-time staff position dedicated to CCN. Aside from this full-time personnel, the program costs approximately $6,000 per year to run the workshop and other related programs and meetings. Ideally, any city looking to start a compost program would budget for volunteer stipends to ensure long-term sustainability of the program and acknowledge the public benefit these sites provide.\r\n\r\nIn the City\u2019s announcement<\/a> of the 2024 expansion of the CCN program, it lists the following benefits of community composting: waste reduction, soil enrichment, street cleanliness, citywide impact, and accessibility.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Financiamiento"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Financiamiento<\/h3>\r\nGrants from private funders and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture initially funded the CCN. ILSR\u2019s technical assistance was funded by various grants from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3.","":null,"settings":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_anchor","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_anchor":{"title":"Lessons Learned"}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"

Lessons Learned<\/h3>\r\nKeys to success include:\r\n