Owen asks Kodiak waste board to seek borough composting study

Marion Owen asked the Kodiak Island Borough Solid Waste Advisory Board to study whether community composting would work in Kodiak. Her written proposal asks the board to recommend that borough staff evaluate the idea, not to approve or run a program. Owen cited the borough's Regional Solid Waste Management Plan, which found that 43 percent of the waste entering the Kodiak landfill is organic material.

The proposal appeared on the board's July 29, 2026, agenda for its regular meeting. "I'm not suggesting we approve a composting program tonight," Owen wrote. "I'm asking this board to recommend that Borough staff evaluate the feasibility of a community composting program and bring back options for us to consider."

Owen also wrote that Kodiak does not need to start from scratch. "We're not the first community to face this challenge. Others have already done the research, tested different approaches, and learned valuable lessons," her statement said. Anchorage's Organics Management Feasibility Report found compostable materials made up 39.2 percent of that city's municipal solid waste stream, counting food scraps, yard waste and food-soiled paper. Nationally in 2018, food alone accounted for about 24 percent of landfilled waste and yard waste about 7 percent.

Food waste has already surfaced in the board's own planning work. Minutes from the board's Sept. 30, 2025, meeting record Vice Chair Larry Van Daele reporting on the Solid Waste Management Plan contract with Jacobs Engineering. Van Daele said food waste was found to be a large percentage of the waste entering the landfill, and he urged members to think of solutions.

The borough has encouraged composting at the household level for years. Its Spruce Up Kodiak brochure, produced by the Engineering and Facilities Department, lists composting biodegradable wastes among the simple steps residents can take.

The materials released for the July meeting do not record what action, if any, the board took on Owen's request. The board evaluates the borough's solid waste needs and makes recommendations on the policy and operations of its solid waste facilities.