Chicago’s City Council on Wednesday approved an ordinance to track and legalize donations of uncooked food scraps to urban farms and community gardens that make fertilizer.
“This is really exciting,” said Jen Walling, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council, an advocacy group representing 50 environmental groups that has been pushing for the ordinance for about two years.
Urban farms and community gardens accepting food scraps will now have to register with the city and maintain records of the scraps donated. The fertilizer, or compost, only is allowed in the site where it is created and cannot be sold unless the farm or garden gets a special permit from the city.
Proponents of relaxing composting rules argued city regulations were too stringent and hadn’t kept up with the interest in urban farming or gardening.
Under former regulations, urban farms and community gardens could only compost materials generated on-site. It was illegal for them to accept food scrap donations, and they needed permits for containers larger than 5 cubic yards, about the size of a garden shed.
The city doubled containers’ size limits without a permit to 10 cubic yards. Additionally, farms that produce less than 4,000 tons of compost a year can get a special permit rate of $300, down from $3,000. The cost reduction would benefit farms like Iron Street Urban Farm in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood.
The ordinance also includes provisions to address concerns about foul smells and rats. For example, all compost must be inside a “vessel” with no openings. Violators can be fined $300 to $600 per offense.
Expanding composting is part of a larger strategy to support urban agriculture efforts in Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s office said in a press release. Emanuel, who introduced the ordinance in May, has also expanded the size limit on community gardens. Since 2011, the number of urban farm operators has jumped to 13 from two, his office said.
Twitter @WriterAlejandra
