The City of Brookings launched a new food compost project this fall, encouraging area residents to get involved in reducing waste and supporting local sustainability.
The project was put in place on Oct. 13 and aims to reduce the amount of food sent to the landfill.
Over the next year, participants can pick up a bucket and a compost bag at one of the four drop-off sites. The city has an outlined list of accepted food items, and once participants’ bags are full, they can drop them off at one of the drop-off locations. The city will take care of the rest.
Katie Stiegelmeier, City of Brookings business operations manager, says they have had about 175 people participate so far. The city has dumped loads of compost, totaling around 1.7 tons.
“We are really excited about the level of participation and the positive response that we’ve had so far,” Stiegelmeier said. “It’s definitely more than we were expecting.”.
She said she is happy the city is able to conduct this project and that she has enjoyed participating herself.
The City of Brookings is working in conjunction with the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the engineering firm Burns & McDonnell on this project.
Burns & McDonnell will combine the data, field work and demonstration in the pilot. The firm will explore food waste volumes, composting technologies that work well in South Dakota’s weather and the quality of the finished compost.
Burns and McDonnell senior planner Heather Krauel said this is not a new study for their company. According to Krauel, the State of South Dakota Recycling and Diversion Report completed in 2024, and the City of Sioux Falls Food Waste Diversion Study completed in 2025.
Project research will run from June 2025 through May 2026.
The City of Brookings Sustainability Council has been working to promote the compost project and involve more community members.
Joshua Bauman, the city of Brookings Park, Recreation and Forestry assistant director, said he thinks this project is a step in the right direction for the city.
“When you eliminate all those barriers and just create easy access for them, I think it sparks people to at least want to give it a try,” Bauman said.
