The Sutherlin Project
A Model for Recycling Food Scraps and Improving the Soil
The Sutherlin Project is a USDA-funded pilot program to divert food scraps from the landfill in order to create nutrient-rich compost and worm castings to improve the soil.
At the beginning of 2024, the City of Sutherlin was awarded a $207,671 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a sustainable waste management plan to reduce landfill food scraps with the goal of expanding it in the future. Initial objectives include enrolling ten City of Sutherlin businesses to participate in diverting 10-15 tons of food scraps annually.
HealTerra is honored to collaborate with the City of Sutherlin, Sutherlin Sanitary Services, and local businesses to implement and grow this program. This project is not just diverting food scraps, it is also supporting local economic development and our veterans.
Sustainability
The community building pilot relies on the participation of local businesses to rethink how they look at food scraps and divert them from the landfill. Food scraps should not be viewed as waste, but as a valuable resource to be recycled. This shift to a more sustainably minded point of view has many benefits. The businesses reducing waste going to the landfill will save money on waste collection fees. The local landfill will see a reduction in material and greenhouse gases that are produced by the food scraps.
And finally, the compost and worm castings that are created from recycling the food scraps will improve soil locally which will increase yields and grow healthier food. Healthy soil is alive and does not need to rely on synthetic fertilizers to grow strong, healthy plants. The environmental and money saving benefits will scale up as the program expands.
Partners and Participants
Program participants are working hard to implement this pilot and reduce their carbon footprint in the process. A key partner, Sutherlin Sanitary Services, collects the food scraps from local businesses and brings it to our permitted facility for composting. The participating businesses put their green bins out weekly for collection. We currently have six businesses participating in the pilot, but are working to educate our community and enroll additional businesses. Thank you to our current participants!
Key Partners
Participating Kitchens
Click on Logos to learn more about our partners.
Products
This project provides the opportunity to expand our composting operation and create local jobs while continuing our support of local veterans. It is also at the heart of our mission to reduce landfill waste while creating a valuable community resource – compost and worm castings.
We currently make three products at our facility to improve your soil and grow amazing plants! Click here to learn how to use our products.
HealTerra Compost
Carefully-crafted compost from clean yard trimmings. Available in bulk only.
HealTerra Worm Castings
Well-fed worms produce this rich, dark soil amendment. Available in bulk only.
HealTerra Soil Enrich®
A powerful blend of our compost and worm castings available in either one-gallon or one-cubic foot bags.
Retail Stores
Demand for our products has increased as growers become more aware of the benefits of using compost. To keep up with the demand, we are now selling our products in retail stores throughout Oregon. To find a store near you, click here.
The Future of the Sutherlin Project
This pilot project is serving as a model for the region and we are working with our wonderful partners to collect data and understand how such a program could be implemented on a long-term basis. We hope what we learn is useful for continuing education, outreach, collection and processing, guiding future initiatives designed for expansion in food scrap and compostable materials management. We thank the USDA and Oregon State University Extension Office for working with us on this. We also greatly appreciate the Sutherlin Farmers Market and Sutherlin Chamber of Commerce, who have both played important roles to raise awareness and promote participation in this important effort for improved resource management in the region.
The Sutherlin Project - In the News
We are proud to Partner with the City of Sutherlin and Sutherlin Sanitary Services to reduce food waste locally!
Thank you!
We are very grateful to all of the organizations, businesses, and individuals who have worked with us to promote this project through education, donations, and participation.
You can support the Sutherlin Project by participating as a business, sharing information about what we do, and by purchasing our products. Let’s all work together for a brighter, healthier future and a greener tomorrow.