What does 1 million pounds of locally diverted waste look like?
For Alissa LaChance, it looks just like the view from her office.
Well, almost.
As the founder and owner of Dirt Rich Compost, LaChance’s work headquarters is a 6-acre compost yard on the edge of Columbia Falls. It’s sorted into sloping rows of organic waste — food scraps, lawn clippings, branches, woody debris. Pineapple tops, melon rinds and corn cobs strike haphazard poses atop the lumpy, loamy heaps, which are intermingled with biodegradable plastic cups and bags.
Framed by the discarded dregs of the community that raised her, LaChance has spent the past nine years converting all this trash into treasure.
Last year, Dirt Rich processed more than 872,000 pounds of local organic waste.
This year, she’s set her sights on hitting 1 million pounds.
So, what does 1 million pounds of locally diverted waste look like?
“Consider it a call to action,” LaChance, who on a recent early-autumn morning wore a T-shirt screen printed with the edict, “Grow Food, Not Landfills,” said of her year-end goal.
Only about 2% of residents in the Flathead Valley compost their scraps while 3% of commercial businesses do so. Food is the single most common material sent to landfills in America, equating 24% of municipal solid waste. When yard trimmings, wood and paper/paperboard are added to food, the number goes up to 51%.
According to the most recent data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the retail, food service and residential sectors in the U.S. generated 66.2 million tons of food waste, only 5% of which is composted. As trash continues to pile up at an unprecedented rate, so too does the expense to expand landfills.
When waste management systems aren’t cyclical in nature they cost communities money, open land, and other resources in the long haul, LaChance said, “withholding valuable nutrients and organic matter from our soils.”
“Just think about it,” she said. “What would our landfills look like if we created a more circular system? Imagine if as a community we diverted half of our waste material away from the landfill to revitalize and replenish local soils. This is the opportunity provided by composting. It’s the opportunity for a different future.”
In 2024, the promise of a different future holds an allure that cuts across generations and political divisions. For LaChance, spreading the gospel of sustainable agriculture and contributing to the microbiological health of local soil has helped tinge her outlook as both a local and global citizen in brighter hues. And as an expectant mother, it’s given her the agency to make a positive difference in a society that often favors individual values over humanitarian goals.
“It empowers people,” LaChance said. “Instead of feeling defeated about what’s happening in the world or being overwhelmed about not being able to make a difference, this is proof that we can change what’s in our orbit. It’s uplifting to know you can make a difference in your own community.”
But LaChance hasn’t come this close to hitting the million-pound milestone on vibes alone. Armed with an environmental studies degree and a laser focus on the concept of sustainable agriculture, she’s become a specialist in organic waste recycling and quality compost production. And as a local who grew up in Whitefish, LaChance enjoys a degree of credibility in a community that has lagged behind the curve when it comes to crafting municipal composting and recycling programs.
“We are thrilled to see the positive impact our composting has had on our community’s waste stream,” LaChance said. “From day one, our mission has been to reduce waste and promote healthy soil practices. I grew up in the Flathead Valley and have watched as local recycling options we could trust and count on has dwindled. Organics recycling is an amazing option for our community because it operates as an entirely local closed-loop system. People know where their scraps are going and they can talk to the farms who use our compost to grow local food.”
Despite its modest beginnings, Dirt Rich has steadily expanded its operations, thanks to strong local support and strategic partnerships.
Not only does Dirt Rich service local businesses and households, but they’ve also partnered with the concessionaires in and around Glacier National Park to help divert the waste from the nearly 3 million people who visit the park each year. Dirt Rich also services local events like Under the Big Sky Festival, The Last Best Ride, and the Whitefish Farmers Market, which in 2020 partnered with local businesses and the nonprofit Climate Smart Glacier Country to send “zero-waste” to the landfill.
“Our success wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our customers and community,” LaChance said. “We are grateful for every partnership and every customer who has chosen to create positive change with us.”
Looking ahead, Dirt Rich plans to continue growing its initiatives by acquiring additional machinery to increase throughput, growing their impact, and enhancing community education on composting and regenerative soil composting practices.
“The real goal isn’t to hit some arbitrary number; the real goal is to make composting easy and accessible by providing residents and businesses with weekly organic waste pickup throughout the Flathead Valley,” LaChance said.
Visit DirtRichCompost.com for the full list of local business and restaurants participating in creating a different kind of waste management for the Flathead.