The Longmont City Council will discuss compost availability, survey US 287 Tuesday

The Longmont Sustainability Advisory Board will give a presentation to the City Council on Tuesday about increasing the availability of compost for residents and businesses.

A1 Organics, the city’s compost processor, announced last year that it would no longer accept compostable items such as paper cups, plates, cutlery and other paper products starting April 1, 2023, due to excessive contamination.

Now, residents can only place food scraps and yard waste in their curbside compost containers.

In announcing the change, A1 Organics said non-compostable, similar items often ended up in the compost stream, requiring time and effort to remove.

Contamination significantly increased A1 Organics’ operating costs, making composting less economically viable, the announcement said.

In October, the Sustainability Advisory Board approved a resolution in support of expanding the ability of Longmont residents and businesses to compost all reasonably compostable materials.

The specific language of the resolution asks the City Council to “urgently” explore options such as partnering with A1 Organics on an educational campaign to help prevent non-compostable plastics, glass and other materials from entering the compost stream.

The resolution also calls for collaboration with neighboring communities to “ensure and support the viability of regional, large-scale industrial composting facilities.”

Longmont Mayor Joan Peck has introduced a motion directing staff to participate in Boulder County’s discussions about a regional composting facility at the April 9 City Council meeting.

The council unanimously supported Peck’s motion.

In addition to compost availability, the City Council is expected to discuss the findings of Boulder County’s U.S. 287 Vision Zero Safety and Mobility Study during its regular session Tuesday.

The study, which began in 2022 and concluded in December 2023, examined the approximately 24-mile stretch of US 287 between Midway Boulevard in Broomfield and Horseshoe Circle at the Boulder-Larimer county line.

The plan calls for “specific actions to eliminate fatal and seriously injured crashes” along US 287, namely a median in the rural portions of the corridor north and south of Longmont, according to a council memo.

Councilwoman Diane Crist, who previously served on the city’s Transportation Advisory Board, said Monday that she has received complaints, especially from businesses along North Main Street (US 287), about traffic coming into the city at high speeds.

“It’s an important study just to have the facts and figure out how to slow down traffic (and) how to make it safer,” Crist said.

In January, two men were killed in a head-on crash on US 287 just north of Longmont.

Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 350 Kimbark St.