Avon’s Commercial Composting Pilot

Project Overview

Avon’s Universal Recycling Ordinance, released in 2022, requires all businesses and homes to have their own recycling containers in addition to their landfill trash baskets. As a follow-up effort to include composting, the 12-month Commercial Composting Pilot was developed by Avon’s sustainability team, led by Charlotte Lin, and approved by the town council in September of 2025. Instead of making composting mandatory for everyone right away, the town decided to roll out a trial phase with local restaurants first, allowing them to determine its efficiency and effectiveness before deciding whether to expand the program.

The composting program is meant to be simple to adopt and accessible to those wishing to participate. The program offers broad support at no cost for restaurants that sign up, including assistance with the initial set-up and continued guidance upon deployment. Restaurants can also call when they run out of compost bags and have more delivered. This ongoing support helps participants contribute to larger waste diversion goals while working toward eventually running the program on their own.

The pilot also included extensive community engagement. Avon’s sustainability team talked to staff at multiple restaurants to understand their experiences and how to best support them, since staff are ultimately the ones sorting compost and their cooperation directly impacts the program’s outcomes.

Aside from collecting compost materials and scraps, the team also helps complete the product lifecycle by turning collected waste into usable compost collected by Vail Valley Waste. Some of that compost goes back into Avon’s parks, while another portion is returned to restaurant owners who also grow produce on their own farms. By closing this waste loop rather than allowing organic waste to decompose and create emissions in landfills, the program shows that even smaller initiatives can build healthier, more efficient waste systems. As the program continues to grow, the team plans to use what it learns to expand waste management regulations and efforts across more businesses, and eventually residents, in the future.

Lessons Learned

• Launch a Pilot Program — Rolling out a short-term pilot can help sustainability teams determine priority shifting, program management, and viability during the early stages, giving an eventual larger-scale deployment a higher chance of success.
• Involve Restaurant Staff — Avon’s sustainability team involved staff through interviews and included them in the program’s development process. Their input helped shape a program truly designed with all stakeholders in mind.
• Make Participation Accessible — By making program participation easy and free, restaurant owners feel supported and are much more likely to join.
• Design for Eventual Independence — Setting up the program to teach restaurants to eventually manage and operate these systems on their own allows the sustainability team to focus on new participants.