Last year, the Centre Region Refuse and Recycling Program ran a very successful 6-month trial composting program from June to November. The program surpassed its participation goal of 500 residents, and instead had a total participation of 662 participants. At the end of the trial program it was estimated that 78.8 tons of material was collected, which equates to a savings of about 7.39 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. These statistics proved that the program was beneficial for the community and Centre Region decided to acquire permanent status for the program. In order for the program to transition to the desired permanent status, funding and collection locations must be secured. Funding in the form of grants is most desired by Centre Region in order to cover the weekly cost of the program, which is about $101 per collection site each week. Additionally, community sponsors needed to be contacted to guarantee potential compost collection sites. 

The project consisted of three main deliverables to accomplish the goals of the Centre Region Refuse and Recycling Program. My first deliverable was an executive summary containing information about grant opportunities and contacts for other composting programs both inside and outside of Pennsylvania. My second deliverable consisted of a document outlining potential community sponsors and advertising prospects. Lastly, my third deliverables encompassed the creation of visual elements, both an infographic and video, which will be posted on the Centre Region website to provide education about composting for the residents of the region. All of this research and creation will culminate to provide Centre Region with the resources necessary to form the permanent composting program once approval is granted from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.