From the Barnstable County website (June 18, 2025):
June 18, 2025 (Barnstable, MA) – At the June 13 meeting of the Cape and Islands Municipal Leadership Association (CIMLA), Kari Parcell, Municipal Assistance Coordinator with Barnstable County Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and MassDEP, joined municipal officials from Bourne and Falmouth to update Cape leaders on the Cape Cod Coastal Community Composting Project – an initiative involving the Upper Cape towns, the county and officials at Joint Base Cape Cod to address the region’s solid waste crisis.
With the cost of solid waste management rising and disposal options shrinking, the presentation focused on how Cape towns can save money by diverting organic waste from the waste stream. Currently, one-third of municipal solid waste is food waste, and much of it is trucked or railed off Cape for disposal. County studies have concluded that building a local composting facility could provide the towns with substantial savings.
Parcell was joined by Phil Goddard (Town of Bourne) and Mary Ryther (Town of Falmouth) to review the history of the Cape Cod Coastal Community Composting Project, which began in 2020 with county funding for waste reduction studies, including an early look at regional composting feasibility. In 2024, the County secured a grant from 11th Hour Racing to continue this work in partnership with Joint Base Cape Cod, MassDevelopment, and the towns of Bourne, Falmouth, Mashpee, and Sandwich.
“The interest in developing less expensive and environmentally safe alternatives is growing,” said Parcell. “The Cape is known as a composting desert. Nantucket and other towns in Massachusetts have developed creative solutions that we can apply right here on Cape Cod.”
A 2025 feasibility study by SCS Engineers, funded by Barnstable County, underscored the growing financial burden of municipal tipping fees across Cape towns—ranging from over $140 per ton in Barnstable to around $70 in Provincetown. The wide disparity illustrates the need for more cost-effective, local solutions. For example, Nantucket’s municipal anaerobic digestion facility offers a promising model, converting food waste into energy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and minimizing off-Cape hauling. The County and partner towns aim to build on this model as they pursue further investment in a regional composting facility in 2025.
“The county is well positioned to help our towns, and secure state and federal funds to address this important issue on Cape Cod”, said County Commissioner and CIMLA President, Mark Forest.
The county and project leaders will continue to engage municipal officials across the region in the coming months to develop shared strategies for sustainable waste reduction and resource recovery.