Last week was International Compost Awareness Week, a time to showcase composting programs.

Jolene Rutter of Green Manitoba is working with the province's compost program, a plan that provides up to one million dollars in funding annually to composting efforts.

Rutter explained this program encourages everything from composting in your backyard to centralized composting facilities.

"If you are a backyard composter continue to do that because that is the first individual step that can be taken.  This program really is targeted towards centralized composting facilities to start diverting this organic material from landfills.  We want to be reducing the large number of waste that is going to landfills.  This is going to reserve landfill space, reduce methane generation and leachate, create jobs in Manitoba and produce compost."

Rutter noted before the program they were only diverting 20,000 tons of organic waste.

She said in the past 3 years they have jumped to over 42,000 tons thanks largely to the compost program; adding they are projecting at least 50,000 tons diverted next year.

Meanwhile, Rutter stated although it's been a good year, there is still lot of work to do.

"The first year has been really tremendous.  We are happy to be working with all these composting facilities including Penner Waste and seeing the success of the industry but we still have a lot of work.  We still have to capture a lot of food waste.  This largely comes from residents as well as from the industrial, commercial and institutional sectors. This is a lot of schools, a lot of commercial businesses, and malls. There is a lot of food waste being generated and they need some options on what to do."

For more information on composting in Manitoba visit greenmanitoba.ca.