BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – The composting program continues to receive financial support to maintain a collection site in the Village of Canton.

The Canton Community Fund, at its June 27 meeting, approved a $2,000 grant for the food collection program. This money, along with a gift from the First Presbyterian Church in Canton, will foot the bill for the remainder of 2024.

Collection service is provided by NoCoCompost (NCC), a community composting business based south of Canton.

NCC is a joint effort of two Canton residents, Cory Vinyard and Greg Todd. Vinyard grew up on his family's dairy farm on the edge of Canton where he now practices rotational grazing for his Dexter beef cattle and Dorset sheep.

Todd has been a resident of Canton since 2022. He previously resided in Brooklyn, N.Y. where he led a community garden and was a member of the Brooklyn Solid Waste Advisory Board for 10 years. He is a member of the Canton United Methodist Church and the Canton Sustainability Committee.

“To continue funding for the years ahead, NCC with the help of Compost for Good, a Saranac Lake based composting support group, is applying for a USDA grant intended to fund food scrap diversion. If successful, the grant would cover collection for two years and also allow NCC to expand its service area and improve its composting operation,” said Todd in a press release announcing the Canton Community Fund grant.

NCC has been picking up food scraps at the Bend In The River site on a weekly schedule since September. The large 2 cubic yard dumpster previously at the site has been replaced with four 35 gallon sealed totes.

At the request of the village trustees, NCC locks all containers and only those providing contact information are allowed access. The intention is to provide the Village with more information about who is using the service and hopefully reduce contamination. NCC also weighs the amounts collected weekly to track usage and maintains the site on a frequent basis.

The service is free to all village and town residents and is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The program is actively seeking additional users. Questions about composting can be directed to NCC at 802-750-1550.

For additional information, please email nococompost@gmail.com or call 718-496-5139.