Beaufort County CASE STUDY

When Beaufort County set out to divert food waste from local landfills, they faced a common municipal challenge: the nearest commercial composting facility was over an hour away, making long-distance hauling financially and environmentally impractical. Rather than waiting years for regional infrastructure or state mandates, Beaufort County launched South Carolina’s first decentralized municipal food waste composting pilot.

Food waste makes up over 24% of municipal solid waste in South Carolina (and over 51% when combined with yard trimmings). For coastal and smaller counties, building traditional, large-scale regional facilities requires millions of dollars in capital and years of permitting and construction. Before launching this pilot, Beaufort County’s only alternative for organic waste diversion was hauling heavy, wet organic waste across county lines to Bees Ferry in Charleston, creating significant financial hurdles and vehicle emissions that offset the environmental benefits of composting.

Beaufort County partnered with Green Mountain Technologies (GMT) to deploy an on-site, decentralized composting solution at the Public Works facility in Shanklin Road. The modular in-vessel system enabled the county to process food waste locally, eliminating the need for cross-county transport. By utilizing this approach, the county secured environmental permitting in under 30 days and quickly established a community collection program through four local Convenience Centers.

To ensure clean feedstock, residents complete a short educational video and quiz online to receive a PIN code that unlocks the drop-off bins. The program expanded beyond residential collection to include food scrap collection from two local schools and four local businesses through a new Green Business Program.

Within the first few months of operations in 2026, the pilot successfully diverted over 25,000 lbs of organic waste, including 16,000 lbs of food waste and 9,000 lbs of yard debris. More than 600 residents completed the educational training and actively participate in the program, demonstrating how decentralized, small-footprint in-vessel systems can bridge regional infrastructure gaps and provide a replicable model for municipalities seeking community-backed composting solutions.