GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) — City commissioners voted to keep the pilot food waste composting program in Gainesville running while staff work to develop new options for how it could continue in the future.

After months of questions about costs, participation, and contract issues, city leaders say they still want to find a way to keep composting alive in Gainesville. Commissioners decided not to end the pilot program but instead to give staff time to come back with new options.

The program began in 2021 as a small pilot with about 700 homes taking part. The goal was to divert food scraps from landfills and turn them into compost.

But according to city staff, costs have grown to more than $160,000 a year, and fewer than half of participating homes are actually setting out their buckets. A S

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