The Martha's Vineyard Commission has been presenting a new report on waste to Island officials, raising questions about how to reduce waste, save money and find better ways to recycle.

Many of us have become committed to separating our food waste from our trash.

Even as one system reaches the end of its lifecycle, composting activists on-Island are envisioning a bright future for local organic waste management.

Oak Bluffs is pursuing $2 million in grant funding to start a food composting service at the town’s transfer station.

The select board voted Tuesday to submit a proposal to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday for a composting facility that could process as much as 2,080 tons of food waste a year, cutting down on the amount of scraps that get shipped off Island.

The Edgartown transfer station for the four-town district is now accepting food waste for composting. The pilot program began last week.

Central composting facilities and a variety of community initiatives are among the final recommendations of an Islandwide food waste study that wraps up this month.

A four-month pilot study, which began in June, may set the stage for an Islandwide composting program that could help businesses comply with the state’s ban on commercial food waste.

Every year, 40 per cent of the food grown in this country is never eaten. The waste happens in farm fields, during processing and transportation, in grocery stores, restaurants, and in our homes.

A state ban on commercial food waste has yet to be enforced, but Islanders have launched a comprehensive study of the issue.

Massachusetts has become the first state in the nation to put a ban on commercial food waste entering landfills. Larger businesses on the Vineyard are preparing for the changes, and businesses and residents are feeling the need for more composting regulations.