I don’t know anything about municipal composting, but I do know that compost is the best fertilizer ever. Plus it’s organic. So I presume they’re going to use the compost for fertilizer, not just let it sit in the ground. That will be a big help to organic farmers.
If you indiscriminately collect all “kitchen scraps” for composting at a dump, it’s an absolute win-win situation for seagulls, rats and other scavengers. You’d somehow have to prevent any meat or meat byproducts from ending up in the mix (use of such material in home compost heaps is discouraged for the same reasons, which include spreading of carnivore/omnivore-borne disease).
I’m know that some plants do it. But of the several dozen wastewater treatment plants that I have worked with here in the Northeast, none of them do. At a conference, I heard of one plant that did produce fertilizer from its sludge, but ran into problems because the FDA prohibited any commercial growers from selling fruits or vegetables using the fertilizer for the reasons I outlined above. They were working on an exemption to encourage its use.
Nevertheless, I don’t think that it’s a very good idea unless you thoroughly test the sludge/compost for pollutants.
Ahah. Well ignorance fought. 
There appear to be some misconceptions about compost here although they don’t affect the thread premise.
Composting is not just "rotting" nor piling once living things randomly. Rather it is a reaction resulting from a balanced mix of "greens and browns" - nitrogenous and carbonaceous material, or protein and carbohydrate if you prefer.
The reaction produces heat that acts to sterilise seeds, ameliorates pathogens and reduces physical size approximately by one third. The resulting product has a neutral pH.
The primary benefit however is the creation of humus in short order, something mother nature takes awhile to do.
Municipalities who get into composting need to get the balances close and ensure an aerobic process, lest they end up with odor complaints or carrots remaining intact. Anaerobic landfills in no way could ever compost.
"Milorganite" or its ilk have problems being considered Organic ( the definition relating to sale of foodstuffs, not chemistry ) because of the things cited by Robby.
Compost isn't a fertiliser per se though it facilitates plant health. It can't compare to the synthetics developed via Haber or for that matter one's own urea.Probably not - I’m far away from you in Indiana, but I think we have responded to some common threads.
LOL we are one of the top 3 waste management companies, and I have dealt with vendors as car away as Alaska, Puerto Rico, Canada and Guam … we have clients in all 50 states, canada and the american protectorates=)
[our clients include all Walmarts, Sears, Kmarts, Home Depots, Rite Aid, many restaraunt chains … ]
Granted I specifically work on WMI’s account specifically but I used to be in the compliance department where I dealt with whatever vendor we needed to exchange paperwork with =)
I thought meat scraps were only a problem in small home sized composting bins, but that they’re okay in large scale ones, no? (I’m not certain - that’s an actual question, not a rhetorical one.)
In a compost pile or windrow of sufficient mass and composition, the entire carcass of large animals is quickly consumed- my rather larger than average size constructions (yet still not commercial) render whistlepigs and squirrels "gone" in about three days, though bones take longer.
Composting is likely to become more prevalent for livestock farmers in certain areas; rendering dead beef has become unprofitable for companies that once took the animals off the farmer's hands due to expense involved separating possible BSE containing components from what could be used for chicken or other animal feed.I’m quite familiar with WM 
but I’m a government girl who seldom talks with vendors these days. Check your PMs.
The bit about newspapers is not urban legend. I can’t speak for the rest.