Composting

 

  

 

News Items

 

1. Campaign to fight composting plant proposals

 

PLANS for an eco-composting plant in Hallen should be binned, say village campaigners.

 

Farmers and residents are furious over the green plant, which would see 26 lorries delivering rubbish every day.

 

They are mounting a campaign against composting firm New Earth Solutions over its hopes of building an indoor factory at Willow Farm, off Severn Road.

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Leading campaigner Liz Kendall said: "The traffic, smell and noise implications are the main issue.

 

"What we want to know is why was Hallen chosen? The site is a very severe flood risk and cannot be the most suitable area."

 

Resident Mike Campbell said: "Hallen is a dumping ground for waste from South Gloucestershire and Bristol.

 

http://www.gazetteseries.co.uk/mostpopular.var.2328433.mostcommented.campaign_to_fight_composting_plant_proposals.php

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2. Answers to qustions on composting

http://www.mlive.com/news/annarbornews/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1213022435243280.xml&coll=2

 

 The Leslie Science and Nature Center has received several questions regarding our compost article. Here is more information.

 

Composting is the breakdown of organic material into soil by microorganisms, including bacteria and fungus as well as by small animals, such as worms.

 

Bacteria play the role of the primary decomposer. Falling into two groups: aerobic or "good'' (for our purposes) and anaerobic or "bad.'' Aerobic bacteria require oxygen and water to break down and digest material. Anaerobic bacteria work in the absence of oxygen, often producing unpleasant smells.

 

Using the composter's formula of 50 percent dry material and 50 percent wet material and occasionally stirring the pile with a shovel or pitchfork should incorporate enough air, ensuring the aerobic bacteria (nonstinky) will outnumber the anaerobes. Things to include: dry material like straw, dry leaves and dry grass clippings; and wet material like kitchen scraps and fresh lawn clippings and other green plants. Wet material can attract flies, so you should always top the pile with a layer of dry material.

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3. Composting project too costly

 

While no one disputed the benefits of composting, Wellington North here are not ready to support a proposal by Minto council to have compost facilities built at county dumps and transfer stations.

 

Councillor John Matusinec said that locally, materials can be taken to All Treat, in Arthur.

 

"A composting facility at every dump site could be quite costly," he said.

 

Works Superintendent Gary Williamson said that a number of years back Mount Forest had considered the idea of creating its own composting site. How­ever, upon investigation, Wil­liam­son said building a facility to meeting regulations was extremely expensive and someone needed to be on site all the time the facility was open.

 

In addition, scales were needed for weights of incoming and outgoing materials.

 

http://www.wellingtonadvertiser.com/index.cfm?page=detail&itmno=1187

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4. Name change for the Composting Association

 

The Composting Association is changing its name to the Association for Organics Recycling.

 

This change, which comes into effect from August 1, reflects a wider change in the biodegradable recycling sector, said acting chief executive Jeremy Jacobs.

 

He said that the biowaste industry is undergoing significant expansion and development and is using a diverse range of treatment technologies.

 

http://www.rwminfo.com/page.cfm/action=Archive/ArchiveID=10/EntryID=4280

 

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5. Composting conserves water in gardens, landscapes

 

http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/Green+Industry+News/Composting-conserves-water-in-gardens-landscapes/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/521597?contextCategoryId=465

 

Composting not only saves water in landscapes and gardens, it creates plant "food" from trash, says a University of Georgia expert.

 

"Incorporating finished compost mulch into vegetable garden beds or plant beds amends the soil and allows water and air to filter through the soil better," said Bob Westerfield, UGA Cooperative Extension horticulturist. "There is not as much run off and the nutrients infiltrate better."

 

Using nearly-finished compost as mulch helps plants retain moisture and prevent weeds.

 

"Organic fertilizers make the plants healthier," Westerfield said. "And, when they are healthier they require less water."

 

Compost is decomposed organic matter used as a soil conditioner and fertilizer. In heavy clay soils, compost reduces compaction, helps increase aeration and helps water better infiltrate the soil. In sandy soils, it helps the soil retain both water and nutrients.

 

Compost is made from a mix of brown and green organic materials. Brown compost materials may include dry, dead plant materials, autumn leaves, dried grass clippings, shredded paper and wood chips. These provide carbon.

 

Green compost materials, such as fresh plant products, kitchen fruit and vegetable waste, coffee grounds and tea bags, provide nitrogen.

 

Westerfield says to include more brown items than green. The ratio should be 3 to 1. Don’t add meats, bones, grease or other animal-based food waste. They can smell bad and attract rodents.

 

Materials should be added in layers, alternating brown and green. A pile of compost can take three weeks to six months to process, depending on the care. Adding fresh material to a pile can cause the process to take longer.

 

The key to composting is to keep the pile moist and to allow for air flow. "The composting cycle will work faster if the pile is kept moist and turned frequently," he said. "The more you agitate the pile the faster it will compost."

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6. Supermarkets Snap Up Eco-Bin Liners

 

A family-run composting business has clinched a deal with two supermarket giants.

 

Recycle Together has signed contracts with national Tesco and Somerfield stores to stock its Alina paper compost bin liners.

 

The liners are strong and water resistant yet bio-degradable and the company, run by Gordon and Lesley Anderson with their son Russell, hopes it will make inroads into the burgeoning market for green alternatives.

 

Alina began as a home-made solution to the problem of how to store compostable material in a clean yet environmentally friendly container.

 

Mrs Anderson says: "Our local council introduced a composting regime, meaning people had to store degradable waste for collection. They supplied us with bins to keep it in, but they'd quickly get very messy.

 

"My husband and I searched the market for a strong paper liner but it didn't exist. Instead, we got a British company to design one made from a combination of sack and craft papers. The result is Alina, which comes in several shapes and sizes and bears the European Certificate of Compostability. This means councils will allow them to be composted on communal sites because they break down without producing toxins."

 

The bags are already sold in Asda, Co-op, Spar, Budgens and Londis stores across the region and are currently being trialled by Waitrose.

 

The company recently used a loan from Finance South West to move to bigger premises on the Halwell Business Park near Totnes.

 

http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1415691/supermarkets_snap_up_ecobin_liners__a_familyrun_composting_business/index.html?source=r_science

 

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7. Colleges Try Composting to Recycle Wasted Food

 

Composting projects at several Connecticut universities are helping turn cafeteria leftovers into environmentally friendly soil for farms and campus gardens.

 

This summer, Yale University will deliver its waste to a Litchfield County composting plant to be transformed into potting soil. Officials at the New Haven university estimate about 2 tons of cafeteria food is discarded each day.

 

"Food, even when you can no longer eat it, is still a resource," said C.J. May, Yale's recycling coordinator. "Burning it or dumping it in the landfill is a real shame."

 

Yale estimates as much as 40 percent of its trash is organic. By composting the waste instead of burning or burying it, Yale hopes to cut greenhouse emissions, meet new sewer requirements and perhaps save money.

 

http://www.universitybusiness.com/newssummary.aspx?news=yes&postid=15984

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8. Peterborough plans £60 million waste overhaul

 

Peterborough city council has unveiled plans to move the machinery from its recently revamped materials recycling facility to an empty factory next door, in a move to pave the way for the development of a £38 million energy-from-waste plant to handle the council's residual waste.

 

The local authority has paid £5 million to acquire a 62,000 sq ft factory building in Fengate, the industrial estate which is already home to its existing Materials Recycling Facility, which was itself subject to a £1 million modernisation completed earlier this year (see letsrecycle.com story).

 

The former Ray Smith Group factory, which Peterborough plans to use as the home of its new MRF

 

The former Ray Smith Group factory, which Peterborough plans to use as the home of its new MRF

And, it now plans to develop the home of its existing 80,000 tonne capacity MRF into a combined heat and power EfW facility to process its residual municipal waste. The new MRF would have the capacity to process up to 100,000 tonnes of recyclables as the council moves towards its target of a 65% recycling and composting rate by 2020.

 

A spokesman for the council told letsrecycle.com: "Peterborough is committed to trying to recycle more than 65% but we've accepted that we can't recycle everything so therefore we need an energy-from-waste plant.

 

"Our Dogsthorpe landfill is expected to be full by 2013, so we're looking at this site to make sure we don't have to use landfill."

Capacity

 

The EfW plant would be designed purely to deal with Peterborough's municipal solid waste, with the spokesman explaining that "we initially thought its capacity would be about 65,000 tonnes, but we're just running the slide rule over it so it's going to be scaled to meet Peterborough's MSW needs. So, it could be less than that".

 

Taking into account the cost of the council's planned food waste collections, the cost of the revamp of Peterborough's waste collection and treatment is expected to be up to £60 million.

 

http://www.letsrecycle.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=37&listcatid=217&listitemid=10070

 

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9. Compost lowering costs for farmers

 

Initial results from a £3.4 million research project by environmental consultancy ADAS are positive about the cost and soil benefits of using compost as a fertiliser.

 

Soil scientist, Susie Holmes, of ADAS, said: "Benefits of compost in terms of cost savings on fertilisers are now significant."

 

The Boxworth winter wheat trial, part of the ADAS research project

 

The Boxworth winter wheat trial, part of the ADAS research project

The long-term research project, which was commissioned by Compost Research Limited, began in 2006 and will run through until the 2009 harvest, and is already showing "good long term benefits" for farmers who apply compost to their soil.

 

Ms Holmes told letsrecycle.com: "One tonne of typical green waste is now worth around £7 to £9 per tonne in terms of its major nutrient content alone."

 

She said in some cases, particularly where compost has been made using green waste, it may be worth £10 per tonne for nutrient content thanks to high levels of nitrogen. She added: "The contribution of magnesium, sulphur, and trace elements in compost may give added benefits to some soil types

 

Ms Holmes explained: "The longer term benefits of using compost are something that farmers should also be considering. Not only does compost add to the nutritional status of the soil, especially potassium levels, but the high organic matter content, in particular high lignin content of compost, helps increase the soil organic matter status."

 

In addition to having a high nutritional value, compost also improves water-holding capacity, nutrient-holding characteristics and physical structure, making it easier to cultivate and less prone to erosion.

 

Ms Holmes stressed that the best benefits are in the "long term", saying it can take 5 to 10 years for the true value of compost to reveal itself. But she added that farms taking place in the trial have shown soil improvement since the project began in 2006.

 

She explained that trials at Gleadthorpe, Rosamaund and Boxworth, had all been "a success so far".

 

"Compost is of particular benefit for rotations which include potatoes or other root vegetables because of its high potassium content and its potential to improve water holding capacity of lighter soils."

 

She said early results had shown soil improvement, particularly with levels of potassium and potash and biological activity.

Related links

 

ADAS

 

The Composting Association

 

She said: "A lot more farmers are interested in compost and some people have not been able to get any. It's a complete change and people are queuing up for it."

 

Jeremy Jacobs, acting chief executive of the Composting Association (which will be known as the Association for Organics Recycling from August 1) said: "This latest research has provided further data on fertiliser replacement values of composts, which is particularly welcome in light of the spiralling cost of artificial fertilisers."

 

http://www.letsrecycle.com/do/ecco.py/view_item?listid=37&listcatid=217&listitemid=10069

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10. Entrepreneurs see business opportunity in recycling

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Travis Pryor and Rodney Clark, of Phoenix Recycling, load garbage cans of recycled materials while making one of the every other week pickups of curbside recycling in Algiers Point Thursday.

 

As local governments shelved their recycling programs after Hurricane Katrina, declaring them a luxury for better times, David McDonough and Steven O'Connor saw a business opportunity among the thousands of residents who cringed at having to send all their waste into a landfill.

 

The pair ratcheted up a small commercial recycling business and began collecting bottles, cans, newspapers and cardboard in residential areas just under a year ago. Through their Web site and a handful of postings in local coffee shops, they have managed to grow their customer base to 3,300 and hope to expand to the north shore soon.

 

But just as Phoenix Recycling gains a toehold, both the city and Jefferson Parish are preparing to restart their municipal recycling programs. Winning a public contract would position Phoenix to grow its small stable of employees and expand its humble fleet -- one balky garbage truck and a few rented U-Hauls -- but losing out to a large, well-entrenched regional firm could spell its sunset.

 

Jefferson plans to seek bids for recycling services in the next few months, and New Orleans is wrapping up a survey in which it asked residents how much they would be willing to pay for curbside pickup. The City Council has set aside $500,000 for a pilot recycling program, though it is not clear how long that money will last or whether the city can afford to renew the funding once it runs out.

 

To prepare for the possible loss of residential customers, McDonough and O'Connor are trying to build up the commercial side of their business. They now collect paper from about two dozen corporate clients and hope to diversify with services such as paper shredding.

 

For now, Phoenix manages to turn a modest profit. The company takes newspapers and office paper to two local recycling plants, but it has to transport aluminum, glass and other material to Baton Rouge. The long-distance drives, combined with the recent spike in gas prices, have suppressed the company's earnings.

 

"We're certainly not making a bunch of money, but we are able to keep doing what we're doing," McDonough said.

 

For their customers, the company represents the opportunity at long last to salvage the waste they have tossed away since Hurricane Katrina, or hoarded for one of the recycling days the city holds every few months to collect newspapers and cans for transport to the recycling plants in Baton Rouge.

 

Paulette Hurdlik, a partner in a local education marketing firm, started paying for Phoenix to pick up recycling at the homes of all her employees. She said a viable curbside program is an important economic development tool for the city, a way to attract people who care about the fingerprints they leave on the environment.

 

"I think that we've lost a lot of our brain trust. For New Orleans to attract people, it needs to look like a smart place to live," Hurdlik said. "Unless we have a recycling program, we're in the dark ages."

 

The company's founders hope that the groundswell of support they have generated might prod local governments into rethinking how they manage waste, incorporating both recycling and composting into their curbside programs. Since last August, their company has prevented 750 tons of refuse from entering a landfill.

 

"We know some of this material would have been recycled in some sort of way -- church paper drives or the city drop-off points -- but we believe at least 80 to 90 percent of this material would have ended up in a landfill if not for our program," O'Connor said.

 

http://blog.nola.com/tpmoney/2008/06/entrepreneurs_see_business_opp.html

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11. Municipal Composting Programs–-a Way To Go Green

 

Composting has occurred since plants first existed on the earth. When leaves and fruit fall from trees, and when plants die, they drop to the ground, enriching the soil through the process of natural decomposition. This is nature's way of composting.

 

Humans have been composting for decades, maybe even centuries. In our recent history, agricultural communities have used composting as a way to enrich their gardens and farmland. In the last two decades, a much larger movement of composting in urban areas has begun, and in recent years, composting has taken on its own popularity as a new way to "go green." City dwellers are becoming more aware of the benefits of compost in their gardens and flowerbeds, and they are realizing that it is best to recycle natural products back to the earth.

 

Municipalities have had a major influence in this movement with programs to dispose of recyclable waste. These programs allow, and sometimes require, citizens to collect their organic waste such as leaves, branches, grass, and other yard trimmings for composting. These programs vary in season and structure but they all have the same goal of recycling natural material to the earth's benefit. In many cases, after the material has been composted, the city sells the compost back to citizens who wish to purchase it for their yards or gardens. In this way, city composting programs provide two services: they allow city dwellers to compost their organic waste, and they also make compost material available for sale at reasonable prices.

 

A municipal composting program may seem simple, but it can be a large project to manage. First, the citizens of the municipality must be educated about what types of products can be collected and how they are to be contained. Some city composting programs only collect yard waste, while others also allow food scraps. Second, the city must decide how they wish to collect the waste. Some municipalities use bulk collection, where leaves and waste are piled in the street or yard and trucks come collect the debris. Another way to collect the waste is through drop off sites where citizens can take their waste to a central collection area. Other communities use container collection, where the waste is put in specific types of containers such as biodegradable brown paper bags or in reusable containers and is collected by trucks.

 

After trucks have picked up the organic waste, the material must be transported to a central composting site to be processed and composted. Several months later, the waste you threw out will be available again for resale to citizens as premium compost. Compost can be used in many ways. Premium compost is a great way to enrich your soil, control erosion, or simply help your plants grow bigger and stronger!

 

The US Environmental Protection Agency indicates that 24% of the United States' solid waste is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. Just think how much waste we could keep out of landfills if more cities began composting programs! With the ability to convert all this waste into premium compost and return it to the earth, these programs are hugely beneficial. If your city doesn't have an organized composting program, contact local officials in your area and prompt them to begin one. This is a way to get involved and give something back to this planet that we inhabit.

 

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

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12. Recycling Yard Waste Is A Great Composting Solution

 

Many towns and cities of all sizes are encouraging people to bring their yard debris and green waste in to central recycling centers so that the yard waste can be composted. The main purpose of these efforts is to reduce the burden on the landfills, while at the same time providing recycling composting fertilizer for public parks and facilities. In some municipalities, people can "trade in" their yard debris for compost that they can use on their own property.

 

This use of yard waste on a municipal level has helped to reduce the burden on the landfills, while making people more aware of the importance of organic waste recycling and of the benefits of composting. At the same time, the parks and recreational departments are able to cut their budgets for fertilizer and soil treatments by utilizing the compost to treat and improve the soil in the parks. Some cities also use the compost to support the community vegetable garden projects as well.

 

In most cases the largest portion of raw materials comes from the local yard waste which is a combination of leaves, lawn and grass clipping, shrub and hedge trimmings, and very small, pruned branches from trees. In addition, the larger branches and even small trees can be ground up and the mulch can go on the compost heap as well as the crop of Christmas trees that are shredded each year.

 

Of course, individual households can easily compost their yard debris as well, without needing to either wait for the pick-up schedule or for their municipality to institute such a program. Backyard composting is quite simple to start and there are compost bins available on the market for those with small or large backyards. Even those who live in apartments can enjoy the benefits of recycling their organic kitchen waste.

 

http://beautifulhomegarden.blogspot.com/2008/06/recycling-yard-waste-is-great.html

 

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13. Composting

 

Composting sounds hard, but it’s really not, in fact it’s one of the easiest things you can do at home to get you started on the path to being greener.  There are a few things to decide before you get started, and one or two things to remember as you go along, but after that, it’s really a matter of throw things in and leave them to rot.

 

First thing you have to decide is if you want a regular compost heap or if you’re going to go for a wormery or a bokashi compost.  A regular compost heap can have all your uncooked fruit and veg added, along with any garden waste you get - weeds, grass cuttings, prunings from plants and trees etc.  A bokashi compost means you can add cooked food waste including meat as well as all the normal things.  However, with a bokashi set up, you have to buy your bokashi powder and remember to add it regularly.  A wormery is generally much smaller and good if you’ve only got a very small space like a yard rather than a garden, as it tends not to smell and so doesn’t matter if it’s right by the back door.

 

Once you’ve made your decision which you’re going to go for, then you need to decide where you’re going to place it.  Remember with a bokashi set up you get a liquid forming that means you want to set it up on something (a bit like you would with a waterbutt) so you can pop a bucket or watering can under the tap to let you use all that lovely juice for feeding your plants.  With a compost heap you want to put it a little out of the way from the back door ideally as they can get a little smelly although if you buy one of the plastic composting bins then these tend to keep the smells inside much more than an open heap does.

 

http://eco.peazyshop.co.uk/composting

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14. Composting and recycling to be enhanced in Montreal

 

A new waste management plan has been unveiled in Montreal with the intention of reducing the amount of waste that ends up in landfill sites every year.

 

Gerald Tremblay, the mayor of Montreal disclosed at a press conference that the plan would cost two hundred million dollars and would take a decade to implement. There would be over forty measures in the plan all intended to help lower the amount of waste generated and raise the rate of recycling.

 

One of the measures to be taken include the building of more composting plants as well as raising the collection of organic waste. Independent reports indicate that about six million pounds will be spent on garden and lawn organic waste this year.

 

The city of Montreal would also introduce wheelie bins for the collection of recyclable waste. Besides increasing the number of recycling boxes there would be a trial run in small buildings of a new type of closed bin.

 

Alan De Sousa, an executive committee member who is responsible for economic development and the environment, disclosed that they would providing to members of the public facilities that would boost recycling by virtue of ease of use and user-friendliness.

 

Officials of the city of Montreal have revealed that the each member of the Montreal population generates approximately five hundred kilograms of waste annually and around seventy eight per cent of the combined waste ended up in landfill sites.

 

http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/623000.html

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15. Worm composting and other sustainability delights

 

Today’s socially conscious college student finds it tough to keep up with all the latest buzz words. He wants to be for "social justice" and against "institutional racism," to be known as both an "environmentalist" and a "multi-culturalist." The list goes on.

 

Wouldn’t life be simpler if all the correct labels could be captured in just one word?

 

That magic word is here, and it’s taking college campuses by storm. "Sustainability" may sound like a new-fangled term for eco-consciousness, but it packs a lot more punch.

 

According to John Leo, the newly established "Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education" (AASHE) defines sustainability as "encompassing human and ecological health, social justice, secure livelihoods and a better world for all generations."

 

AASHE already has sustainability pledges from more than 500 schools, writes Naomi Shaefer Riley in the Wall Street Journal. Lee Bodner, a pledge drive organizer,  has big plans for the movement:

 

    As Mr. Bodner explains: ‘Sustainability, broadly speaking, is creating the ability for people to live on a planet that can support the population in an environmental way but also ultimately a way that promotes the good life for everyone, for social justice." And Kathleen Kerr, the head of residence life at the University of Delaware, told a gathering of college administrators last fall that the idea that ‘sustainability is mostly about the environment’ is a ‘myth.’

 

    In fact, she and a colleague offered a Power Point presentation listing other items that administrators might consider in this category. They included ‘Fair Trade,’ ‘Gender Equity,’ ‘Affirmative Action,’ ‘Multicultural Competence,’ ‘Worker’s Rights’ and ‘Domestic Partnerships.’

 

Next year, I’m sure she’ll add animal rights.

 

Aren’t movements like "sustainability" usually all "talk" and no" walk"?

 

Not if the rest of the movement takes a cue from Ohio’s Oberlin College, where sustainability principles have revolutionized the campus lifestyle. Take the "Oberlin house," the college’s center of sustainability, which the New York Times recently described. At night, students huddle in one room to study, so that the lights in every other room can be turned off. The thermostat rarely goes above 60 degrees, and televisions are forbidden.

 

http://ww3.startribune.com/kerstenblog/?p=447#comment-63764

 

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16. Green Waste For Backyard Composting To Feed Your Garden

 

There is a good deal of discussion and concern nowadays about organic products and defining the meaning of the term organic waste. Essentially, it is the byproduct of any material that is biological in origin.

 

Common types of yard waste includes virtually all paper products, including newspapers and cardboard; food waste; green waste material which encompasses yard and garden waste; animal manure and feces; and various biosolids and sludge components.

 

The process that organic matter goes through to become waste is called composting. The composting process breaks down the microorganisms in the organic material through a combination of exposure to heat, moisture, oxygen and bacteria.

 

green waste

Once this organic material has passed through this decomposing process, it can be reused as a very effective soil additive.

 

The fact of the matter is that even though most people don’t think about it in these terms, organic waste is an essential and life-giving part of the cycle of life on earth. There is no doubt that the natural decomposition and composting process is simply nature’s way of recycling.

 

Once organic materials are gathered together in a compost pile, the microorganisms rapidly increase in number and essentially grow into a community that "colonizes" the composter. Through the natural biological functions of the microorganisms, the organic components are systematically broken down and the result is a nutrient rich compost.

 

http://www.asclock.org/home-garden/green-waste-for-backyard-composting-to-feed-your-garden

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17. Bokashi Composting

 

    Bokashi (Japanese for "fermented organic matter") is a method of intensive composting.

    It can use an aerobic or anaerobic inoculation to produce the compost.

    Once a starter culture is made, it can be re-used, like yogurt culture.

    Since the popular introduction of effective microorganisms (EM), Bokashi is commonly made with only molasses, water, EM, and wheat bran.

    However, Bokashi can be made by inoculating any organic matter with a variety of hosts of beneficial bacteria/microbes.

    This includes manures, spent mushroom compost, mushroom spores, worm-casting tea, forest soil tea, yeast, pickles, sake, miso, natto, wine and beer.

    Molasses feeds the microbial cultures as they inoculate the organic matter.

http://urban-permaculture.blogspot.com/2008/06/bokashi-composting.html

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18. Want to Curb Global Warming? Start Recycling and Composting

 

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A garbage dump. (Image credit: Marcello Casal Jr./Agência Brasil at Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license.)Looking for ways beyond changing lightbulbs and taking the train to help reduce your carbon footprint? Turns out we all could make a big difference in greenhouse gas emissions by not throwing out so much trash and composting our food waste.

 

That’s the message from "Stop Trashing the Climate," a report prepared by The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Eco-Cycle, a non-profit recycler. The study finds that waste prevention and increased recycling and composting could reduce as many greenhouse gas emissions as are produced by 21 percent of the U.S.’s 417 coal-fired power plants.

 

Why? There are two basic reasons. One, by trashing stuff instead of reusing or repairing it, we create the demand for new resources … and extracting, manufacturing and transporting those resources generates carbon dioxide. And, two, by tossing biodegradable materials into landfills instead of composting them, we’re creating emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that is shorter-lived but 72 times more powerful than carbon dioxide.

 

"Recycling is as important for climate stability as improving vehicle fuel efficiency, retrofitting lighting, planting trees and protecting forests," said Brenda Platt, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and lead author of the "Stop Trashing the Climate" report.  "By avoiding landfill methane emissions, composting in particular is a vital tactic in the battle to stop Arctic ice melting. Biodegradable materials are a liability when buried and burned but an asset when composted."

 

The report asserts that "A zero waste approach based on preventing waste and expanding reuse, recycling and composting is one of the fastest, cheapest, and most effective strategies to protect the climate." It also notes that, per megawatt-hour, a trash incinerator produces more carbon dioxide emissions that a coal-fired power plant. Incinerators also waste three to five times as much energy as recycling helps to conserve.

 

http://ecolocalizer.com/2008/06/06/want-to-curb-global-warming-start-recycling-and-composting/

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19. Composting with Intention

 

The first day of this past descending moon we began our composting in earnest. Quite a feat at the scale we undertake but nevertheless all of our energy and enthusiasm goes into it, as this will be the life and nourishment that graces our land for the next year. We give life to an otherwise disconnected, physically separate set of materials by gathering and assembling these elements of life and inserting our biodynamic preparations. We started bringing them together months ago. Some woodchips from a local sawmill; chipped up willow from along our creek; hay grown in our paddocks; manure from our favourite dairyman; grape marc (skins and stems) and olive pomace (pulp and pits) from our organic and biodynamic estate; gorse and broom cut and mulched from our terraces; coffee grounds and egg shells gathered from local cafes. Like a squirrel stocking up for winter, we too have been preparing by gathering all the ingredients to give us a wonderful steaming compost pile blessing us with riches for the spring.

 

We make three types of compost, each slightly different to suit the needs of the land that we will use them on. Our primary compost piles are quite large and will be used on our grapes and olives. They consist of layers of straw, grape marc, lime and reactive rock phosphate (RPR), wood chips, manure slurry, green manure, coffee grounds, crushed egg shells, etc. Here is a picture of a cross-section of a compost pile where you can see an example of some of the layers.

 

We have a separate compost pile that will be used in the making of our compost teas. We need this one to be very fungally active so we use more woody materials. The compost that we use for the gardens needs to be more bacterially dominant, so we use less wood and more green matter and food scraps.

 

Our favourite part of making compost is when we get to use our latest invention – "the slurryator 9000" – to spray manure that has been mixed with water into a slurry onto the pile. Great fun!

All of our compost piles have the biodynamic compost preparations added to them (502-507), temperatures regularly monitored and are turned when the drop to 40ºC, after having risen to 60ºC+. A second round of the biodynamic compost preparations are added when we turn the compost.

 

http://seresinestate.blogspot.com/2008/06/composting-with-intention.html

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20. The Composting Criminal

 

I did it!! I finally did it! I’ve been pretty committed to buying 90% organic food which has felt really great. And for the last month or so, I’ve just told my kids that I don’t cook food anymore. If they want to eat cooked food, they’re going to need to learn how to prepare it themselves.

 

Soooo… this has made for a lot more compostable material around our home, and living in a pretty small apartment, I don’t have room for worm farming.

 

So I’ve just been sort of holding on to my compost and wondering what to do with it. Occasionally I get defeated and stick it in a biodegradable bag and leave it on the curb on Thursdays. Last night, however, I decided that I was going to find the solution. I packed up my billowing pails of compost into my jogging stroller and made my way to the train tracks near my house. I felt a bit like a composting criminal as I sneaked through the fence and made my way to the bushes beside the tracks.

 

Then I dumped my compost around the base of some bushes and trees and left it there!!

 

HA! Another green victory for me!

 

I’m committed to taking at least one new step forward a week toward greener, sustainable living and this one was a long time coming. Still haven’t figured out what I’ll be doing when winter hits, but that’s another adventure for another day…

 

Mmmmuah!

 

http://therawdivas.com/blog/?p=242

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21. Another Sign that Composting is Becoming A Mainstream Activity

 

How surprised was I to come across the Nature Mill Electric Composter in the Williams-Sonoma catalog. Another sign that composting is becoming more mainstream. Personally I prefer nature's way to compost - but if I had an extra $400 laying around this would save me a trip outside to the composter - and I could get rid of my compost bucket. Although they are making those pretty attractive these days!

 

Obviously, this composter is for the non-gardener - or someone much neater than I. I can't imagine bringing my cutting indoors to compost! That's like backwards world!

According to the catalog, the unit consumes up to 5 lb.s of kitchen waste a day and tranforms it into compost in just two weeks. Unlike a traditional composting system, this machine will also accept dairy, fish and meat. It plugs into a regular electric outlet and uses the same amount of energy as a nightlight.

 

I'm all for composting our household wastes - if this gets more people doing it, then it's a wonderful product.

 

http://cultivatingparadise.blogspot.com/2008/06/another-sign-that-composting-is.html

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22. Humanure Composting

 

It might be the ultimate kapu. After all, everything from child molestation to necrophilia to bestiality to gang rape is now routine fare in online porn, and anyone who’s genuinely upset by that may commonly be mocked as an old-fashioned "prude"; but most Americans are still deeply shocked/upset by the idea of a composting toilet. In many municipalities you can’t get a permit for one — i.e. it’s illegal to operate one. In other countries however, such as forward-looking Sweden, the popular composting toilet called "Biolet" is being adopted by entire small towns/villages.

 

The association between flush toilets and Modernity, Sanitation, and Progress (not to mention class and race superiority) is very strong in Gringolandia. The "outhouse" and other non-flushing toilet concepts are a mark of the despised rural life for which urbanites often have a cringeing biophobic contempt (ironically, but perhaps inevitably, coexisting with a saccharine faux-nostalgia expressed in kitsch art); and they are a mark of third world poverty and "primitive" conditions. Flush toilets are right up there with SUVs on the list of "things those goddamn Greenies want to pry from our cold, dead hands" in the fulminations of online anti-environmentalist or cornucopian cranks. It is an outrage — nearly a heresy — to suggest that the flush toilet might not be such a cool idea after all.

 

Even those whose biophobia can be somewhat separated from their class, race, and national ego-extensions often remain convinced that human waste [I’ll come back to that term later, to challenge it and the assumptions behind it] management is a highly technical problem which can only be solved by expert technomanagerial cadres and heavy technology — i.e. the way we’ve been doing it since the industrial revolution. Any less "scientific" and technocratic approach will, they fear, lead inevitably to outbreaks of cholera and parasitical infestation (conditions observed by Europeans among the poor of their own and other countries and "solved" by the introduction of centralised industrial sanitation). Basically, it’s caca and it’s dirty and we mustn’t touch it, that is a job for the Authorities; don’t try this at home, kids! Highly neurotoxic pesticides are available over the counter, for us to spray freely around our yards (and contaminate other people’s), cleaning supplies that mix into lethal chemical cocktails are readily purchasable without ID or age check, but we can’t be trusted to deal with our own — er — shit.

 

http://www.feralscholar.org/blog/index.php/2008/04/29/humanure-composting/

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23. New ways to recycle

 

Two recycling events are coming up that Hamtramckans can participate in.

 

Residents will be able to drop off glass, paper, cardboard, aluminum, and #1 and #2 plastics on June 28th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the city parking lot on Caniff at McDougall. This recycling event will coincide with the International Bazaar, and will likely be available the last Saturday of every month throughout the summer.

 

This second event is sponsored by Detroit Agricultural network. The cost of the class is $3 for participants in the Garden Resource Program and $5 for non-participants.

 

VERMICOMPOSTING (Composting with Worms)

Wednesday, June 11th, 6-8PM

Colorado Street Community Garden, 79 Colorado, HP

 

Based on high demand at Spring Cluster Meetings, an additional Vermicomposting class has been added to the Summer Education Series. Join us to learn about how to use redworms to turn your kitchen scraps into rich fertile soil for your garden. Composting with worms is fun (a GREAT activity for kids). Bring a small container if you'd like to adopt some worms to begin your own worm bin!

 

For a complete schedule of Summer classes, please visit www.detroitagriculture.org

 

http://hamtramckstar.com/index.php/2008/06/10/new_ways_to_recycle

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24. Composting human waste

 

Poo is a crappy subject, but one worth covering; particularly because it allows me to use a lot of old puns - it's not often I get to giggle like a schoolkid when writing - I think the last piece where I did was my item "Kangaroos don't fart" :).

 

Poop fascinates me. When I'm out in the bush, you'll often find me poking around in animal poop to learn more about what they eat, how long ago they visited that spot and how they digest. It's a boy thing I'm told, but maybe it's just a Michael thing too. I'm certainly expecting the marriage proposals to stop flooding my email inbox after I publish this article :).

 

Poo was part of my career at one stage - contract cleaning. I developed an odd relationship with it and cleaning up other people's sh** was a great leveler. I can tell you for a The first lesson I learned is never brush a toilet with your mouth open. True story, one that I don't think I need to go into any more detail about - you can probably guess.

 

Mallee Truffles

 

There's all sorts of interesting things about poop. For example, as you probably know, most birds eat grit to help them digest food. The Australian Emu (somewhat like an ostrich) swallows stones! I was totally shocked at the size of the pebbles I found in Emu poo (which I affectionately call Mallee Truffles) on my chunk 'o dirt in the outback - some were over an inch long.

 

An old Emu poo - inside it were pebbles over an inch long!

(I promise this is the only poop image in this article)

 

A part of me clinched up tight when I saw this thinking that it would be incredibly painful to pass, but I guess it's not for them.

 

OK, that's enough of an introduction, I just wanted to desensitize you to the "poo" word; because I'm going to talk about the human version soon.

 

My preoccupation with animal poop aside, it's a serious topic. Poo is good.. sometimes. Chook poop, horse dung, cow patties; all sorts of poo makes for wonderful fertilizer. It's quite likely that some of the food you eat has been grown in amongst poop of some type.

 

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/234/1/Composting-human-waste.html

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25. Book Review: Let it Rot!: The Gardener's Guide to Composting (Third Edition) (Storey's Down-to-Earth Guides)

Stu Campbell (Author)

A readable, quietly humorous introduction to composting, this covers reasons to compost; differing approaches; how decomposition works; various methods, ingredients, and containers; how to speed decomposition; and how to use the end result. Campbell is an experienced gardener, and the book goes into great detail, but the text remains clear and interesting. The simple black-and-white illustrations vary between decorative sketches and straightforward diagrams; they could have been more frequent and more informative. The bibliography lists 14 other books on composting; a list of sources of composting supplies is also given. An interesting treatment of a basic subject for general readers, this is recommended for all gardening collections needing material on compost heaps.

- Sharon Levin, Univ. of Vermont Medical Lib., Burlington

Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

 

Product Description

In 1975, Let it Rot! helped start the composting movement and taught gardeners everywhere how to recycle waste to create soil-nourishing compost. Contains advice for starting and maintaining a composting system, building bins, and using compost. Third Edition. 267,000 copies in print.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Let-Rot-Composting-Down-Earth/dp/1580170234/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213132693&sr=8-1

 

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26. Basic Composting: All the Skills and Tools You Need to Get Started (Basic How-to Guides) (Spiral-bound)

by Erich Ebeling (Editor)

 

his is the perfect book for the beginning composter. With plenty of pictures and easy step by step instructions this book teems with information. Purchased with "The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener" you have all you need for a great preliminary knowledge base on the subject.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Composting-Skills-Started-How/dp/0811726479/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213132693&sr=8-2

 

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27. The Rodale Book of Composting: Easy Methods for Every Gardener

 

Grace Gershuny (Editor), Deborah L. Martin (Editor)

 

his is an update of Jerry Minnich and others' The Rodale Guide to Composting ( LJ 5/1/79), which itself updated J.L. Rodale's Complete Book of Composting (Rodale Pr., 1960. o.p.). The broad spectrum of information given will be useful from backyard urban gardening on up to industrial, municipal, and farm recycling. The first quarter of the book gives you all you ever wanted to know on the science of composting--and more--along with some history. A discussion of materials, methods, structures, equipment, and uses is followed by a brief look at large-scale composting. The writing is an uneven mix of scientific detail and the anecdotal. Chemical reactions are described in exquisite detail, and yet most quotes, while attributed, are neither dated nor their source given. Stu Campbell and Kathleen Bond Borie's Let It Rot: The Gardener's Guide to Composting ( LJ 1/91) is more readable and inviting for the individual gardener. While useful for its in-depth, detailed coverage, Rodale's almost-textbook is recommended only for comprehensive gardening collections.

- Sharon Levin, Univ. of Vermont Lib., Burlington

Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

 

Review

"Lovers of compost. . .will be able to polish their techniques, and beginners will experience a whole new adventure."--Eddie Albert, Award-winning actor and avid gardener

 

http://www.amazon.com/Rodale-Book-Composting-Methods-Gardener/dp/0878579915/ref=pd_bbs_sr_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213132693&sr=8-5

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28. Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System

 

Mary Appelhof (Author)

 

This was a fun book about the little creepy crawlers! It gives a very solid scientific introduction to the little critters and answers most of your basic questions about worms. The focus of the book has to with vermiculture--the use of worms for developing super-rich compost material for organic gardens. Vermicompost is without a doubt the best composting material available for organic gardeners, and setting up your own vermicomposting bin is the best way to get yourself some of this richly organic fertilizer.

 

The book details how you can set up your own vermicompost bin, either by making it yourself or by purchasing a commercial worm bin. It also even describes how some school systems have saved themselves bundles of money by having worms eat the schoolkids' lunch scraps rather than pay for commercial garbagemen to haul the stuff away!

 

http://www.amazon.com/Worms-Eat-My-Garbage-Composting/dp/0977804518/ref=pd_bbs_sr_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213132693&sr=8-7

 

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29. The Humanure Handbook: A Guide to Composting Human Manure, Third Edition (Paperback)

by Joseph C. Jenkins (Author)

 

To anyone who believes that once flushed the contents of the toilet are "safe" and "away", I recommend reading this book. To those more informed who are looking at an expensive commercial composting toilet ... I recommend reading this book before you make your decision. K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Stupid!

 

Joe Jenkins offers an inspiring, humorous, well-researched and well-written book. He makes what should be a very obvious point ... flushed "away" or thrown "away" doesn't mean gone ... it merely means "someplace else", and worse ... someone else's problem.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Humanure-Handbook-Guide-Composting-Manure/dp/0964425831/ref=pd_bbs_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213132693&sr=8-12

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30. The Complete Compost Gardening Guide by Barbara Pleasant, Deborah L. Martin

 

Barbara Pleasant and Deborah L. Martin turn the compost bin upside down with their liberating system of keeping compost heaps right in the garden, rather than in some dark corner behind the garage. The compost and the plants live together from the beginning in a nourishing, organic environment. The authors' bountiful, compost-rich gardens require less digging, weeding, mulching, and even less planting. And here's one of the best parts — no more backbreaking slogs from compost bin to garden. The authors even identify the plants that benefit most from compost and how the elements of a composted garden work together.

 

A natural Six-Way Compost Gardening System provides the ruling principles for successfully improving every garden with healthy compost. Readers will learn how to:

 

1. Choose labor-saving sites that keep gardens and compost piles as close to one another as possible.

 

2. Work with the compostable riches produced at home. Every yard and kitchen produces plenty of material — easily identified with at-a-glance charts — for a great start.

 

3. Help composting critters do their work by balancing ingredients, adding high-nitrogen meals when needed, and keeping the compost moist.

 

4. Reuse recycling bin items, such as large plastic buckets and cardboard boxes, as composting equipment.

 

5. Keep diversity in the mix. The magic is in the variety of the components and how they work together to create "gardener’s gold."

 

6. Customize composting to suit specific garden needs, always concentrating first on soil care.

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Complete-Compost-Gardening-Guide/Barbara-Pleasant/e/9781580177023/?itm=2

 

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31. Easy Composters You Can Build by Nick Noyes

 

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Easy-Composters-You-Can-Build/Nick-Noyes/e/9780882663500/?itm=9

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The Worm Book: The Complete Guide to Gardening and Composting with Worms by Loren Nancarrow, Janet Hogan Taylor

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Worm-Book/Loren-Nancarrow/e/9780898159943/?itm=11

 

After spilling the secrets of natural pest control in "Dead Snails Leave No Trails", Taylor and Nancarrow are back with this handy and comprehensive guide that celebrates that modest hero of the new organic gardening revolution: the worm. Topics include building a worm bin, making a yard and garden worm friendly, vermicomposting, and more. 160 pp.

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32. Compost Science and Technology by L. F. Diaz (Editor), M. De Bertoldi (Editor), W. Bidlingmaier (Editor)

 

Composting is a widely used biological process for the management of some wastes produced in communities and agricultural activities, which have experienced substantial growth during the last few years. Because this and the knowledge of composting has increased, the number of composting facilities has increased tremendously, especially in some European countries. Interest has also increased in several countries in other regions of the world. This book attempts to summarize some of the most important work conducted during the last few years under one cover. The contributions to the publication are made by some of the most qualified professionals in the world and present the information in a clear and objective manner. The readers will find the information very useful and will be helpful in the design of new facilities and organic recycling programs.

 

* Up-to-date contributions by some of the most knowledgeable and respected leaders in the field

* Clear and objective presentations, which are arranged in such a way that it is not necessary to read the entire book

* Information is supported by data, tables and references

* Covers most important aspects of the process including a brief historical review

* May be used by teachers as well as practicioners in the field

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Compost-Science-and-Technology/L-F-Diaz/e/9780080439600/?itm=18

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33. Composting Municipal Sludge: A Technology Evaluation by Arthur H. Benedict, Eliot Epstein, Joel E. Alpert

 

A guide to the technologies involved in composting sludge from municipal waste facilities, including case studies from small municipalities and metropolitan areas.

 

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Composting-Municipal-Sludge/Arthur-H-Benedict/e/9780815511625/?itm=19---

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34. Microbiology of Composting  by Heribert Insam, S. Klammer, N. Riddech

 

Synopsis

 

Composting is increasingly used as a recycling technology for organic wastes. Knowledge on the composition and activities of compost microbial communities has so far been based on traditional methods. New molecular and physiological tools now offer new insights into the "black box" of decaying material. An unforeseen diversity of microorganisms are involved in composting, opening up an enormous potential for future process and product improvements. In this book, the views of scientists, engineers and end-users on compost production, process optimisation, standardisation and product application are presented.

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35. Introduction to the QPC

 

The Quality Protocol for Compost is launched today (15th March). This protocol is a joint Environment Agency and WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) initiative funded by DEFRA and produced in consultation with key industry stakeholders including the Composting Association.

 

Until now, compost has been technically classified as a waste and, as such, fell under a range of waste management regulations. This inhibited the use of quality compost, particularly in agriculture which is by far and away the largest market for this valuable resource.

 

The aim of this protocol is to describe parameters for the full recovery of compost which will provide user confidence, protect the environment and ease regulatory burden on the compost processor. In addition it will provide more certainty for business and assist in market development.? This development has been seen as a significant breakthrough within the composting industry.

http://compost.org.uk/content/view/439/284/

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36. Composting Toilets Company

http://www.sun-mar.com/comp_hist.html

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37. Solvita® Compost Maturity Test

 

A genuine scientific breakthrough - the new Solvita® Compost Maturity Test Kit allows producers of compost to make an end product which can compete for the first time on quality & price with other less environmentally acceptable forms of growing media.

 

The test is fast becoming an essential tool for manufacturers and users of compost alike giving rapid and cost effective determination of stability, maturity & fitness for purpose.

 

It is based on patented gel-colorimetry technology in which a test paddle is used to measure the respiration gases above a sample of compost. The colour coded system is calibrated for a wide range of known conditions gathered by scientists at Woods End Research Laboratory who have been actively testing and monitoring soils & composts for over 20 years.

 

Each kit comes with a comprehensive instruction manual that provides insight into the composting process and gives guidelines of improvements that can be made to the process & for safe use of the end product at each level of maturity.

http://www.solvita.co.uk/products/compost-maturity-test-kit.htm

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 38. How to compost your coffee grounds

 

by Carolina Dream Coy

 

The smell of coffee brewing first thing in the morning, followed by actually drinking the coffee is an excellent way to wake up. Not only is coffee a great way to start your day, there are many other things you can do with those coffee grounds after you have your morning coffee. If you are in the habit of just throwing those coffee grounds away but would like to find a way to reuse them that could also save you money, keep reading.

 

Composting coffee grounds – more on this from here

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39. THE BIOPOD: Food Waste Composter & Grub Grower

 

Recycle your Kitchen Scraps into Free, Nutritious BioGrubs™!

 

Newest Breakthrough Technology

 

The new residential BioPod™ is the latest patented technology to hit the home composting market. Over 8 years of R&D, combined with thorough testing on 3 different continents, has produced the first commercially available system.

 

Uber-Fast Composting

 

While many compost bins can take 6-12 months to break down their contents, the BioPod™ can eliminate most of your food scraps in as little as 24-36 hours. Like composting and vermiculture, the BioPod™ uses beneficial organisms to digest and decompose your kitchen waste, while producing valuable finished products. Time Lapse Photos

 

Composting BioGrubs (Black Soldier Fly Larvae) - The Secret Ingredient in ProtaCulture

The Future: Prota™Composting

 

The specific bioconversion process by which valuable proteins and fats and captured and recycled, rather than degraded, into usable biomass by a beneficial decomposer is referred to as Prota™Culture. The signature species utilized in our systems is the juvenile Black Soldier Fly, Hermetia illucens, which we lovingly call BioGrubs™. Virtually harmless to pets, humans and wildlife, this native arthropod does not spread disease, cannot bite or sting, and will not annoy you at backyard picnics!

 

Valuable Finished Products

 

A working BioPod™ can easily handle the daily food scraps produced by a large family – up to 5 lbs per day. It can even digest pet feces. For every 100 lbs of kitchen scraps you will get 5 lbs of friable compost, a few quarts of nutritious compost tea, and approx. 20 lbs of self-harvesting BioGrubs™ - which are the ultimate fish, herp, and bird food.

 

Compliments Existing Compost & Worm Bins

 

The BioPod™ is not designed for yard waste, but it will keep the critters out of your compost bin by diverting all the food scraps away from your pile of temptation. The friable compost, though relatively small in quantity, will serve as the perfect worm food, and allow you to make vermicompost faster than you ever thought possible!

 

Commercial Prota™Pod

 

These larger bioconversion units were specifically designed to target the most problematic fraction of municipal solid waste (MSW): food scraps. The commercial pods were engineered to nest on standard pallets, simplifying storage and transport. Racking of units will allow for scalable operations on multiple levels, to best utilize floor space. The compact, self-contained design allows for one person cleaning and relocation. Effluent fixtures are accessible from below, and compatible with US plumbing standards for centralized liquid management.

Recycling Kitchen Food Scrap Waste

 

Like their residential counterpart, the Prota™Pod efficiently re-captures the valuable lipids and proteins from the waste stream and converts them into useable biomass. The capacity of an active system is measured in waste processed per surface area over a given period of time. With food waste the figure is roughly 15 kg/m2/day (3 lbs/ft2/day). That equates to an impressive 9.5 kg of kitchen scraps per day, in a optimally active, half full commercial system. The bioconversion rate for mixed household food scraps is roughly 20%, with a larval dry matter content of approximately 40-42% protein and 34-35% fat. On a dry matter basis by weight, the bioconversion of food waste into larval biomass is roughly 24%.

 

http://www.thebiopod.com/

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40. A Complete List of Compost Products Here

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41. A Breakthrough in Composting Tchnology

With the patented autoflow design, finished compost travels through the central corridor and exits into a receiving bin or tarp. Autoflow design advantages are as follows:

 

    * Compost discharges automatically without the need for constant separation

    * Continuous flow mean no waiting for compost to finish decomposing, like with the batch method

    * Pest proof - rodents cannot take up residence in your pile and inappropriately feast on your food scraps

    * Easy to turn - 400 model has a built in crank for additional torque

 

Autoflow 200 - Perfect for compact gardens, patios or porches. Excellent for composting most food scraps and kitchen waste. Easy to grab notches allow for smooth hand turning of drum.

Autoflow 400 - Ideally suited for those wishing to co-mingle their food scraps with small to moderate amounts of grass clippings or yard waste. Due to its larger capacity, the 400 has been designed with a crank mechanism for rotational assistance.

 

Features and Benefits

 

    * 5 built-in air vents minimize build up of malodorous smells by maintaining a contant aerobic environment

    * Technology is not dependent on capacity / volume

    * Bottom drain provides outlet for excess moisture

    * Sturdy support stand will not tip or collapse

    * Easy to load - sliding door reveals generously sized opening

 

Specifications

 

    * Size Dimensions: 200: 31"H x 24"D x 31.5"L (drum = 24" dia.)

      400: 44"L with drum = 27" diameter

    * Capacity: 200 - 6 bushels (7.7 cu.ft.)

      400 - 11 bushels (14.1 cu.ft.)

    * Weight in lbs: 200: 38 lbs

    * Composition: UV stabilized polyethylene

    * Usage: Transforming food scraps into finished compost (Larger unit will accept yard waste too)

    * Key Features: Continuous Autoflow Technology means finished compost exits automatically as drum rotates

    * Warranty: 3 years

 

http://www.composters.com/compost-tumblers/autoflow-compost-tumbler-series_33_2.php

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42. NYC Compost Project

 

DSNY COLLECTION OF LEAVES & YARD WASTE

 

Though New York is one of the world’s densest and most populated areas, nearly two thirds of the city consists of low-rise housing with tree-lined streets, front gardens, and backyards—all of which produce leaves and yard waste. DSNY has collected and composted these materials since 1990, when it constructed its first large scale outdoor composting facility at the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. Initially, DSNY collected leaves only from Staten Island. The program rapidly expanded to include all of Queens, and the districts in the Bronx and Brooklyn that have more trees—and more leaves.

 

Today, DSNY composts an average 20,000 tons of leaves every year, collected from 37 of New York City’s 59 Community Districts. Leaves are collected each autumn during a four-week period beginning in mid November, based on historical data on when the bulk of leaves fall. See more information on the Fall Leaf Program on NYCWasteLe$$.

 

Check the nyc composting calendar in the fall for the leaf collection schedule.

 

Because of the Asian Longhorned Beetle infestation, residents in Queens and Brooklyn must arrange for a special pick up with the Department of Parks & Recreation when discarding tree prunings, firewood, and any other organic woody debris.

 

leavesStarting in fall 2007, residents are no longer allowed to place leaves at the curb in plastic bags during leaf collection periods. Regulations require that leaves are set out in either unlined rigid containers or large paper lawn & leaf bags specifically designed for this purpose. The paper bags are composted along with the leaves. Eliminating the use of plastic will result in more efficient leaf processing, reducing the cost to taxpayers and producing a cleaner compost that is free of plastic shreds.

 

In 2006, the City of New York adopted a new Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) to guide its waste disposal program for the next twenty years. The plan calls for a spring yard waste collection pilot program to test the feasibility and assess the cost of implementing this program throughout the city. If the pilot proves successful, spring yard waste collection may be implemented as a permanent program, provided sufficient funding is available. See the SWMP on the DSNY website.

 

DSNY also has an annual Christmas tree recycling program—see information.

 

DSNY COMPOSTING SITES

 

Currently, all leaves collected by DSNY during its Fall Leaf Collection Program are taken to one of two DSNY yard waste composting sites, both operated by a private contractor:

 

    * Fresh Kills, a 20-acre site constructed in 1998 at the entrance to the former landfill in Staten Island

    * Soundview, a 10-acre site constructed in 1999 in an inactive section of Soundview Park in the Bronx

 

At both sites, incoming leaves are placed into large rotating screens which break through the bags and separate nearly all of the resulting plastic shreds from the leaves. (It is hoped that this step will ultimately be eliminated once plastic bags are effectively banned for leaf collection.) The leaves are then placed in long piles known as "windrows" which are turned periodically with large front-end loaders. The rate of turning is adjusted as the leaves begin to degrade; within six to nine months they break down completely into rich, crumbly humus. As a final step, the compost is run through a finer screen to remove any remaining plastic bits and other inert materials.

 

Spring Creek: A third compost site was constructed by DSNY at Spring Creek Park, on the Brooklyn-Queens border. This 20-acre facility has not yet received an operating permit from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and cannot be used for composting at this time. The Spring Creek and Soundview sites were both constructed under an innovative program developed jointly by DSNY and the Parks Department. Under a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the DSNY and Parks Commissioners in 1996, Parks agreed to designate undeveloped, marginal areas within its properties as composting sites for use by DSNY. In return, DSNY agreed to provide compost to Parks landscaping and environmental remediation programs. To date, thousands of tons of compost made from the City’s autumn leaves have been utilized to beautify public parks in all five boroughs.

 

RETURNING FINISHED COMPOST TO NYC RESIDENTS

 

Creating decentralized compost sites in the outer boroughs for leaf and yard waste has resulted in transportation efficiencies for DSNY collection. This also gives all New Yorkers easier access to the resulting high-quality compost, which is distributed to residents free of charge from the Fresh Kills, Soundview, and Spring Creek sites during "Compost Giveback Events" held every spring and fall. Check the nyc composting calendar in the spring and fall for information on these events.

 

NYC Compost Project staff are on hand during these extremely popular weekend events to provide information and handouts, and to assist with the sale of discounted home composting bins.

 

http://www.nyccompost.org/program/dsny-leafwaste.html

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