This is not your grandpa's compost. WILLISTON — Compost can get too darn hot. Approach with caution Williston's high mounds, where roiled and over-excited microbes recently baked to death millions of their tiny co-workers. The casualties: Bacteria partial to lower temperatures that are necessary to the "finishing" of organic decomposition into garden- and field-ready compost, said Tom Moreau, the general manager of Chittenden Solid Waste District. Moreau doesn't blame the mid-July heat wave. The newly opened, $2 million compost facility on Redmond Road, designed to harness more efficiently the appetites of microorganisms, simply needs a little more tweak-time from its human operators, he said. "There's no textbook we can go to," Moreau said.
When the district shifted operations here from the Intervale in June, it left behind much of what romantics might see as old-school composting: earthy, exposed piles, tractor-turned regularly to encourage the work of aerobic, oxygen-loving bacteria. (Page 2 of 4) The squeeze-test How so? Are There Toxins in Your Compost? A tractor spreads compost from Recology on a vineyard.Photo by Larry Strong, courtesy of Norcal Waste Systems, Inc. Last month, at a vast composting yard owned by a Northern California waste and recycling company, Recology, I watched a load of lawn and food scraps from San Francisco residents get fed into a sorting machine. A spinning cylinder resembling a supersized cheese grater sifted out tidbits like lime wedges and grass clippings and spit the chunkier items onto a platform, where a worker in a neon vest plucked out plastic bags and an aerosol can of glass cleaner—just a few of the hundreds of pieces of contraband that he'd cull that day.
I asked if he ever let anything slip by. "Sometimes," he said with a sheepish smile. I later ran my hand through a ripened compost pile and felt little pieces of glass and plastic mixed in with the fertile humus. Clean or not, compost is typically viewed as unassailably green. A Recology compost pile containing plastic and other debris. Food Scrap Recycling. To help meet our state and county waste reduction goals, many Cities in Alameda County have begun Food Scrap Recycling Programs. Why we recycle food scraps Food scraps and food soiled paper are the largest single item in our waste stream - making up approximately 35% of what we throw away in Alameda County.
Food scraps are a resource, not a waste. By participating in the food scrap recycling program, food scraps and food soiled paper are sent to a composting facility. Instead of taking up space in the landfill, your food scraps become compost - a valuable resource used by landscapers and farmers. See attached flyer (PDF) Recycling food scraps is easy! What you can include . . . Helpful hints: Line your pail with a paper bag or newspaper to help keep it clean. The following cities offer residential food scrap recycling programs: Find out more about your city's residential recycling program.
Residential Food Scrap Recycling Survey Results – November 2007. COOL 2012. Our city's programs: Zero Waste: Composting. Www.epa.gov/reg3wcmd/pdf/FR2YW_BMP.pdf.