Residential Composting Efforts Off To A Good Start
Two months after the commencement of its residential food waste collection program, the effort by Bourne’s Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility is beginning to flourish, having tripled its rate during the first month of the program.
Philip Goddard, manager of facility compliance and technology development at ISWM, told the Enterprise that the food waste collection efforts were great during the month of August, during which ISWM saw 100-pound collections during peak weeks.
“In the first three weeks, we had 100 pounds,” Mr. Goddard said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot but it’s a brand-new program. And then the next week, it was 100 pounds, so it tripled the rate of collection. And then the following week, it was another 100 pounds.”
On August 1, ISWM joined forces with Black Earth Compost, a Massachusetts company that specializes in handling organic waste collection, to introduce a resident food waste composting program. Through the program, residents and property owners are invited to bring food waste and scraps to the collection center in town for composting. Participants are asked to follow stringent guidelines to ensure that contaminants are not put into the composting carts, which are provided by Black Earth Compost. Contaminants include plastic bags, metal, glass, stickers and paper products, especially those with chemicals such as baby wipes and disinfectant wipes.
Keeping the compost free of contaminants is important to ensure that the organic matter does not get rejected, Mr. Goddard said. After local collection, Black Earth Compost takes the food waste from Bourne’s facility to one of its off-Cape composting sites. Black Earth Compost does not mix organic materials with bio-solids from sewage treatment plants, Mr. Goddard said; it is all organic materials and food waste.
To make things easier for residents who are just getting started with composting, ISWM offers educational materials and, while supplies last, a free roll of compostable bags for collecting food waste.
“There are a lot of labels out there that could be confusing, one of them is ‘biodegradable,’” Mr. Goddard said. “That’s why we offer these compostable-certified bags…. Plastic bags are a big no-no. Putting that in the waste would just contaminate the organic matter.”
Composting is not a new concept, but it has been gaining traction in recent years as municipalities, businesses and individuals each do their part to be eco-friendly. ISWM has been promoting composting since the late ‘80s, Mr. Goddard said, and encourages people to make, use and reuse their own soil right on their own property.
“Not everybody can do that, not everybody is interested in doing that; you need to maintain it,” he said. “We wanted to give another opportunity and people were looking for this and it’s gone very well so far.”
Now into September, Mr. Goddard said ISWM has seen food waste collection drop off a bit, with a total of 60 pounds collected during the week of September 12. Mr. Goddard said he surmises the slight decrease can be attributed to some seasonal residents having left the area for the off-season.
Mr. Goddard said the dream is to someday have a composting site on the Cape. It is something the county has looked into, he said, but siting a compost facility is no easy feat.
“Those are bigger efforts; we’re not looking at that at this time,” he said. “But we have to start somewhere and so far, so good.”
Residents interested in composting food waste are invited to bring food scraps to the ISWM Residential Recycling Center at 201 MacArthur Boulevard. Food items may be carried in plastic bags, but the bags must be emptied and carried away from the facility because they are not accepted in the composting bins.