COMPOSTING

http://www.bpiworld.org/Approved/2.html
http://www.compost.org/AboutComposting.html

Composting is a purposeful scientific process that is absolutely elegant in its intelligent design.  When done properly the act of composting turns almost anything organic into humus- a nutrient and mineral rich like soil.  This humus is commonly referred to as compost.

The benefits of compost have been scientifically proven around the world though the process existed long before science gave it a thumbs-up. Compost can increase soil retention of water which is extremely important in arid areas of the world or on agricultural land that was over worked, no longer has top soil or where too many fertilizers were applied.

Compost is an organic substitute for chemical fertilizers (inorganic) made from non renewable resources.  Compost feeds the soil in which we grow our food whereas fertilizers can only provide nutrients to the plants.  Compost can play an important role in increasing crop yields and developing sustainable farming practices that protect available arable land for future generations.  Compost can protect water sheds from runoffs, assist in reclamation of mining sites and reverse soil erosion. Compost is a product we can create from food.  This is why the process of composting is sometimes called organic recycling.

When composting is done properly the N: P:K ratios (Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potasium) are very specific; there is a specific humidity level to the compost; seeds, weeds and pathogens are killed by the high heat in the piles; and there are few if any offensive smells.  When composting is not done purposefully and with knowledge, you have a pile of rotting food that will be a struggle to turn into a good quality end product.

Composting, like wine, needs to mature before it is ready to be used. Before buying any type of compost make sure that the company selling the compost had the compost tested. Canada and the USA have very specific grading tests to determine the quality of the compost.  Some composts are graded to be used to grow food while others should only be used for ground cover where food would never be grown.

WHAT CAN BE COMPOSTED

A whale can be composted.  When composting is done purposefully and with solid knowledge almost anything made from organic materials recognizable as an energy source by the natural world, can be composted.  How, where, why and who is composting will greatly determine the limitations of what will be accepted.
If you are including green or biodegradable products into your composting ONLY CHOOSE CERTIFIED COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS AND VERIFY THE CLAIMS.

Backyard Composting

Vegetables, fruits, eggshells yard waste and leaves can be safely composted IF you regularly turn your compost, aerating it about every three weeks. If you don’t, you have a pile of rotting waste in your back yard that will upset your neighbours. Certified compostable food ware and bags can be placed in your backyard compost ONLY IF you know what you are doing.  Compostable food ware and bags will take a lot LONGER to break down in backyard composting simply because the pile is not very large and does not generate heat and activity like in industrial composting.

Before you place a compostable bag or product make sure the manufacturer or trade name is approved by one of the following organizations:

BPI- North America http://www.bpiworld.org/BPI-Public/Approved.html?emulatemode=2
BNQ- Quebec  http://www.bpiworld.org/BPI-Public/Approved.html?emulatemode=2
OK COMPOST- Europe  http://www.okcompost.be/en/certified-products/

There are many excellent sites on how to do backyard composting. You can purchase a container or make one yourself.  It takes time and practice just like baking a cake.

Industrial Composting

Industrial composting is far more beneficial to the earth than backyard composting. Though backyard composting is a nice ‘green’ activity people can do in their backyard, unfortunately a family that compost still send a lot of food waste to the dump (pasta, bread, sauces, milk, cooked eggs, etc.) Some people argue that backyard composting reduces the need for trucks and thus reduces green houses gases.  However if every family composted in their backyard, we would still have trucks travelling picking up food waste that we can’t put in our backyard composts.

There are generally two ways to do industrial composting: aerobic systems and anaerobic systems.

Aerobic Composting

Key to this process is providing aeration.  Oxygen can either be pumped into a closed system or windrow piles can be turned to allow the air to come into the piles. Aeration provides much needed oxygen and is a key distinguishing feature in how we understand composting rather than landfilling.  Landfills stink because of the release of methane due to the lack of air in landfills.

Windrow Systems

Windrow composting is the simplest and most flexible form of aerobic composting. To do it, you need some land and some tractors and you are basically ready to go. It is a lengthy, more labour intensive than mechanized closed systems and requires creative trouble shooting with weather changes. As long as the land is not too expensive, almost any farmer or community can afford windrow composting.

Windrow composting can compost most things: eggs, pasta, meat, food ware, bags, coconuts, branches, leaves, yard waste, oil, milk products,fruits, veggies, flour, rice, manure, bio solids, carcasses, - you get the picture.  In windrow composting the facility operator needs to carefully monitor their compost piles: not too small and not too big;  heat-up high enough for just the right amount of time to kill pathogens, seeds and weeds; monitor and maintain appropriate humidity levels; test their piles; adjust the carbon ratio; and constantly monitor the smell of their piles to determine what they are doing and not doing right.

Mechanized Systems

There are many aerobic composting systems developed and designed by engineers. If land and/or labour are expensive or scarce or weather conditions are of great concern, a mechanized system may be a great solution to divert materials from landfills. 

There are many things to consider in choosing a mechanized system. Often systems are marketed as having a quick turn over.  Such systems are not necessarily able to compost as much as a windrow and thus some materials and up in a landfill. Just because it came out of a system fast does not mean it is ready.  It is important to note that a lot of the end product from these systems MUST be cured on land before it can be used as compost. So this step requires land, knowledge, farming equipment and time.  

As compostable/biodegradable products gain in popularity it will be important to divert as much of these products away from landfills and into composting programs.  Any composting facility built with tax dollars for the common good, should be designed with getting as much waste as possible turned into compost, not just food ‘waste’.
 

ANAEROBIC SYSTEMS

These systems are really designed to capture methane and compost is a potential by-product. Land, farming equipment, staff are needed to turn the by-product into compost.

Food and yard waste are the main contributors to methane release in landfills. Instead of sending these materials to landfills they are sent into a closed vessel anaerobic system. Because there is no air pumped into the vessel the materials turn anaerobic and give off methane. The methane is captured, used or packaged to be sold as fuel or energy.

An end product that is much like sludge comes out of the anaerobic system.  To turn this into composting, this sludge like substances must go through a shorter composting/curing process than would be required with windrow composting. This is new to North America.