Column: Randy Tuchtenhagen, Solid Waste Officer

According to statistics from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published in one of my waste news magazines, a report stated that waste volumes in the U.S. increased by 6.2 million tons in 2010 compared to reports from 2007 through 2009.

These figures are not consistent with waste tonnage generated in Freeborn County. Our total tonnage has stayed the same (within a few tons) for the past few years and we are still working to bring that number down even more.

Since 1990, the two years that had the highest amount of garbage hauled to the landfill from our county were in 2009 and 1993. Other years have remained relatively level. Our reports show that approximately two-thirds of waste generated throughout the county go to a landfill and one-third is recycled. We could do much more to tip that balance.

Besides checking and rechecking the “Recycling and Information Instruction” sheet to see what else we could be recycling we may need to look at other options.

In past years I have written articles that encourage people to read labels, purchase items with less packaging, recycle more of the waste they put in the garbage can and purchase items in bulk or larger containers to reduce volume. There are other ways to reduce waste and one is to compost.

When we talk about homeowners composting many people have visions of bad odors, messy compost sites, bugs, invasive pests like the neighbors pets, etc. These are reasons that people use when they don’t want to try something new or believe the effort will cause more work or burden. They are excuses.

To address those excuses we need to state clearly that when we compost at home it’s simple, easy to use and maintain, done on a small scale and when simple directions are followed, none of the above excuses are valid.

We don’t need a 55-gallon barrel; we can compost 12 months of the year and it can significantly reduce the amount of garbage service we purchase.

For simplicity use a five-gallon pail (something larger if you wish). Since we are not going to put any meat or dairy products into the pail we do not need security from pests digging through it. Drill holes in the bottom and around the sides to allow excess moisture to drain.

The “juice” draining from the pail has nutrient value too. We want to keep the moisture content about 50 to 60 percent. It is not necessary to turn, stir, shake or do anything to the compost except continue to add to it as waste is generated in the house.

If you do turn it, the compost process will go faster. Disposing of shredded paper in the compost adds carbon (a good thing) and the food waste is our nitrogen source. Household compostable waste includes vegetables, coffee grounds and filters, anything fibre based, waxy frozen food boxes or milk cartons (tear up into smaller pieces), fruits, organics, breads and a small scoop of dirt. The dirt contains microorganisms that will start the compost process.

When the container is full, start another one beside it or dump it into the garden and put the un-composted materials back into the pail and allow them to finish. The larger the container you use the less often you will empty it.

If fruit flies become a problem, put wet shredded paper over the top and move the container to a more ventilated area. Call our office for more information about reducing waste.

 

Randy Tuchtenhagen is the Freeborn County solid waste officer.