Community Composting

Community Composting (C3) was an expansion of our two year Urban Composting Project.  The social enterprise endeavor was funded by Enterprising Non-Profits. The goal was for the  business will provide compost pick up services to all Nelson residents as well as providing the finished compost for sale. Earth Matters looked into a mechanized facility being  constructed to aerate the piles and increase the rate of microbial activity, taking only 4 weeks to transform from food waste to usable soil. The business aimed to employ youth and persons with disabilities where ever possible.

LANDFILLS AND COMPOSTING

Landfills are the nations largest producer of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent to global warming than carbon dioxide.

This is due to the anaerobic breakdown of organic waste buried in the landfills, which produces large amounts of methane, CO2, and other harmful Greenhouse Gases.

The composting process, an environmentally friendly aerobic decay of organic matter, instead converts this waste into a useful commodity. It also reduces GHG emissions, producing minimal CO2, and virtually zero methane.

COMPOST BENEFITS YOUR GARDEN

Microorganisms decompose plant remains; by recycling nutrients, composting renews life: our food becomes food for plants that we eat.

COMPOST:

* Introduces beneficial microorganisms into the soil

* Darkens soil so it can absorb more heat

* Improves soil structure, water absorption and aeration

* Improves the soil’s ability to hold nutrients, reducing the need for fertilizers

* Helps to prevent plant disease; reducing the need for fungicides

COMPOSTING BENEFITS EVERYONE

Composting has the potential to reduce household landfill waste by one third!

Composting reduces the amount of transportation needed for waste management in Nelson, therefore reducing CO2 and other GHG missions.

Because organic materials in landfills produce significant amounts of methane, composting helps to reduce greenhouse gases.

Composting degrades many pesticides and helps to clean up contaminated soil.

By reducing the need for fertilizers, pesticides and more expensive soil conditioners, compost saves money.

In the year and a half the project has been running, 50 tonnes of food waste has been diverted from producing methane and other GHGs in a landfill.

This is equivalent to the annual GHG emissions of 10 average passenger cars.

Instead, seven and a half cubic meters of wonderful compost has been created and sold as black gold, almost exclusively run on human, organic power.

Visit our past website for to learn about more past projects.