[Community_garden] Biosolids and municipal composts

[Darrol Shillingburg]

Don,
I'm personally glad to see your entry into the muck - perhaps a 
reframing of the "yes it is, no it isn't" trend of the discussion will 
help carry it into something ultimately useful. I am an extension 
service master gardener in southern New Mexico where we have available 
multiple sources of composted/compostable materials including muni yard 
waste compost and class A plus biosolids. Even among a group of 40 or so 
trained and interested gardeners there seems to be more myth and belief 
about compost than thoughtful science or art - and I agree with you 
about the element of art in the process.

I also agree that muni waste streams are valuable organic materials and 
nutrients that need to be recycled - but in ways that are appropriate 
both short and long term. For example, recommending that home gardeners 
use municipal yard waste compost to grow food is a gross disservice if 
they wish for more than bonsai rutabagas in the short run. In cases 
where personal food growing is more than recreational - as in depending 
on the same soil for healthy food and body long term - then biosolids as 
a source of organic material and nutrients needs to be evaluated on more 
than short term results, trust in the "system" and personal beliefs.

Looking forward to further discussion - if there is anywhere left to go. 
I remain a NIMBY until convinced that microbes can indeed clean up man's 
collective messes.

regards,

Darrol


Don Boekelheide wrote:
> While I was yacking on about boxes, there was a much more important discussion on this list about biosolid composts, municipal yard waste composts, and their place in community food gardens.
>
> I'm heartened by the discussion, which seems very well informed. Before saying much, I want to take a second look at the posts. But it is a fundamental question all of us in urban agriculture need to deal with.
>
> Two quick points. I've worked closely with County Solid Waste here for more than a decade, helping to set up a home composting training program and a Master Composter program. It's been very interesting. In a way, I'm reminded of the certified organic movement that has given us "USDA organic" and corporate organic farming, with all the pros and cons. Our culture is highly influenced by 'the market' and success is determined by viability in the marketplace. In short, we instinctively "push" and "market" our product (or program), even public employees in a waste disposal department. This can make objective discussion of realities and costs/benefits highly charged and sometimes misleading.
>
> Second, practically speaking, composting is still more art than science, because of the enormous complexity of the materials, processes and organisms involved; the potential for unanticipated contaminants to enter the system; and uncontrollable variations in feed stock, weather, water, human behavior etc. 
>
> Practical example: At a school project I once worked on, we got a big load of biosolid-based compost that stunk to high heaven. You _know_ what it smelled like. When parents got wind of it, the howls of protest probably reached the Pacific. The purchasing agent at the school had thought 'compost is compost' and purchased accordingly. Gardeners live in the real world - listen to the engineers and give their arguments  and evidence a fair hearing, but always use your nose.
>
> I note Tacoma with interest, a center of problems with clopyralid contamination in yard waste compost, a pesticide that did not break down even with a well-run composting operation. I wonder if that legacy is partly behind solid waste officials' interest in TAGRO (biosolid compost for sale, following the lead of Milorganite). I've seen political tussles between the yard waste compost 'side' (more ag engineering background) and the biosolids 'side' (more civil engineers/solid waste manager background) both locally and at Composting Council - here, the two 'sides' don't seem to communicate or cooperate all that much. Who knows, I might be full of biosolids with my pop sociology, here - the point is that, whatever the science involved, politics and economics also influence decisions and justifications. We are not simply members of the public, we're consumers, and our choice of whether or not to use a publicly produced product such as biosolid compost can
>  make or break careers and reputations.
>
> Don
> http://urbanministrygarden.wordpress.com
>
>
>
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