[Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts; credibility killer

[Mike McGrath]

" I have been told by some colleagues in the DC area that public opinion on 
the East Coast is so negative towards biosolids, that they attend community 
meetings with armed guards!"
        If you even close to believe that, I have to wonder about the 
believability of the rest of your text.

Two things:
    People deciding on their own what's organic and what isn't (ie--"I use 
railroad ties and Round-Up in MY organic garden") is why I've actually come 
to like the National Standards. You use bio-solids, you're not an organic 
gardener.
    And if Tacoma's waste IS the exception, its more important than ever to 
warn people in other cities to think many times before bringing any of this 
stuff into communal gardens.
                                                    ---McG
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kristen McIvor" <kristenmcivor at mac.com>
To: "Mike McGrath" <MikeMcG at PTD.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: [Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts


> Hi Mike,
>
> No, biosolids as a category are excluded from the National Organic 
> Standards Act.  I wasn't involved in that process, so I am unsure  whether 
> there was any effort made to distinguish Class A from Class  B.  My guess 
> is there was not.  I like to think of it as the "spirit  of organic" 
> without actually being certified.  It reduces the need  for vast amounts 
> of petroleum-based fertilizers in non-organic farms  (much of Washington's 
> wheat is fertilized with Class B biosolids from  King County - Seattle) 
> As the price of petroluem goes up and up, it  may be something that gets 
> looked at in a new light.
>
> TAGRO is unique to Tacoma, in fact, every municipality has to make  its 
> own decisions about how to deal with the biosolids.  Tacoma made  a good 
> decision 20 years ago and invested in the construction of a  progressive, 
> fairly cutting-edge treatment plant with dual digesters  - one anaerobic 
> and one aerobic - to my knowledge the only one of its  kind in the 
> country.  Why haven't more cities invested in this?  I  think mainly a 
> fear of public opinion, and the fact that many  environmentalists have 
> given up on sewage treatment as a "green"  activity.  Most people stop 
> thinking once they flush, and are not  involved in the political process 
> when it comes time for cities to  invest in new treatment plants and plant 
> upgrades.  I myself am  fairly new to this, so I count myself in the group 
> of people that  didn't think to ask the questions for years.
>
> So I'm unsure about the scene for biosolids in your area, but I'm 
> thrilled that the conversation has gotten started.  I have been told  by 
> some colleagues in the DC area that public opinion on the East  Coast is 
> so negative towards biosolids, that they attend community  meetings with 
> armed guards!  The picture is so different out here.   Not that there is 
> any shortage of guns in Tacoma, but you're more  likely to have one pulled 
> on you if you run out of TAGRO, that if you  try to apply it to farmland!
>
> If you're ever out West, give us a holler, we'd be happy to show you  what 
> it's all about.
>
> Kristen
> On Mar 18, 2008, at 11:34am, Mike McGrath wrote:
>
>> Kris: I'm willing to believe this is a decent (or better) product.
>> But:
>>    Could a certified organic grower use it?
>>    And is it fairly unique to Tacoma?
>>                                                        ---McG
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kristen McIvor" 
>> <kristenmcivor at mac.com>
>> To: <community_garden at list.communitygarden.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 2:17 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Community_garden] biosolids and municipal composts
>>
>>
>>> Again, thanks to all for contributing to the conversation biosolids.
>>>
>>> First, a disclaimer - I am an organic food person - spending more
>>> than I probably should to support organic whenever possible.  I was
>>> also a skeptic when I found out about TAGRO, it took many months and
>>> many conversations, with both the scientists and those involved in
>>> creating it, before I ordered 6 yards of it for my own home.
>>>
>>> After using it for a couple years now, I must say, I have never
>>> before seen soil so healthy, and certainly in my gardening life,
>>> never had such big, healthy plants, as I do with TAGRO.  While I am
>>> still a scientist and an organic food person, nothing convinced me of
>>> it's value quite like using it myself.
>>>
>>> I can't speak to the biosolids program in your town, but TAGRO has
>>> been managed from the beginning by mostly the same group of people.
>>> They happen to be passionate gardeners, who every year plant a large
>>> demonstration garden at the treatment plant and donate vast amounts
>>> of produce to food banks and other meal sites throughout the season.
>>> They have worked hard to reduce odor, take pride in the product they
>>> hand out to people, and have over the years built up a large,
>>> passionate, grassroots following who get very upset if demand
>>> outpaces supply and it becomes unavailable.
>>>
>>> In the early days, it was given out to whomever wanted to come pick
>>> it up, and sprayed on agricultural land. It is still sprayed in
>>> liquid form, but demand is so high that not all who want it can get
>>> it.   These are farmers in the area who have been using it for
>>> decades and still line up to have some applied to their property.
>>> The dewatered form was initially given out for free to those who
>>> wanted it, but over the years, demand rose enough that they began to
>>> charge for it, and now have a fleet of 5 delivery trucks that stay
>>> busy throughout the growing season, delivering it to people for a
>>> price.  It is still available for free to those who come shovel it
>>> themselves, and I have seen people form lines to shovel their pickup
>>> trucks full - and then come back and do it again.
>>>
>>> As someone who works to promote urban agriculture, and the idea of
>>> producing as much food as possible in urban areas, TAGRO is a
>>> wonderful resource.  Low-income gardeners can get it for free, and
>>> grow a heck of a lot of food in a very small space, and beginning
>>> gardeners can have a lot of success their first year.  In Tacoma, the
>>> urban gardening movement is filled with a lot of young, enthusiastic
>>> foodies who have never gardened before.  TAGRO saves them a lot of
>>> struggle as they learn to manage soil and plants and grow food in
>>> cities.
>>>
>>> Washington State University - Extension runs a program that promotes
>>> nutrition in elementary schools through gardens....all 20 schools in
>>> the Pierce County program applied TAGRO to their gardens this year,
>>> to the smiles and applause of administrators and educators.
>>>
>>> The idea of municipal biosolids can offend the organic sensibilities
>>> of some, and yes, we live in a dirty world.  But permaculture (and
>>> ecology) tells us to turn waste products into resources.  They have
>>> been doing it in Tacoma for years, and as our planet gets smaller and
>>> smaller, I hope more cities around the country (and world) catch on.
>>>
>>> Kristen
>>> On Mar 18, 2008, at 9:01am, community_garden-
>>> request at list.communitygarden.org wrote:
>>>
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>>>> than "Re: Contents of Community_garden digest..."
>>>> Today's Topics:
>>>>
>>>>    1. Biosolids and municipal composts (Don Boekelheide)
>>>>    2. Re: Sandbag that garden! - And retreads... (Mike McGrath)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 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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>>
>>
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