Town report: Composting saves money, good for environment

Experts say a significant amount of trash could be diverted from the waste stream if people composted more.

That’s one reason the Scarborough Conservation Commission is hosting an upcoming workshop that will detail all the ins and outs of backyard composting.

The other reason for the workshop, which will be held on April 11 at Town Hall, is a recent report by Scarborough’s Energy Committee that says the town could save money on its annual waste disposal costs by encouraging residents to compost all of their organic materials.

In its workshop announcement, the Conservation Commission said that approximately 28 percent of Scarborough’s waste stream is made up of compostable organics, which represents about 2,200 tons of material that could be diverted each year.

The commission referred to compost as “nature’s black gold” and said it could be used to enrich gardens, lawns and more.

However, for those who don’t have a garden or lawn to maintain, the town is also partnering with Garbage to Garden, a local composting company founded in 2012, to collect compost from various specified spots around town starting on May 1.

At the workshop locals like Roger Doiron, founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, and Mark Follansbee, founder of WormMaina, will speak along with others, including Mark King, from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s Sustainability Division.

Each of these experts say that composting is a viable way of diverting material from the waste stream and Doiron said that a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report from 2007 indicated that Americans could keep as much as 140 pounds of waste per person per year out of the landfill if they composted.

“If that math is right, composting can help Scarborough convert 2,730,000 pounds or 1,365 tons of waste into a useful resource,” he said.

In addition to the benefits of composting, including saving on waste disposal, the experts say that composting is easy to do and doesn’t require a lot of extra time or labor.

In fact, Doiron said, “Composting, in its simplest form, doesn’t require more than a little bit of space, time and a digging fork for turning your pile.”

He founded Kitchen Gardeners International to spread the message about the benefits of growing and eating your own food and said he’s been composting since 2005.

Doiron, who lives in Scarborough, said, “For me, composting is part of a healthy, home-grown lifestyle. Just as I enjoy the comfort and satisfaction of knowing where my family’s food comes from, I also like knowing where (my natural fertilizer) comes from.”

He added, “It’s true that there’s some work involved in keeping a compost pile, but it helps keep me active and I know that I’m doing something good for myself, my family and the planet.”

Follansbee, another Scarborough resident, said the push to encourage people to compost more is not simply about the environment, or creating a natural, nutrient-rich product that can be used on lawns and gardens, but also about saving money.

For him, “The issue is tipping fees. Composting can have an impact on municipal spending if people divert organic waste from their municipal trash to a compost bin. A lot of what can go into a compost bin is wet and heavy. Since municipal waste fees are calculated based on weight, diverting heavy organic waste from the municipal waste stream to a backyard composting pile can save the town money.”

And both Doiron and Follansbee, whose WormMaina relies on worms to help create rich dirt, said with composting volume is the key, so even those in town who don’t have a use for the compost can share with their neighbors who do.

Follansbee has been composting for about 24 years and like Doiron said it’s easy.

“Composting is much easier than many people think,” he said. “Once you start composting it becomes a habit.”

And, Phoebe Little, the volunteer and community outreach coordinator at Garbage to Garden, which is based in Portland, said that as much as 40 percent of “what we throw away each day at the household level is compostable.”

“These organic materials are sent to landfills or incinerated with the rest of our household trash, emitting greenhouse gases which are detrimental to the health of our environment,” she added. “Even more significantly, composting helps shift our view of food waste from something yucky to be disposed of to a valuable resource to be recycled and reused to boost the health of our soil.”

In addition, Little said that, “Here in Maine, we face a shortage of landfill space that should require us all to think critically about the waste we produce and how we dispose of it.”

Garbage to Garden’s goal is to make composting as easy as possible, which is why they offer private, curbside pickup in a number of communities throughout Greater Portland and why the nonprofit agreed to set up dropoff points around town for people in Scarborough who either don’t have the room or the wish to create their own compost pile.

“All Scarborough residents need,” Little said, “is a container to save their food scraps (in to) drop off at one of three selected sites across town. If it grows, it goes.”

Personally, she said, “I find that a small countertop container makes saving food scraps while cooking very easy, and at the end of the meal I empty it into a larger bucket that I keep under my sink or on my back porch.”

And, in addition to communities saving on the overall costs of waste disposal, Little said that individuals could also see an immediate savings from composting.

By composting, she said, “You will spend less on trash bags each month. After removing the heavy, wet food scraps and organic materials from their trash bin, most households go from using one to two trash bags per week to one to two per month” instead.

Overall, Little argued, “Composting is a simple addition to a daily routine that can have a major impact and is an important piece of the puzzle as we work to create more sustainable communities in Maine and beyond.”

King, from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, said the most important ingredient for successful composting is the desire. For instance, his family has been composting for more than 15 years and uses “all of the compost we make on our home garden and flower beds.”

A closer look

On Monday, April 11, at 7 p.m., the Scarborough Conservation Commission will host a workshop on backyard composting at Town Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

What’s compostable?

• Vegetables, fruit, citrus

• Breads, grains, seeds

• Meat, dairy, bones, shells

• Coffee grounds, filters and teabags (without the staple)

• Grass clippings, leaves and other inert organic debris not treated with pesticides

• Clean, non-glossy paper

• Napkins, food-soiled paper products, wax paper, muffin liners

• Pet hair, laundry lint

• Cooking oil, fat and grease