Snake Worm Invasions

Guest blogger Ali Drew

Has your soil been looking different lately? Does it resemble coffee grounds or hamburger meat? If so, you may have a snake worm invasion on your hands.

What is a snake worm?

Snake worms are a kind of earthworms, introduced with plant material from Japan and Korea. These pests “do not target a particular organism the way many pests do. Instead, they ravage the soil on which all plant life relies” (NY Times). Josef H. Görres, a UVM professor in the department of plant and soil science, notes that the pests damage entire ecosystems, not just specific species.

What can you do?

1. If you have snake worms, report them with the address of where you saw them or coordinates (cell phones can give you GPS coordinates) to Professor Josef Görres at jgorres@uvm.edu.

2. Prevent the worms from getting into your garden by:

   1. Washing the roots of plants you buy or receive in a plant exchange. Bare root exchanges are best.

   2. Growing the plants from seed.

   3. Making your own compost, or buy compost from reputable sources.

Find more information from NY Times & from CAV/Professor Josef Görres

Food Scrap Haulers See More Business After July 1 Law

Guest blogger Ali Drew

Find the original article by WCAX here

Photo by VT DEC

Small food scrap haulers are growing across Vermont. These haulers provide a bucket to fill with food scraps and then curbside pickup to take the buckets to a larger compost facility. Small business owners are now gaining more traction due to the July 1 law banning food scraps from the landfill.

Roots Compost, is one of the many food scrap haulers that has seen more business recently since the July 1 law banning food scraps. This small business has been able to thrive thanks to the new compost law.

CSWD and Green Mountain Compost have also seen an uptick in the amount of food scraps dropped off at their facilities.

Looking for a food scrap hauler in your area? Check out this resource from VT DEC.

Healthy Soil Means a Healthy Lawn!

Guest blogger Ali Drew

Did you know that healthy soil means a healthy lawn? Healthy soil is vital for thick, strong grass. Healthy soil is rich in organic matter, earthworms, air, water & nutrients.

How do you create healthy soil?

• When creating new lawn:

  • Add organic matter, like compost, to your existing soil by tilling or turning a layer of it into your existing soil.

  • Then rake the soil so it is smooth and will drain properly, and then scatter the grass seed or lay the sod grass.

• For existing lawn, you can top dress with compost by spreading about a 1/4 inch of compost right over the grass and then gently raking in.

Don’t forget to test your soil!

It’s good to test your soil every so often to see what it needs for nutrients and organic matter - this will help you choose the best compost, and amount of compost, to add to your soil!

How do you maintain healthy soil?

• Aerate your lawn at least once per year. “Aeration perforates the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn” (Briggs & Stratton).

• Introduce earthworms to your soil! Simply by adding organic matter to your soil, you create an environment that earthworms will be attracted to and thrive in. If there are no earthworms present you can actually purchase them from local worm farms or from online sources. 

How do you maintain healthy lawn grass?

• Mow regularly and mow "high" (3+ inches for cool season grasses).

• Let the clippings stay on the lawn as they naturally recycle fertilizer nutrients.

• Regularly watering your lawn maintains healthy grass & soil life. As you build the organic matter in your soil, you’re actually increasing its water-holding capacity, which means you won’t need to water as much! As your soil health improves, and the turf roots grow deeper, they also have more access to moisture and nutrients. Over time your lawn will look better and be easier to maintain.

For more information see Lawn to Lake’s Raise the Blade Campaign and Wilson Bros Gardens.

Scrap Food Waste from the VT DEC

Guest blogger Ali Drew

Recently during the Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS), this website created by The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) was highlighted. It has many helpful resources on how to keep food scraps out of the landfill. The homepage features this short video showing how Vermonters are composting their food waste.

The website also features an “About” tab which has some helpful information on WHY we should compost, and how you can help.

There is a “Tips” tab that features some advice on how to get started to scrap your food waste.

The final tab on the website is called the “Scrapbook”, which features the various ways Vermonters manage their food scraps. These stories include Vermonters that backyard compost, drop-off their food scraps, and/or use a curbside pickup service.

5 Composting Misconceptions

Guest blogger Ali Drew

There are many common composting misconceptions that hold people back from composting, or composting correctly. Here are 5 composting misconceptions that we’ve found people are curious about!

1. Compost smells bad

If your compost smells bad, you’re most likely not composting correctly. A common mistake people make when composting is only adding greens (food scraps) and no browns (yard debris like leaves, dry grass, sawdust and chipped wood). Browns, or carbon materials, keep your compost from just being a pile of rotten food. The microbes doing the work need the right mix of carbon and nitrogen (about 3 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen for most backyard systems)! Maintaining the right mix of browns and greens in your compost also helps balance the moisture, as most greens are wet and most browns are dry. If your compost is too wet, it typically gets pretty smelly which can attract animals.

2. Compost attracts wildlife & rodents

As stated above, properly managing your compost helps deter wildlife & rodents from visiting. A big part of this is ensuring that you’re adding enough carbon. If you are concerned about - or are already having issue with animals in your compost - DO NOT add meat & bones. You need to be consistently achieving hot compost (120+ degrees F) to safely compost these items. Vermont’s Universal Recycling Law (Act 148) allows you to dispose these items in your trash if you are already composting everything else at home, or you can bring them to your transfer station or another food scrap drop-off site, so they don’t attract animals to your composting bin. Additionally, look around your property to see if you have other wildlife attractants, like bird feeders. If wildlife are coming into your yard for other food, they often then take a look around for other treats as well. See more tips in Vermont DEC’s Compost with Confidence tip sheet.

4. Rice, pasta and other carbohydrates cannot be composted

It is totally fine to compost carbs! We have no idea where this myth came from, but please compost your carbs. However, if most of your compost is carbs, you should adjust your recipe to include a diversity of greens and browns.

3. Dairy cannot be composted

Dairy can be composted! But avoid putting blocks of dairy into your compost, as it could disrupt your compost ecosystem for a few weeks.

5. Large outdoor space is necessary to compost

A compost bin or tumbler doesn’t take up much space! But if you don’t have outdoor space on your property, you can still divert organics to drop-off centers or use a curbside pickup service.

1. Drop-off centers: You can drop off food scraps and yard debris at any transfer station or bag-drop in Vermont. Many compost facilities also have drop-off options. Check out these resources by The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to learn more about services in your area: local Waste Management District or town & Materials Management Map.

2. Curbside pickup: Ask your hauler if they offer leaf and yard debris or food scrap pick-up, or call or look at the website of a hauler on the statewide list of food scrap haulers. 

Act 148: Food Scraps Banned from Landfill

Guest blogger Ali Drew

Find more information here from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation

The last phase of Act 148 is being implemented today, July 1st. This means that all food scraps are banned from the trash.

What do I need to do?

So you likely know that you have to collect your food scraps in a separate container from the rest of your trash. But what happens next?

You have 3 options:

Solar digester for food scraps

1. Compost in your yard:

   1. Compost bin: Food scraps (“greens”) and yard debris like leaves, dry grass, sawdust and chipped wood (“browns”) can be added to your compost bin. Adding carbon, or “browns” to your compost bin is essential to reduce odors and deter animals from your compost. This compost can be used as fertilizer for your garden!

   2. Solar digester: This green cone method allows you to simply add food scraps, and doesn’t require “browns” to be added. These digesters decompose food scraps almost entirely, so you will not end up with compost you can use in your garden.

2. Drop-off composting: You can drop off food scraps and yard debris at any transfer station or bag-drop in Vermont. Many compost facilities also have drop-off options. Check out these resources by The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to learn more about services in your area: local Waste Management District or town & Materials Management Map.

3. Curbside pick-up: Ask your hauler if they offer leaf and yard debris or food scrap pick-up, or call or look at the website of a hauler on the statewide list of food scrap haulers. 

Why are food scraps being banned from the trash?

1. Vermont is running out of space to throw its trash in existing landfills, and building new landfills is very expensive.

2. Food scraps and yard debris make up almost 1/4 of a typical Vermont family’s waste, and at restaurants food scraps can be over half the waste. Keeping these materials out of the landfill has a big environmental impact.

This graphic from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources shows the positive environmental impact from keeping food waste out of the trash.

Want more information? Check out 802recycles.com & VTrecycles.com

Composting Tips from Cabot Creamery

Guest blogger Ali Drew

The Fosters of Middlebury, Vermont have built one of the Northeast’s larger manure-based compost companies. The Fosters are one of the many Cabot farm families that produce compost on their farms to sell to community members.

Bob Foster, a Board Member here at CAV, is very proud of his family’s sustainability efforts. Foster explains what compost means to him, “The whole concept is to close the loop. I enjoy the thought that we are converting solar energy into food, fiber and energy to nourish animals, plants, and people.”

Why compost?

40% of the food produced globally is wasted. This is a waste of food, money, natural and human resources as well as valuable landfill space. Composting is a way to do your part to reduce food waste.

Find the original blog entry by Cabot Creamery here

Cabot describes 4 different composting styles. Which category does your compost system fall into?

1. Minimalist Composter: Pile in the yard compost

2. DIY Composter Enclosed Bins: Homemade open compost bins

3. Hands-Off Composter: Enclosed compost bin

4. Action Composter: Tumbler or spinning compost bin

Remember:

Carbon is key! “Brown” materials keep your compost from just being a pile of rotten food. Adding carbon to your compost ensures that your compost doesn’t have too much moisture. If your compost has too much moisture, it can attract animals and is often smelly. 

Final takeaway: Browns + Greens + Stirring (Aeration) = Healthy Compost!

Get Persistent Herbicides Out of Our Compost!

Guest blogger Ali Drew

We all need to work together to get persistent herbicides (PH) out of our compost. Clopyralid Herbicide is a persistent herbicide that is entering our composting facilities from different sources beyond our control. This poses a significant risk to our composting industry.

The US Composting Council (USCC) put together this short video explaining the issue, and outlining steps we each can take.

How can you help?

Please educate yourself on this issue and act to inform the EPA to make changes in this product’s registration!

On July 6th the US EPA will close its comment period for Pesticide Registration Review.

This is our opportunity to flood the US EPA with comments in favor of the following action items:

1. Limit the use of these herbicides to non-harvested crops.

2. Change the registration process to include standards for use and restrictions before it can be re registered for use.

3. Develop affordable testing methods in compost

4. Assign liability to all members of the supply chain that distribute and apply these products

5. Prohibit all retail sales. 

This cannot come just from the USCC. We need the EPA to receive hundreds of comments to make sure the compost industry is heard. 

Click the link below to personalize your comments to the EPA, including the above proposed action items.

Pandemic sees growth in compost sales

Crews work at the compost site at Windham Solid Waste on Monday, May 4, 2020

Chris Mays of the Brattleboro Reformer reported on the increase in compost sales on May 4, 2020.

BRATTLEBORO — In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, compost sales are growing at Windham Solid Waste Management District.

"We are selling more compost than ever," said Bob Spencer, the district's executive director. "There's a really increased demand right now."

Brattlegrow Compost, the district's product made of local food scraps, is sold to retailers buying 10 cubic yards or more. Spencer said a typical load is 15 to 20 cubic yards.

Looking at the last four months of revenue versus the same period last year, the district is up by more than $10,000. Spencer attributes most of the increase to compost sales in the last two months.

A virtual celebration International Compost Awareness Week (May 3-9, 2020)

April 30, 2020, Hinesburg, VT… Environmental and recycling businesses, organizations, community groups and individuals around the U.S. are making plans to celebrate International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW) the week of May 3 - 9. The theme for this year is “Soil Loves Compost”.

This year, the Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) is offering several online events via Zoom, including learning the basics of backyard composting, how to grow your own food at home—a primer from raised beds to lawn conversion, and a discussion about compost as a climate solution. See a full list and register for these free events at: CompostingVermont.org/ICAW-2020.

Traditionally, ICAW is promoted at in-person activities and events. While these types of activities will not be held due to Covid-19, the goal is still the same – to build awareness of the benefits of using compost and recycling organics and to promote safe composting and positive, outdoor community action that supports community resilience.  “Regardless of how ICAW is celebrated this year, the “Soil Loves Compost” message is strong and clear — there are undeniable benefits of compost and composting in completing the food cycle and building healthy soil.” said Teri Sorg McManamon, ICAW Committee Chair. “Compost is a quality product that enhances our soils. We appreciate whatever efforts communities, companies, and organizations make in celebrating this valuable resource.”

International Compost Awareness Week, a program run in the US by the Composting Council Research & Education Foundation, is celebrated nationwide and in other countries each year during the first full week of May. Celebrating its 25th Anniversary, ICAW was started in Canada in 1995. Since then, ICAW has continued to grow as more people, businesses, municipalities, schools, and organizations are recognizing the importance of composting and the long-term benefits of recycling organics. More information on ICAW can be found at www.compostfoundation.org

The Composting Association of Vermont is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that advances the vital soil health practices of producing and using compost in ways that contribute to water quality, plant vigor, and environmental resilience. CAV demonstrates the value of compost through education, policy, outreach, and partnerships to reduce waste, capture energy, and create jobs. We believe that increasing the use of compost in our communities will increase our resilience to climate change.

Contact: Natasha Duarte, Director, Composting Association of Vermont at Natasha@CompostingVermont.org or 802-373-6499

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Climate and Community Resilience: Lessons from the Soil

Find more information and register at: vermonthealthysoilscoalition.org/climate-and-community-resilience

The webinar during International Compost Awareness Week is: Revolutionary Resilience: Creating a Different Future Monday, May 4, 5:30-8 PM

Resources for Organics Management during the COVID-19 pandemic

CAV has compiled guidance for Rural Community Composting sites and Home composting systems

Here are some additional links to organizations with COVID-19 guidance pages:

• US Composting Council Resources & recordings from the Composting in the Time of COVID-19 Webinar series

• Institute for Local Self-Reliance

• Vt ANR has issued guidance for for facility managers and for the public.

• VT Department of Health

• Vermont Community Gardens Network

Composting in the Time of COVID-19: Part 5

What's it about?

Record numbers of your customers are creating Victory Gardens.  This is a perfect time to engage, and the USCC is here to help you! Whether you are a marketer, or the thought of social media makes your head hurt, you will leave this webinar feeling like a champ, armed with the tools and steps you need to create engaging social media posts. Let’s work together, create a movement, and make this go viral! #VforVictory 

The webinar is open to non members, but the toolkit is only accessible to USCC members. If you want to JOIN US you can take advantage of our spring special by clicking here! We'd love to have you join the movement!

Panelists:

• Suzanne Longacre, Laurel Valley Soils

• Linda Norris-Waldt, US Composting Council

• Hilary Nichols, US Composting Council

Recordings and slides from Parts 1-4 are available here.

Resources for organics management in the time of COVID-19 are here.

Composting in the Time of COVID-19: Part 4

Gardening is an empowering act. While everyone is sheltering in place, how can we reach out to customers in new ways? How can we assure our customers that we're using safe practices to sell compost? Topics will include marketing the re-emergence of the Victory Garden, transportation issues, marketing how you are keeping your customers safe, and YOUR questions. A panel of compost manufacturers from around the country will discuss how they are managing during the emergency.

Panelists:

• Emma Yates, WeCare Denali

• Clinton Sander, A1 Organics

• Shota Austin, Tank’s Green Stuff

Recordings and slides from Parts 1-3 are available here.

Resources for organics management in the time of COVID-19 are here.

Composting In The Time of COVID-19: Part 3

Join this webinar to hear from a panel of for-profit, nonprofit, and government food scrap collectors.In this discussion moderated by Brenda Platt of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, they will share their experience in adapting drop-off and curbside collection programs in response to COVID-19. The discussion will cover new safety protocols, defending the right to collect food scraps for composting, services paused, and new services offered (such as home composting kits and food delivery for local businesses).  

Panelists:

• Daryl Braithwaite, Public Works Director for the City of Takoma Park, Maryland

• Dan Matsch, Eco-Cycle, Bouder, Colorado

• Eileen Banyra, founder, Community Compost Co., New Paltz, New York

• Ceci Pineda, Executive Director, BK ROT, Brooklyn, New York

• Jeremy Brosowsky, Founder/CEO, Compost Cab, Washington, DC

• Natasha Duarte, Director of the Composting Association of Vermont

Watch for the Series:

Part 4 April 21: "The Re-emergence of the “Victory Garden”: Selling Compost to Customers While They Shelter in Place". More details coming soon!

Composting In The Time of COVID-19: Part 2

What Will Be Covered in Part 2:

Compost manufacturers large and small are having to adapt to doing business during the pandemic. A panel of operators from across the country will answer questions about how they are managing during the emergency. Topics will include keeping employees safe, handling sales, contingency planning, and YOUR questions.

Panelists:

• Brian Fleury, WeCare Organics

• Pierce Louis, Dirthugger

• Patrick Geraty, St. Louis Composting

• Justen Garrity, Veteran Compost

Watch for the Series:

Part 3:  Week of April 13: Navigating Covid-19 for Small-Scale Food Scrap Collectors: Drop-off and Curbside

Part 4:  2nd Half of April: The re-emergence of the “Victory Garden”: Selling compost in the current economic environment; Home/Vermicomposting Considerations

More details coming soon!

Composting In The Time of COVID-19: Part 1

What Will Be Covered in Part 1:

What can science tell us about composting and the virus that causes COVID-19? What do we as composters need to know to control the disease and prevent it from spreading? In this webinar we will review safe handling procedures and meeting pathogen reduction standards (PFRP) at compost sites.

Speakers: Pat Millner, USDA Microbiologist and Jean Bonhotal, Cornell University Waste Management Institute.

Part 2:  April 7: Composting IS an essential service: Experiences and recommendations from around the country

• Panel: Brian Fleury, WeCare Organics; Pierce Louis, Dirthugger; Patrick Geraty, St. Louis Composting, Justen Garrity, Veteran Compost

Part 3:  Week of April 13: Navigating COVID-19 for Small-Scale Food Scrap Collectors: Drop-off and Curbside

Part 4:  2nd Half of April: The re-emergence of the “Victory Garden”: Selling compost in the current economic environment; Home/Vermicomposting Considerations

Save the Date! Tuesday, April 7, 2020*

14th Annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit

“2020 and Beyond”

At VTC in Randolph, VT

The Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS) has helped advance organics and food scrap diversion in Vermont forward for over a decade. VORS provides a statewide forum to think boldly, learn, and network about transforming food waste and other organic materials into valuable products.

We have reached 2020, and the ban on landfilling organics that Vermonters have been gearing up for comes into effect this July! To help promote “2020 and Beyond”, this year’s Summit will include sessions on the use of compost products for storm water management, organics hauling, research, and outreach models to help communities and residents meet the State’s organics diversion, food rescue, and food scrap recycling goals.

The one-day Summit at Vermont Technical College in Randolph features a morning plenary with a State of the State by Josh Kelly, ANR/DEC’s Materials Management Section Chief, and a Keynote (to be announced shortly), followed by four concurrent morning and afternoon workshops.

Continental breakfast, lunch and afternoon ice cream social are included in the registration fee.

Registration Opens February 18th

Sponsor and Exhibitor information online or by contacting Natasha@CompsotingVermont.org

VORS is hosted by the Composting Association of Vermont and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation.

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The Composting Association of Vermont (CAV) is a nonprofit organization. It promotes organics recycling that protects and benefits the environment. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Department of Environmental Conservation (ANR/DEC) is dedicated to protecting and improving the health of Vermont’s people and ecosystems and promoting the sustainable use of Vermont’s natural resources.

*Please note the day has switched from the first Thursday in April, to the first Tuesday (April 7) for this year.

VORS 2020 Call for Presentations and Workshops

“2020 and Beyond”

14th Annual Vermont Organics Recycling Summit (VORS)

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Vermont Technical College, Randolph Center, Vermont

Submission Deadline Extended: Monday, December 2nd, 2019

The Vermont Organics Recycling Summit offers eight (8) workshop/presentation sessions on topics related to food rescue and the recycling of organic materials such as food scraps, manures, food processing residuals and yard debris. This invitation to submit presentation abstracts is for composting & organics recycling professionals; researchers and educators; government officials; planners; community & business leaders; consultants; contractors; and advocates.

Suggested topics include but are not limited to:

Do you have ideas for a special way to mark reaching the 2020 milestone?

• Compost production & management

• Food rescue: strategies & stories

• Erosion & nutrient management

• Policy related to organics recycling

• Waste reduction

• Source separation success stories

• Community composting

• Compost product end uses

• Outreach & education strategies

• Feedstocks: supply; quality control, …

• Compost technologies & systems

• Compost quality & market development

• Commercial & residential collection

• Research & case studies

• Implementing universal recycling/ Act 148

• Energy recovery, anaerobic digestion

Please submit a one-page abstract (MS Word format), containing the following information:

1) Proposed Title of Presentation

2) Speaker(s) Name, Affiliation, Address, Email, and Phone Number

3) 3-4 sentence biography of speaker(s)

4) 5 sentences describing the presentation content

5) Prior speaking experience; has presentation been done at other conferences?

6) If available, sample PowerPoint of presentation

7) Presentation length options: □ 10-20 min (panelist), □ 90 min (workshop), □ other

8) Preference, if any, for morning or afternoon time slot

9) Are you willing to to have a pdf of your presentation posted after the Summit?

10) Additional presentation information

Thank you for your interest in the 2020 Vermont Organics Recycling Summit.

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Note: Presenters receive free admission to the Summit.

*Presentations that primarily promote for-profit technologies or services are discouraged.

Submission deadline: Monday, November 25th, 2019

Submit proposals to: Natasha@CompostingVermont.org

For more information, contact Natasha Duarte at 802-373-6499 or by email.

Vermont Compost Operator Certification Training

Hosted by Compost Technical Services

• November 1, 2019

• Registration 7:30-8:00

• Workshop 8:00-4:30

• Cost $30

Through this workshop, participants will receive a Compost Operator Certificate, which meets the requirements of ANR for small, medium and large compost facility site operators. Current or future compost site operators will be certified to manage composting facilities handling food scraps or animal mortalities in Vermont.

This webinar, followed by a daylong workshop is focused on operator competency in compost management and regulatory compliance, and includes a dynamic combination of lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on exercises.

Vermont residents and site operators working in the state have priority registration. Out of state attendees may register for any open spots on October 25th.

Topics Covered Include:

• Principles of Composting

• Compost Recipe Development

• Materials & Blending

• Windrow Construction

• Pile Monitoring & Management

• Windrow Aeration

• Aerated Static Pile Composting

• Storm Water & Leachate Management

• Neighbor Relations

• Site & Operating Permit Requirements

Presenters:

James McSweeney – Compost Technical Services

Chris Duff – Compost Facility Operator

Dan Goossen – Green Mountain Compost

Ben Gauthier – Vermont Agency Of Natural Resources