Re: “A big hole in compost plan,” editorial, Sept. 26.
For a solution to this week’s controversial compost conundrum, I recommend looking no further than your own backyard. On-site composting of your kitchen scraps and yard waste is an age-old, perfectly viable and recommended practice. For some of us, it’s a hobby.
Modern composters like the Earth Machine are pest-resistant and easy to use. Not only do you keep organics out of the waste stream and lower greenhouse-gas emissions, you are rewarded for your minimal efforts with rich, garden-ready “black gold.”
Other devices, like the Green Cone food digester, have no final product, but passively break down household organics, including cooked foods, grains, meat, bones and even pet waste.
More importantly, when used properly, composters are smell-free and neighbour-friendly.
For more than 20 years, the non-profit Compost Education Centre on North Park Street has been teaching the public about composting and organic gardening. The centre offers composters for sale, educational resources, how-to workshops, solutions for apartments and no end of enthusiasm to get your household’s composting off the ground, or rather, back into the ground where it belongs.
The Capital Regional District’s overall kitchen-scraps diversion plan is forward-thinking and the right thing to do. If you believe that there is a big hole in the compost plan, ask yourself: “How can I help fill it?” Dealing directly with your own kitchen scraps is a positive step. Visit compost.bc.ca to learn how.
Nik Hill
Compost Education Centre
Victoria
