Upcoming Events
All workshops are FREE
and open to the public!
Compost Workshop
Saturday, June 21
1PM - 3PM
Summers Past Farms Nursery
(during the
Lavender Festival)
15602 Olde
Highway 80
Flinn Springs
Encinitas Environment Day
Saturday, June 8th
10AM-4PM
Cottonwood Creek
Park
95 N. Vulcan
Avenue Encinitas
Del Mar County Fair
June 14th-July 6th
(except June 16th, June 23rd)
Del Mar Fairgrounds
*Admission fee*
Come check out the Compost Booth!
Compost Workshop
Saturday, June 28
10AM-12PM
Myrtle Creek Nursery
2940 Reche Road
Fallbrook
Compost Workshop
Saturday, June 28
10AM-12PM
Ocean Beach Library
(during Ocean
Beach Street Fair)
4801 Santa
Monica Avenue San Diego
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For more information contact:
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation
137 N. El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA 92024
(760) 436-7986
info@solanacenter.org
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Zero Waste, Compost, and the COOL2012 Initiative
What is Zero Waste?
Zero waste involves rethinking the
way products are designed and manufactured ("upstream"), as well as how
discarded resources are processed ("downstream") through recycling or
composting. The zero waste concept offers a viable solution for reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a multitude of other benefits including a
stimulated economy, job creation, and less pollution of air and water. Everyday
biodegradable materials are sent in truckloads to landfills and incinerators.
In fact, compostable materials make up 50% or more of what we throw away. These
organic discards - such as plant prunings, leaves, grass, manure, food scraps
and soiled paper - represent such a large volume of what is landfilled it would
be impossible to achieve zero waste without diverting them.
Landfills and Methane
Organic materials are buried in the
landfill and decompose anaerobically, becoming the number one source of human
caused methane. Paper represents the highest percentage of buried organics, and
is the number one source of landfill methane. While much of our paper products
are recycled in the U.S.,
more than 42,000,000 tons ended up in landfills and incinerators in 2006. Food scraps
are the second most prominent organic material buried, and only 680,000 tons
were diverted from U.S.
landfills in 2006 of the 31.3 million tons of discards. Approximately 62% of U.S. yard
trimmings was recycled or composted in 2006, but this material still comprises
seven percent of what is landfilled (www.cool2012.com/www.epa.gov).
Every
environmental problem associated with landfills, including leachate, vectors,
odors, and greenhouse gas emissions, can be attributed to organic materials. Methane
is produced in landfills as organics decompose anaerobically and is 72 times
more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period. Methane only remains in the
atmosphere for twelve to twenty years, but is a powerful heat-trapping gas and represents
the largest volume of emissions from landfills annually. In other words,
methane heats the planet.
What can we do?
Rather than send our organic
materials to landfills to create methane, we can compost them. Composting is
considered a carbon neutral process, as carbon dioxide released is part of a
short-term cycle. Further, compost-amended soil can minimize greenhouse gas
generation "upstream" as it leads to decreased use of petroleum-based
fertilizers. Compost also helps soil sequester carbon.
We can also support groups pushing
for more composting and less landfilling. COOL 2012 (Compostable Organics Out
of Landfills) was formed in 2007 as a national initiative to provide outreach
and education about the importance of keeping compostable organics out of the
landfill. It was formed by a coalition of groups already working toward zero
waste. COOL2012 recognizes the importance of responsible organic discard
management to targeting zero waste goals. COOL2012 suggests 4 ways to "Be
Cool":
1. Seize
the Paper: recycle at least 75% and compost the rest.
2. Source
Separate: require source separation of businesses and residential wastes into
compostables, recyclables, and residuals.
3. Feed
Local Soils: support local farmers and sustainable local food production with
community composting
4. Stop
Creating Methane Now: keep compostables out of landfills and eliminate methane
emission.
You can find more information at: www.cool2012.com
Other groups and businesses working toward Zero Waste:
The GrassRoots Recycling Network (GRRN) is perhaps the
loudest voice in the U.S.
for zero waste. www.grrn.org/
Eco-Cycle is one of the largest non-profit recyclers in the USA and has an
international reputation as a pioneer and innovator in resource conservation. www.ecocycle.org
Published since 1960, BioCycle is America's foremost magazine on
composting and organics recycling. www.jgpress.com/biocycle.htm
Zero Waste San Diego is a local, recently formed non-profit
dedicated to promoting sustainable resource management practices in San Diego County and beyond. www.zerowastesandiego.org
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How to Make Compost Tea:
6 Easy Steps
Want to do more with your compost? Brewing your compost to
make compost tea and adding it to your garden offers a number of benefits. It is
easy to make and can replace the use of chemical-based fertilizers, pesticides,
and fungicides. It increases the amount of nutrients available to plants and
soil and helps to prevent foliar diseases. Compost tea has even been found to
increase the nutritional quality and improve flavor in vegetables.
Supplies Needed:
2- 5 gallon bucket
1 gallon mature compost (worm or traditional)
1 aquarium valve
1 gang valve (divides air supply into several streams)
4 gallons of water
3+ feet of aquarium hose
1 ounce unsulfured molasses
Cheesecloth, nylon, or old pillow case
**Aeration equipment is especially important because the
organisms use up of the oxygen quickly. Without extra oxygen the organisms will
become anaerobic and the tea will begin to smell and will harm plants when
added to soil.
Where to Start:
Attach
3 pieces of aquarium hose (each about 12" long) to the gang valve. Place
the gang valve on the outside of the bucket, making sure the hoses reach
the bottom of the bucket.
Add
your finished compost to the bucket.
Ensure the hoses are completely
Fill
the bucket with water up to six inches from the top. If you are using city water be sure to
aerate it first by running it through the pump for at least an hour.
Chlorine will kill organisms needed in the tea.
Add
the unsulfered molasses. Stir vigorously to aerate the tea.
Turn
on the pump and let the mixture brew for 2-3 days, stirring occasionally.
Your tea should smell earthy. Add a second pump and aerate more if your
tea smells bad.
Brew
you compost tea! Let the tea sit for about ten to twenty minutes after
turning off the pump. Strain the tea through cheesecloth, a nylon
stocking, or old pillow case into the other bucket. Spray on plants
immediately
Brewing Compost Tea
from Taunton
Press
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/how-to/articles/brewing-compost-tea.aspx
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Garbage Gold
By Master Composter Carey Gregory
I used to feel such anticipation and gratitude for garbage
pick-up day. It was amazing to me how all the bins lining our streets, overflowing
with unpleasant unmentionables, would be swiftly emptied and the contents
whisked away with a simple whoosh, whine and rumble. So blessedly efficient and
what a relief to be rid of all those ripe smells and piles that would mysteriously
accumulate and seemingly self-replicate from week to week. Away with garbage!
Hurray for garbage pick-up day!
Then, one day last summer, I read about how green waste in
the landfill causes the production of methane gas, which is 25 times more toxic
to the environment than carbon dioxide. I learned how if every family were to
separate out their green waste from their garbage it would be equivalent to
taking their cars off the road! While I had often felt badly about my sometimes
excessive and unnecessary driving, I realized that dealing with my green waste
was something I could manage: Effective-Immediately!
I started with throwing our vegetable food scraps into a
bowl by my sink and then burying the scraps in the back yard in a variety of
locations. I also began to spread the yard waste around and mulch the sticks
and twigs with the mower, and so on.
In a very short period of time I realized that we virtually
had no garbage left and the places where I had buried our food scraps had
become nice, soft, dark soil. The yard looked better and more organized---my
husband even complimented me on it! I
decided it was time to find out about composting to see if I actually was on to
something so I entered a query on-line and quickly signed up for the Master
Composter course offered by the Solana
Center.
Through our class composts, guest speakers, and readings, I
have discovered that composting is an amazing solution to a long list of serious,
pressing (global) problems---with pollution, water shortage, pest resistance,
and overflowing and toxic landfills counted among them. As composters, we may
be growing beautiful plants but we are also contributing to a massive,
immediate reduction in the toxic waste that is poisoning our planet. Hurray for
composters!
Since I began the course, I've also become so much more
aware of the waste I generate and ways to minimize it. I've discovered that so much of the packaging
we toss out in overflowing public garbage bins---like our take-out coffee cups!---can
be torn up and thrown into the compost pile, along with the egg cartons, paper
bags, and even fabrics. When purchasing anything now I ask myself: How will I
dispose of it? It's amazing how all things compost-able begin to appear so much
more appealing aesthetically and otherwise with a simple awareness-shift.
It just feels fantastic to be one more person/family making even
the smallest difference at this critical time in our history on this planet-- Or,
minimally, making garbage into gold! Meanwhile, my husband and I realized we
had no further need to have garbage pick-up service and we cancelled the once
greatly anticipated service altogether.
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Master Composter Course Fall 2008!
Become an expert in composting, meet new people, and
participate in interesting events, all while serving your community!
Become a Master Composter!
6 Consecutive Thursdays
September 11th-October 16th
6-8:30 p.m.
Held at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.
Register online at www.solanacenter.org!
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