It has been nine weeks since Steinbach started its Community Compost Depot program and Solid Waste Department Head, Eldon Wallman, is quite pleased with the results so far.
Our aim was to collect about 5 tonnes of compostable material every Saturday, says Wallman. Depending on how much rain we’ve had towards the end of the week, we’ve been measuring anywhere from 2.5 to 5.5 tonnes each Saturday.
Depot workers estimate that at least half of the people using the community depots are new to composting and have never brought their material to the Landfills compost depot.
Wallman notes that people have been overwhelmingly positive about the whole program.
People keep telling us how worthwhile and convenient the program is, and that we need to do it again next year.
Something new, the depots are now also accepting kitchen waste, minus dairy products (egg shells are ok), meat and bones, and sauces/fats/oils/grease. Wallman emphasizes that these items must be kept out of the compost pile as they decompose differently from produce and can adversely affect the composition of the finished compost.
The first pile of compost was screened at the Landfill in the beginning of June and disappeared quickly as the City’s Beautification crew used the material in various garden beds around the city, and the public also picked it up for their yards and gardens. Another batch of compost is expected to be ready this fall.
The Community Compost Depots will continue to be available every Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at both the Steinbach Junior High and Woodlawn School yards until mid October.
Click here for more information about Steinbach’s Community Compost Depots.
