Rilla, Ellen : E. Rilla is County Director, Sonoma and Marin Counties Cooperative Extension

Vossen, Paul M

c - N P J 9 The Sonoma County Home CompostingProgram has 36 Master Gar - dener volunteerswho conduct outdoor demonstrationworkshops and indoor clinicsto teach people how to compost kitchenscraps and yard Left , a youngster examines a worm from a worm box at a trimmings . Sebastopolcompost demonstration.Above , Master Gardener volunteer Diana Lobush explains the science behind how the worm box operates . Trained home composters by 18 % reduce solid waste Paul Vossen P Ellen Rilla Because solid waste generated by The average household adds 88.7 gal - The UC CooperativeExtensionâ??s residential sources in Sonoma County lons of garbage to landfills each Master GardenerProgram has en - is approximately 25 % compostableor - month . In response to the rapid deple - teredinto a creativepartnership ganic products , home composting has tion of landfill capacity and to help with the Sonoma Counfy Waste significantwaste - diversion potential . conservenatural resources , the Cali - Management Agency to help re - It is a simple and effective way to re - fornia Legislatureenacted AB939 in duce landfill wasteby teaching cycle and decrease the amount of ma - 1989 . This law mandated landfill dis - to how to compost in their people terial in the waste stream . In addition , posal reductions of 25 % by 1995and back yards . Master Gardener volun - composting lowers hauling costs for 50 % by the year 2000 . Sonoma County teers train approximately 7,000 waste processing or disposal , reduces surpassed its goal of 25 % reduction in people each year . A survey was nutrient runoff at large facilities , and 1995and is now concentrating on re - 7995 and 7996 to conductedin can integrate the household into a ducing landfill inputs even further , evaluate the effectivenessof work - natural lifecycle . All it requires is some according to Ken Wells , director of shops and clinics . By composting training for individual composters , Sonoma County Waste Management kitchenscraps and yard trimmings , which in this program is provided by Agency . In order to achieve 50 % re - the home composterssurveyed volunteers . Besides helping to reduce duction over the second 5 - year period , to reduce their input into were able inputs into the regional landfill , home Wells thinks that one of the best strate - - about the waste stream by 78.3 % composters reap the benefits of com - gies is to reduce waste at its source - post by using it as a garden soil six 32 - gallongarbage cans per by teaching people to compost in their amendment and fertilizer . own back yards . household per year . CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 1996 11 Training program 2 years , 1,878people have been trained in backyard composting in The Sonoma County program Sonoma County . In 1995 , survey ques - started in 1993and was the first in the tionnaires were mailed to 365 attend - state to link UC Cooperative Extension ees of the workshops and clinics with Master Gardener volunteers and Waste Management Agency funds to 141responses ; in 1996 , we sent 449 surveys and received 138responses . teach home composting . Now in its third year , the program is a model for The average response rate for the 2 years was 34 % . several other county programs team - Workshop and clinic trainees were ing up with their local waste manage - sent surveys 2 to 6 months after at - ment agencies to educate potential backyard composters . tending a composting class . They were The Sonoma County Home asked to self - estimatetheir household Composting Program is funded for ap - garbage inputs of kitchen scraps and Fig . 1 . Change in behavior after attending proximately $ 60,000 per year , which yard - waste materials in gallons or in a workshop or clinic . supports a part - time director , site fractions of a standard 32 - gallon gar - manager and Master Gardener pro - bage can per week . Self - haulers scraps and 13.8gallons of yard waste gram liaison , as well as six permanent per household per month ( fig . 2 ) . That ( people who take their garbage di - rectly to the landfill ) were asked to compost demonstration sites around total of 16.2gallons per month is the county ( completewith shredders , equivalent to 6.1 32 - gallon garbage self - estimatefrequency and volume based on a standard ( full - sized ) pick - active compost bins , hand tools , and cans per household per year or , after storage sheds ) . Last year an 8 - foot - by - taking into account the moisture and up bed . We calculated the amount of 10 - foottrailer was added to service waste - stream reduction based on the density of both kitchen scraps and outlying communities that are not differencein yard waste , 372 tons total per year . participants â?? garbage in - close to a permanent site . The educa - Tonnage estimates are based on all put before and after they had attended tional program has 36 volunteer train - trained home composters . a composting education session . ers who coordinate , publicize and The average householdâ??s total land - Landfilldiversion results conduct more than 40 outdoor demon - fill input per month is 88.7gallons of stration workshops and 20 indoor clin - In both 1995and 1996,68 % of work - garbage . Each composting household ics each year . diverted 18.3 % of the average shop and clinic participants indicated householdâ??s total monthly waste The Master Gardeners developed a that they began or increased their comprehensive step - by - step training stream . The total waste stream for compost pile usage after attending a workshop that includes poster - board Sonoma County Master Gardener compost training ses - - 412,530 tons buried visuals , instructional brochures , shred - sion ( fig . 1 ) . Just over 20 % had already in the landfill each year - includes a der demonstrations , and proper use of been composting and had no increase ; sizable amount of commercial waste compost thermometers . They also pre - about products and noncompostable materi - 10 % had not composted and did sented techniques of vermiculture als . When we compare the amount of not start composting . Of the 68 % ( worm composting ) and showed the organic waste products diverted from newly trained home composters , 50 % many uses for a good , finished , com - the landfill by backyard composters indicated a reduction in organic mate - post product . At the end of each out - and the quantity of organic materials rial put into their garbage . Others door workshop , Master Gardeners and that are sent to the landfill by Sonoma were already composting all of the attendees built a compost pile on - site . County residents , 372 tons represents kitchen scraps and yard waste they The indoor clinics were held in local an average of 0.5 % each year of the generated , while some were libraries and included a slide presenta - total yearly organic waste stream . composting at a negligible level , ac - tion and lecture on making compost at cording to their own estimates of be - home and a demonstration of starting havioral change . This means that half a worm composting box . of the workshop and clinic partici - Kitchen pants became significantcomposters ; scrap Survey goal and method their actual rate of reduction of We wanted to find out how effec - compostablematerials was twice that Yard of the average for all workshop and tive our educational efforts were with waste clinic participants . regard to participants â?? satisfaction The quantities of organic materials with the workshops and clinics , some Total diverted from the waste stream by specifics about their subsequent households were very similar in both composting habits and , most impor - 1995and 1996 . The average amount tantly , how much organic material Fig . 2 . Average amount of kitchen scrap composted for all workshop and clinic was being diverted from the landfill and yard waste diverted from the landfill by trained home composters . participants was 2.4 gallons of kitchen by home composting . During the last 12 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , VOLUME 50 , NUMBER 5 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 1996 13 fairs , and about compost . One - third to one - half of the 20 % from fly - survey respondents use open compost ers placed in piles , while 25 % have worm boxes . garden and Only 17 % use a plastic bin enclosure , hardware although 18 % more indicated a desire stores . to have and use one . Workshop Nearly 40 % of workshop and clinic organizers participants are looking for help in found that it chipping woody plant materials and takes consider - would compost even more if there able effort to were some type of chipping service . publicize and One - fifth also indicated a desire for attract partici - different sources of compostables , pants . Average such as manures and green material to attendance in mix with their yard waste and kitchen 1995was 11 scraps . In 1996 , Master Gardener train - ers offered to chip attendeesâ??brush people per ses - sion ; in 1996 it when brought to one of the workshop Master Gardener Cynthia DeMartinidemon - was 28 - sites ; however , because the organic strates compostingtechniquesat the which was due to incentive programs materials are bulky and difficult to Pauline Bond Community Farm in Sonoma . at the clinics and workshops that gave load and unload , very few people Another service offered by the away finished compost and sold used the service . Waste Management Agency is the bi - composting bins at wholesale prices . Almost 80 % of home composters in weekly curbside collection of organic Other publicity included hand distri - 1995and 50 % in 1996 experienced yard waste , which is then transported bution of flyers at gardening stores some problems with their compost to a regional composting facility.Huge and events by volunteers , as well as piles or worm boxes . Most composting compost piles are made after sorting feature articles and listings in the difficultiesinvolve â?쳌 Mother Nature , â?쳌 and grinding the raw materials . The calendar - of - events section of the local such as piles drying out or taking too finished compost is sold to gardeners newspaper . Volunteers also reached long to finish ( fig . 4 ) . ( Thesetwo com - and farmers in the area . Workshop many people who did not attend mon examples may even be related , and clinic participants were surveyed workshops or clinicsby distributing since dry organic materials do not in 1996 about their estimated use of 41,000 educational composting bro - compost rapidly . ) The training pro - this service . We found that they chures over a 2 - year period at farmers â?? gram workshops and clinics teach reduced the amount of materials put markets , country and harvest fairs , methods for manipulating moisture out for pick up and transport to the garden clubs , nurseries and garden content and address composters â?? ex - regional facility by 206 tons per year centers and by mail . pectations about the length of.time or 101gallons per household per year Participants gave workshops and necessary to make compost . Com - by composting it at home ( fig . 3 ) . clinicsvery high ratings . There was posting is new to three - fourths of the Home composting is saving the cost strong agreement that the training was home composters , however , and they of collecting , hauling , and dumping well organized , useful , inspirational , are likely to solve such problems fees for raw materials to a landfill , an and worth recommending to others . through experience . estimated cost savings of $ 135 per ton The attraction of animals and in - Compostingtechniques or $ 78,030 per year . Difficult - to - sects to compost piles and worm boxes quantify savings include the reduction Trained home composters reported was indicated by 16 % of the respon - in traffic and air pollution from gar - using similar types of materials such dents . These pests could be a major bage trucks ; less need for landfill or as leaves , grass clippings , kitchen deterrent unless home composters use centralized composting facility space ; scraps and plant prunings for their enclosed systems and locate their com - and less need for distribution of fin - ished compost to end users . Public outreach The best method of publicizing training workshops and clinicswas via the local newspaper , which publishes an announcement in the gardening section each Saturday . Over 40 % of attendees learned about the training from the paper , followed by 27 % from Fig . 3 . Change in the amount of curbside Fig . 4 . Types of problems workshop and clinic other Master Gardener clinics and yard waste due to home composting . participants had with home composting . 14 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , VOLUME 50 , NUMBER 5 These sturdy instructional posters have been copied for use in Placer - Nevadaand forts will be to significantlyreduce post piles where they wonâ??t interfere Napa counties â?? workshops . landfill inputs at a reasonable cost to with residential comfort . Very few re - the waste management agency . spondents said that the compost piles home gardeners and composters . Most people who attend the com - or worm boxes were unsightly , smelly , These volunteers are motivated by a posting workshops or clinicsbecome or that any of the problems experi - range of factors that include the con - enced would stop them from motivated to do some composting . nection between gardening , com - composting . While those new to composting expe - posting and the environment ; a desire rience problems common to the to help others ; satisfactionfrom teach - Conclusions and discussion composting process , these problems ing ; and a sense of community pur - can be overcomeeasily with addi - The cost of providing training for pose . In California , there are currently tional experienceand information . The each person who attended a com - 31 county - based programs and over main limitations to home composting posting workshop or clinic was ap - 2,000 active Master Gardener volun - proximately $ 60 . Many other people by the general public seem to be atti - teers . Sonoma County had 168active were given information through edu - tude toward the environment and the Master Gardeners in 1996 . cationalbrochures and individual con - willingness to take time to separate As our population increases , as re - organic materials from the garbage . sultations with Master Gardeners . This sources decrease and landfills reach investment in time and money was Most households have plenty of room capacity , the creative partnership for a 3 - foot - by - 3 - footcompost pile , or made in hopes of prompting lifestyle forged between UC Cooperative Ex - changes so that people will continue to worm box for apartment dwellers . tension and the Waste Management Like gardening , home composting can Agency to teach residents to compost compost , recycle and reduce their solid waste output . The rate of diver - be enjoyable and can become an inte - at home will have a significant , long - gral part of gardening and living in a term beneficial impact by diverting sion per trained composter household is very high , with some composting all highly urbanized state . Composting thousands of tons of organic material makes people feel good about the from landfills . of their kitchen scraps and yard waste , positive reuse of a valuable resource . and the averagereducing their waste The Waste Management Agency streaminput more than 18 % per month . P . Vossen is horticulturefarm advisor , and the Master Gardener Program This is impressivebecause the total E . Rilla is County Director , Sonoma and have formed a unique partnership that waste stream includesover and Marin Counties Cooperative Extension . 75 % noncompostablematerials . benefits the community . The Master The authors gratefully acknowledge the Gardener Program is able to obtain The program also has an undocu - compost program staff and Master Gar - program coordination funds and the dener volunteers for their participation in mented cumulative effect since many Waste Management Agency can reach the educational and research activities of composterswill share information more people - with an effective , high - with their neighbors and continue to the compost program , especially Wanda compost for many years beyond the Tapia , Compost Program Director ; Rose - quality educational program taught by workshop they attended . Over 93 % of mary McCreary , Master Gardener ; and volunteers - with little expense . workshop and clinic participants indi - Nancy Kissam , Master Gardener Program This educational program strongly cated that the compost training was Coordinator . Special thanks to the Sonoma depends on Master Gardener volun - worth recommending to others . As County WasteManagement Agency Direc - teers to lead workshops and clinics . Master Gardeners are trained UC vol - more people begin to compost , the tor , Ken Wells , for his continued support , overall effect of their composting ef - and Byan Brownfor his computer work . unteers who donate their time to help CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE , SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 1996 15