Backyard Magic, the Most From Compost

BACKYARD MAGIC, THE MOST FROM COMPOST

Wednesday, November 21, 2007 (Napanee Beaver)

Friday, November 23, 2007 (Picton Gazette)

My nephew e-mailed me this morning to tell me that he had found another one.

The item he was referring to was one of those little white, plastic “party favours” containing dog excrement, hanging from a tree branch at Massassauga Point Conservation Area. He says he routinely finds these curios swaying from the branches of trees here, even though there is a garbage receptacle just inside the gate. He is curious, as am I, if this is some sort of ceremony, peculiar only to dog owners, who can’t seem to take their responsibility of cleaning up after their pet, that one final step. In an era when it has become fashionable to accept responsibility for nothing, it appears to be the only reasonable explanation that either of us can come up with, for they surely seldom return for their bags.

It is not just a county thing, as I have found these tree ornaments all over eastern Ontario – on trails, in conservation areas, along sidewalks, and of all places, dangling from a picnic shelter at Sandbanks. When I used to work at Quinte Conservation in Belleville, I would always consider the day lost if I arrived at work early in the morning and did not find a minimum of three or four swinging from the poplars like those little ghosts we sometimes see hanging from bushes on Halloween. I would find them draped over the door knob at the back entrance or lying on the cement step. The stoop and scoop concept is being more or less enthusiastically supported and followed by most responsible dog owners, but once the end of the bag is given that final twist and tied a secure knot, the human brain seems to grind to a sudden stop as to what the next logical step should be.

The argument that many conservation areas no longer have garbage receptacles due to similarly irresponsible persons using them for their bags of household garbage, doesn’t carry much weight either. I have never understood the need for garbage receptacles in public places to begin with. When did it become the responsibility of agencies to take care of garbage that other people create? I cannot remember the last time I ever used a public receptacle, as I have always held that if you bring it in, you should be able take it out. It’s the responsible thing to do. That is why we have curbside garbage pick-up. The paltry tag fee is a small price to pay for saying our final goodby to the garbage we create.

It is difficult to explain given the enthusiasm by which residents have otherwise embraced the recycling program, and the majority of residents making that extra effort to sort the reusable items from that which would normally end up in the landfill site. The line-ups of blue boxes filled to the brim along the roadside every recycling day is a clear indication that residents do take their recycling responsibility seriously.

The recent move to introduce composting in Prince Edward County has taken the recycling concept one important step further. Still, there are those who continue to regard food waste as “garbage” and refuse to divert biodegradable items from the waste stream. Worries about rats and snakes and raccoons and flies, objectionable odours and other imagined threats are all unfounded if composting is done right. It boggles the mind that there are still people out there who take this black gold and just throw it away simply because of myths, or the fact they can’t be bothered to make use of this valuable resource. A presentation on composting that I gave some time ago to an apartment complex was warmly embraced by those who attended, but it took only a couple of residents who couldn’t be bothered to attend the informational meeting to make some fuss and a little noise. As a result this worthwhile project that the majority had so enthusiastically embraced stalled, and all, I suspect, because of unfounded concerns – either that, or the dissenters were simply too indolent to be bothered. Whatever the reason, this building has chosen to remain in the Dark Ages and ignore the obvious. We cannot continue to bicker and complain about burgeoning landfill sites in our backyards if we don’t work together and reduce what is going into them. It’s another example of refusing to accept responsibility for our waste, much the same mind set as the individual who recently dumped a trailer load of leaves off the edge of the parking lot at Macaulay Mountain in Picton.

Prince Edward County councillors Ray Best and Barry Turpin are on the right track in their untiring efforts to promote composting in the county. They are initiating a trial program by offering landowners at an almost give away price the opportunity to own a drum composter, a device they say should attract users since its rotating drum design encourages faster composting. They believe that County residents could reduce their waste stream by as much as 50 per cent. The concept has resulted in “significant interest” from residents. Interested persons in the program will be given a chance to apply for the drum composters, said to be valued at $200.

While some people like myself have been actively composting since they were old enough to turn a garden fork, this irresistible offer may be just the ticket to get the skeptics on the band wagon too, and turn over that old leaf. They will soon learn to appreciate the rich black soil that is produced and revel its value as a natural organic fertilizer for their potted plants, flower beds and vegetable gardens.