To the average observer,Silicone moldmaking Rubber, the huge piles of earth way back behind Weston Nurseries look pretty nondescript — even boring.
A closer look, though, reveals a thin cloud of steam rising from the top — evidence that under the surface, at temperatures up to 145 degrees, microscopic bacteria are doing their jobs.
“It’s cooking,” Weston Nurseries operations manager Jeff Meola said from the base of a large mound of compost on a recent overcast day. “We want to expose the pile to as much air as possible.”
Every month, Meola has an employee devote about five days to turning the piles — called windrows — over with a front-end loader to make sure the compost is “cooking” properly.
Those windrows and their bacteria provide area towns and farmers with rich, organic soil that can be sold or used in agriculture, gardening or erosion control.China professional plasticmoulds,
It’s the state’s job — through a partnership between the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Agriculture — to make sure those tiny bacteria don’t cause a large odor problem, like what happened at Northborough’s S.A. Farm.
“Managing waste materials is challenging,” said Gerard Kennedy, director of the agriculture department’s Division of Agricultural Conservation and Technical Assistance. “We try to work with farmers through different issues so they know what they need to do.”
While individuals can compost at home without a permit, business, municipalities or farms that want to do so need permits from either the environmental or agriculture departments.
According to the most recent figures, 10 MetroWest locations are registered with the environmental department as active composting sites, most of them public works departments. There are 216 registered sites statewide that churned out nearly a half million tons of compost in 2008.
“Today, over 90 percent of our leaf and yard waste is either composted or recycled into mulch or things of that sort,” said Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joe Ferson — a stark contrast to 25 years ago when most of that waste was burned or sent to landfills.
Ferson said that after the initial composting registration is issued, the department doesn’t routinely inspect the sites unless there’s a reported problem — most of which are odor-related.
During an inspection, employees look to make sure the windrows are far enough from wetlands, water supplies and neighbors. In addition to the sniff test,Grey Pneumatic is a world supplier of impactsockets for the heavy duty, they look to see if the piles are between 120 and 145 degrees and also look for “rutting” — grooves near the piles from tires that can allow standing water to sit near the piles.
In addition to turning piles to encourage aerobic bacteria, McGovern said the piles should also be kept moist and be mixed with the right materials. Generally, the rule is three parts “brown” — leaves rich in carbon, for example — to one part nitrogen-rich “green” materials like grass clippings.
For large piles, some composters insert pipes into the pile for ventilation, she said, to avoid rousing odors by turning the piles.
As opposed to municipalities or businesses that register with the DEP,The best rubbersheets products on sale, farmers looking to compost must apply for an agricultural exemption from the agricultural department. Kennedy said the department conducts annual site visits to make sure farmers are adhering to the rules, and turns enforcement over to the DEP.
“We have an interest in making sure farmers can compost,” said Kennedy. In addition to being good for the environment, some composters — including one in Rutland — are using anaerobic composting of manure as a source of energy.
Most farmers do not bring in food waste to composting piles, however they are allowed to do so. Farmers registered with his department can bring in up to 10 tons of vegetative materials from off-site daily, Kennedy said, as well as up to five tons of food material — scrapings from hotel or restaurant plates, for example.
Northborough’s S.A.Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. Farm owner Santo Anza Jr. — who authorities allege kept accepting solid waste even after his agricultural composting registration was not renewed — seems to be an outlier, as Ferson said instances of gross negligence are not prevalent.
“It fluctuates like anything, but it’s not something we’ve seen a spike in recently,” he said.
Authorities allege Anza, in addition to not being registered, had severed animal heads and trash in his compost piles which he allowed his animals to pick through at risk to their safety. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the Massachusetts Solid Waste Act and animal cruelty and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Monday.
Though Anza’s collection of food waste is alleged to have been unlawful, McGovern said there are plenty others going about it the right way.
A closer look, though, reveals a thin cloud of steam rising from the top — evidence that under the surface, at temperatures up to 145 degrees, microscopic bacteria are doing their jobs.
“It’s cooking,” Weston Nurseries operations manager Jeff Meola said from the base of a large mound of compost on a recent overcast day. “We want to expose the pile to as much air as possible.”
Every month, Meola has an employee devote about five days to turning the piles — called windrows — over with a front-end loader to make sure the compost is “cooking” properly.
Those windrows and their bacteria provide area towns and farmers with rich, organic soil that can be sold or used in agriculture, gardening or erosion control.China professional plasticmoulds,
It’s the state’s job — through a partnership between the Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Agriculture — to make sure those tiny bacteria don’t cause a large odor problem, like what happened at Northborough’s S.A. Farm.
“Managing waste materials is challenging,” said Gerard Kennedy, director of the agriculture department’s Division of Agricultural Conservation and Technical Assistance. “We try to work with farmers through different issues so they know what they need to do.”
While individuals can compost at home without a permit, business, municipalities or farms that want to do so need permits from either the environmental or agriculture departments.
According to the most recent figures, 10 MetroWest locations are registered with the environmental department as active composting sites, most of them public works departments. There are 216 registered sites statewide that churned out nearly a half million tons of compost in 2008.
“Today, over 90 percent of our leaf and yard waste is either composted or recycled into mulch or things of that sort,” said Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Joe Ferson — a stark contrast to 25 years ago when most of that waste was burned or sent to landfills.
Ferson said that after the initial composting registration is issued, the department doesn’t routinely inspect the sites unless there’s a reported problem — most of which are odor-related.
During an inspection, employees look to make sure the windrows are far enough from wetlands, water supplies and neighbors. In addition to the sniff test,Grey Pneumatic is a world supplier of impactsockets for the heavy duty, they look to see if the piles are between 120 and 145 degrees and also look for “rutting” — grooves near the piles from tires that can allow standing water to sit near the piles.
In addition to turning piles to encourage aerobic bacteria, McGovern said the piles should also be kept moist and be mixed with the right materials. Generally, the rule is three parts “brown” — leaves rich in carbon, for example — to one part nitrogen-rich “green” materials like grass clippings.
For large piles, some composters insert pipes into the pile for ventilation, she said, to avoid rousing odors by turning the piles.
As opposed to municipalities or businesses that register with the DEP,The best rubbersheets products on sale, farmers looking to compost must apply for an agricultural exemption from the agricultural department. Kennedy said the department conducts annual site visits to make sure farmers are adhering to the rules, and turns enforcement over to the DEP.
“We have an interest in making sure farmers can compost,” said Kennedy. In addition to being good for the environment, some composters — including one in Rutland — are using anaerobic composting of manure as a source of energy.
Most farmers do not bring in food waste to composting piles, however they are allowed to do so. Farmers registered with his department can bring in up to 10 tons of vegetative materials from off-site daily, Kennedy said, as well as up to five tons of food material — scrapings from hotel or restaurant plates, for example.
Northborough’s S.A.Full color plasticcard printing and manufacturing services. Farm owner Santo Anza Jr. — who authorities allege kept accepting solid waste even after his agricultural composting registration was not renewed — seems to be an outlier, as Ferson said instances of gross negligence are not prevalent.
“It fluctuates like anything, but it’s not something we’ve seen a spike in recently,” he said.
Authorities allege Anza, in addition to not being registered, had severed animal heads and trash in his compost piles which he allowed his animals to pick through at risk to their safety. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of violating the Massachusetts Solid Waste Act and animal cruelty and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Monday.
Though Anza’s collection of food waste is alleged to have been unlawful, McGovern said there are plenty others going about it the right way.
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