No More Free Compost in Waterloo Region?

May 9, 2008

I just came across an article in the Waterloo Chronicle. I thought it was quite interesting, especially considering my recent post about the annual compost giveaway.

I actually didn’t even realize you could get free compost from the landfill any other time apart from the giveaway events, but apparently in the past “excess compost” has been piled near the dump and residents have been free to take it whenever they like.

Here is a excerpt from the article:

Steve Lindt thinks that something stinks about the Region of Waterloo’s waste management strategy — and the lack of a familiar odour this spring is a telling sign.
Lindt, an avid gardener and longtime Waterloo resident, was upset when he discovered that the region isn’t providing free compost at the Erb Street landfill on a daily basis this season.
Last year, excess compost was piled near the dump and citizens could take it away at no cost.
When Lindt visited the landfill this spring, he was told that compost would only be available for free on two designated days instead of every day.
Lindt was disappointed by what he heard, and thinks thousands of other Waterloo gardeners will be perturbed as well.
“I think a lot of people appreciated the service,” he said. And not only was the compost available at no cost, it was high quality, he added.
Lindt had taken between 30 and 40 bushels of compost over the past years, enough to fill his gardens with top-notch compost.

Be sure to check out the full article: Resident says something stinks about the end of free compost

According to the article, regional compost-making takes place exclusively in Cambridge (“where there is a market for the soil”).

This is definitely unfortunate. Perhaps the silver lining is that this will encourage more residents to expand their own backyard composting efforts!

[tags]compost, waterloo, waterloo chronicle, kitchener, cambridge, ontario, landfill, transfer station, composting, gardening[/tags]

Posted by Bentley | Filed Under Waterloo Region 

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