Bi-weekly compost collection is smelly and unsanitary
By Contributor, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, April 28, 2009
The days are getting longer, the suns rays are getting stronger, and we can all begin to fantasize about spring and summer. I dream of those lovely and warm after work afternoons with a beer, under a tree on full leaf or weekend evenings on the roof deck , in good company and enjoying a glass of wine.
If only if it was not for those darned fruit flies that float on every drink, be it inside or outside! I have lived in Charlottetown for over 30 years, and I can remember the days when you could enjoy a summer without fruit flies in your drink. That exactly would be the days before our recycling and composting program started.
Now I am a big supporter of anything that helps the environment. I cheer the government all the way for the efforts already made. I am a big supporter of the composting and recycling program. It only makes sense to keep the air, the soil and the water pure for our own sake, and it is nice to have birds, bees and fish too, but do we really need to suffer fruit flies? Must we suffer to be good ?
Before we started composting on the entire Island, our house was part of a small test program for the new Island garbage and compost program and had a test run on our Upper Prince Street, and fruit flies were no problem then. That is because at that time the compost got picked up once a week, instead of every two weeks as is now the case. Two weeks is just too long in the warm weather. It makes the compost bins the perfect place for breeding not only fruit flies but regular flies as well. Fruit flies in my drink are bad enough, but the smell is awful, and the pounds of writhing maggots falling out of the bins at the end of two weeks are just revolting.
I think the very least we could expect from our waste management to notice the problem and pick up the compost at least once a week in the summer.
Speaking about compost, it seems that the current system could be greener. Not only is there a problem with flies, but trucking compost all over the Island could hardly be the green thing to do.
Why , in the old days, what we are now throwing away, was used for feeding pigs and chicken, who then created very good manure for the garden or fields, in addition to the eggs, chicken and pork produced.
Now we are told to place all kinds of unlikely things in the compost, such as adverting fliers containing poisonous inks or box board, so it is no wonder the resulting compost has been banned by Irving from getting anywhere near their potatoes, and I understand that much of the “compost” is disposed of at the hazardous waste site at Wellington, hardly a green procedure at all.
There must be better and greener methods: First of all the compost has to be picked up once a week, at least in the summer. Second glossy paper and other pollutants should be banned from the compost and burned instead in the waste to heat plant. Thirdly the compost, which really is just leftover food, should be fed to locally raised chicken and the resulting manure used locally, in places such as community gardens.
PEI is rightly proud of making the effort in waste reduction. Now lets see some innovation to see that it is done the truly right way , so it truly serves us, the residents and truly does something for the environment.
Now is the time to plan the improvements for next summer.
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