Municipal compost!!!

littlesapphire 2/1/2012, 3:01 pm

I'm so excited. I emailed my city (that sounds funny) to find out if we have municipal compost that's available to the public, since they collect yard waste and all. And I got an email back today that said yes! They do have compost available to anyone who wants it. I'm so excited!

So my question is, should I count this as one kind of compost, or can I figure it's more like three? Since I'm sure it has at least leaves, wood, and grass in it. They said they won't be open until the ground is more solid (as in, when it's not really muddy). Hopefully that comes before I start planting...

plantoid 2/1/2012, 3:51 pm

LS it might be cheap or even free but it will most likely come with zillions of free weeds and all sorts of chemicals , glass metals & bits of plastic in it from other peoples gardens .

That's certainbly the case for UK municipal composts in my experience

EatYourVeggies 2/1/2012, 5:07 pm

I started a thread the other day about bulk compost, which is where I would place municipal compost. My concerns are/were many, to include weed seeds as mentioned by Plantoid, but the majority that replied seem to think its good stuff.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t10043-bulk-compost?highlight=compost

AranMC 2/1/2012, 5:41 pm

I had some of the free compost from the local landfill site.. it was full of roots, plastic strings, plastic bags, all the rubbish that so called 'gardeners' throw away (meaning not REAL gardeners...lol) and I am STILL struggling to get rid of the weeds it brought in...6 years later...

Say NO to municipal compost...

Aran

Patty from Yorktown 2/1/2012, 6:01 pm

Hi,
Some municipal yard waste facilities are certified. I do not know who does the certification, but ours has passed it. I usually get a single yard in the spring and fall. It is great stuff. Yes it sometimes has a bit of plastic in it, but it is very little. The price cannot be beat. It is $18.00 per square yard. That is a 3foot by 3 foot by 3 foot pile. I have been very happy. If you have concerns, you could mix it with some home grown compost and bring the pile up to a high temperature to kill the weed seeds.

Patty in Yorktown

littlejo 2/1/2012, 9:11 pm

I got 7/10 of a Cu. Yd. $7.70 (10 per yd), all that would fit in my truck! It is good and black. It did have a few pieces of plastic, prob. from the bags, and some of those little labels off of fruit. I drove around the place, rows and rows of windrows of decomposing yard waste, and I saw nothing growing, no weeds. They told me that now, no yard waste will be taken in in plastic bags, only paper yard bags. They do not take in trash at that facility, only stuff that can be composted, no treated lumber.

Ask questions and go see their operation before getting.

Jo

landarch 2/1/2012, 11:12 pm

Be wary of municipal materials...especially for those alergic to poison ivy. There is no telling what is in stuff collected from the public.

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