Speaking of Compost.....

Compost is on everyone's mind it seems. Over the weekend, I was working in my garden, adding compost to some beds, when my neighbors stopped by. They were curious as to how I was able to get things to grow, when they had not had any success in getting anything to grow. They asked me if the soil up here was poor. I explained to them that composting was the best way to go in order to enrich the soil and improve it's water retaining ability. I have found this to be true in my own garden.

The great thing about compost is that you can make it yourself. Composting is an excellent way to divert waste from our landfills and provide the much needed "black gold" our gardens crave. Composting is very easy. I will discuss in Thursday's post exactly how to compost and what kind of containers are needed to hold you compost. It is not as difficult as you might think. Stay tuned for composting samples right here at the water district. We are in the process of setting up our own composting system to cut down on waste produced by the district.

The November 9th issue of the Press Enterprise contained a story about UCR starting a composting program. According to the Sustainable Endowments Institute, a Massachusetts nonprofit group, a recent survey of 332 colleges and universities in the US and Canada found that 55 percent were composting food.

Fortino Morales, an environmental science major and head of Sustainable UCR, a student group that educates classmates about eco-friendly practices says, "We need universities not just to teach about sustainability, but to practice it themselves." We could all take a page from that book! Talk is cheap as they say, but actions speak louder than words.

Why bother composting you might ask. Keeping waste out of landfills should be everyone's priority because they are reaching capacity and because decomposing rubbish emits methane, a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon dioxide. UCR's dining services produces more than 11,000 meals on a typical weekday through the university's 19 food outlets. Campus-wide, 1,932 tons a year go to the land fill. Now, 1,466 tons have been diverted according to Gustavo Plascencia, the general manaer for UCR's residential dining.

If more people, restaurants, institutions, schools, office buildings and hospitals start composting, think of the amount of waste that WON'T go into the landfills. In return, we would have wonderful, rich compost to add to our soil. Which in turn helps the soil retain water and provides much needed nutrients for plants. It is a win win situation.

Don't forget, we are giving away a free bag of compost to the first 50 customers who stop by and ask for it. Just come on into the water district office located at 24917 Marion Ridge Rd. Our office hours are Monday thru Friday from 9 to 12 and from 1 to 4. We are closed from 12 to 1 for lunch. Come by and pick up your bag and see for yourself the difference compost can make. See you at the office!