“We live rurally and also have bears and other animals around. We have been layering leaves on top of our organic waste to keep odor away. Is that a good idea?”
“Is NY legislature considering a bill/law similar to what VT recently did…eliminate food scrap waste?”
“I live in a suburb and run out of leaves to add to my compost – will adding shredded paper junk mail cause any harm?”
“What is ‘compostable plastic’ and why isn’t it breaking down in my compost bin?”
These are just a few of the questions asked (and answered) during January’s Compost Cafés–a friendly open forum for discussing questions related to composting at any scale–hosted on Zoom by AdkAction’s Compost for Good project.
Home compost decomposition may be slowed down by the bitter cold of winter, but the Compost for Good team of John Culpepper, Katie Culpepper, and Jennifer Perry have been actively breaking down barriers to composting for novice and experienced composters in the Adirondacks and further afield. In addition to the Compost Café series, the team has reached out to youth and municipal leaders to educate and inspire during virtual events this winter.
In December, Compost for Good and the Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program co-hosted a virtual screening of a new documentary, “Kiss the Ground,” together with a panel discussion led by students involved in composting at their school or within their community. During the event, AdkAction awarded one attending student with a scholarship for Kiss the Ground’s soil advocate training course.
In January, community leaders and municipal officials from across New York State learned about the upcoming Food Donation and Food Scraps Recycling law and Climate Smart Communities Program during another virtual event presented by Compost for Good project, ANCA, and the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Recordings of all these events can be watched at any time:
Composting in the Adirondacks – The Wild Center’s Youth Climate Program
NY Food Scraps Recycling Law: is your community ready?
The Compost for Good team was also recently awarded a grant from the NYS DEC’s Pollution Prevention Institute to help with composting education and outreach. The team is just getting started on producing materials that will promote and support community-scale composting systems throughout New York State. Many of the outcomes from that work will be placed on the AdkAction Compost for Good page. Stay tuned!
