There’s the age-old question of what came first - the chicken or the egg? It may never be answered, but one thing’s for certain - the chicken and the egg will both end up as high quality compost for your home and garden.
As is the nature of the food chain, we eat chicken (or the egg). We throw bones, shells or spoiled leftovers away and presume we’ll never see them again. But times are changing in Peel and as of April 2007, throwing chicken or egg scraps in your green organics bin means that in 60 to 90 days, those same scraps will come full circle and back into your home and garden as compost.
We know that most garbage is incinerated or sent to a landfill. Aluminum, plastic and paper products go to a recycling plant and can be made into a variety of interesting things: recycled plastic jugs can be made into Muskoka chairs; two-litre pop bottles can be made into polyester t-shirts; and aluminum cans come back as aluminum cans. But what happens to food from the time you place it in your organics bin to that glorious afternoon you work in your garden?
The journey starts at the curbside on your regular collection day. The contents of your bin are picked up and transported to either the Peel Integrated Waste Management Facility in Brampton or the Caledon Composting Facility at the Caledon Landfill Site.
The material, including your chicken (or the egg), other kitchen scraps, compostable plastic or paper bags and yard waste, is shredded to provide an effective mix of carbon and nitrogen. Once complete, the shredded material, known as feedstock, is stored in large, aerated compost boxes for seven to 10 days.
The compost box (30 m long, 5 m wide, 6 m high, holds 250 tonnes of feedstock) is where the composting process truly begins. The feedstock in these boxes will reach 55 degrees Celsius for three days to make sure human and plant pathogens (bacteria) are rendered inactive.
The contents of the compost boxes are then transported to the Peel Curing Facility and mounded into long rectangular rows called windrows (5 m high, 10 m wide, and 200 m long), and left for a minimum of 45 days for curing. Curing occurs when compost is biologically stabilized and matures to a state where the material will not reheat when water is added. This helps to further decompose and stabilize potentially toxic organic acids and resistant compounds. Simply put, curing ensures the compost won’t kill your tulips.
Once the curing process is complete, the material goes through one final screening process to remove large particles and wood that hasn’t broken down, and is mechanically screened into two usable products:
- Coarse product used for steep bank stabilization and hydro-seeding projects
- Finer screened product used as a soil amendment in gardens and landscaping, mulch cover or top-dressing material for lawns
At this stage, what started as the chicken (or the egg) is now transformed into high quality compost, and is available for sale in loose and bulk form at Peel Community Recycling Centres. For more information on delivery, pricing and availability, visit peelcompost.ca or call 905-791-9499.
Now that spring has arrived and your garden is the envy of your neighbours, remember it’s because your chicken and egg scraps have made an incredible journey from the curbside to your backyard.
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