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 7 November 2007, 12:29 PM: My telephone rings, I answer. Kenna Eaton, the Moscow Food Co-op General Manager, is on the line. She tells me of the Earth Tub arrival. After much anticipation, the Co-op's mass composter is here!! Kenna informs me that the truck driver is anxious to have this 750-pound tub unloaded from his truck so he can continue with other deliveries.
She asks, "Nora, can you go rent a forklift?" I reply, "Yes, right away.” Kenna hesitantly asks, "Do you know how to drive a forklift?" I hesitantly reply, "No, but I'm sure I can figure it out, and just to be safe I'll bring my friend Mark."
I had Mark in mind since he is an experienced forklift driver. Within 30 minutes, we were in the alley placing the Earth Tub on its beautifully constructed gravel pad. A crowd had gathered on the Co-op loading dock, the excitement was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. There were cheers, photographs and congratulations, all this elation in the name of organic matter. With the Earth Tub, we will turn all the Co-op's kitchen scraps, spilled food, and plate scrapings into soil-enhancing compost—and save landfill space at the same time.
The road to composting at the new Co-op location has been a long one and we are not quite there yet. In the summer of 2006, the Moscow Food Co-op in conjunction with PCEI (Palouse Clearwater Environmental Institute) and the Moscow Recycling Center, wrote a grant to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). The grant requested funds to set up a demonstration-composting system at the Co-op using the Earth Tub. This spring the grant came through and planning began. In June, I was asked to be the "Co-op Compost Champion." My mission is to oversee the planning and functioning of the Earth Tub. There were necessary approvals needed from the City of Moscow, information was gathered on how to balance carbon and nitrogen on such a large scale, many phone conversations ensued with the Earth Tub manufacturer Green Mountain Technologies. We ordered the Earth Tub and it was assembled and shipped from Port Townsend, Washington. Before we can begin depositing food waste into the Earth Tub, we must have an electrician hook up a mechanical auger that will turn the compost. Our hope is to have everything up and running by the time you read this report. The next step will be to figure out a way to pay for the electrical and construction upgrades necessary to make this giant composter work. I look forward to monitoring the progress of our first batch of compost and hope to share the composting fever with you. |
