Nevada County Offers Free Compost and Biochar for Your Garden

“We’re putting ‘dirt’ to good use in Nevada County,” said Julie Miller, senior community development agency technician for Nevada County Solid Waste. “We’re turning food and yard waste into garden gold.”

The “dirt” is technically compost that was processed by the facility in Wheatland, Ostrom Organics – Recology Yuba Sutter, where WM (formerly known as Waste Management) hauls the food waste and yard waste from the residents of Nevada County.

On Saturday, April 26, Nevada County will give away the compost and biochar, a soil amendment that can be mixed with compost to improve soil health, between 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis at the dirt lots next to the Lake Wildwood and Lake of the Pines Wastewater Treatment Facilities.

“There are many benefits for adding compost and biochar to your garden. Some of those benefits include that it helps plants grow stronger, it increases how deep roots grow, and we conserve water because it keeps moisture in the soil,” Brad Torres, Nevada County Solid Waste Manager said.

Eventgoers should plan to bring their own shovels and buckets or bags to haul away the compost. A limited supply of burlap sacks as well as poppy seed packets will also be provided, with a limit of two per household. The compost will be given away in small quantities and is not for commercial use.

“The burlap sacks are great because they can be reused or they can go in the WM green organics cart because they will break down and can be composted,” Miller said.

This giveaway is funded by a CalRecycle grant aimed at educating about the benefits of recycling organic waste.

Biomass to biochar: improving forest and soil health

Along with the compost, residents will be able to take home free biochar.

“The biochar we are giving away was generated from local fuel reduction projects that improve evacuation within our County” Ricky Martinez of Nevada County Office of Emergency Services said.

The Biomass Pilot Project has processed more than 5,000 tons of wood to date, which produced approximately 160 tons of biochar.

“Nevada County started this program to remove large hazardous vegetation that is typically financially and physically difficult to remove from properties,” Martinez said. “We also wanted a cheaper way to dispose of heavy logs and converting the logs into biochar is much more cost efficient than hauling the material away and paying for disposal.”

Biochar is a carbon-rich material made through the process of pyrolysis which is the heating of biomass in the absence of oxygen. Adding biochar to soil improves its health, nutrient availability and water retention, plus it boosts microbial activity.

The compost process

In 2016, California passed Senate Bill 1383 intended to reduce the amount of organic waste dumped in landfills. According to CalRecycle, 48 percent of what Californians throw away by weight is food waste. Food, yard and other organic waste then breaks down in the landfills, which produces methane.

In compliance with the state mandate, western Nevada County residents with curbside WM service received green organics carts in January to begin recycling their organic waste. Since then, thousands of tons of organic waste have been diverted from the landfill and hauled to the Ostrom Road Facility to be processed into compost.

The facility takes the organics and sifts through it to remove the larger items that don’t belong, such as plastic bagged waste or anything that could damage the equipment. Compostable bags are not accepted at the Wheatland facility as they don’t break down in the 60 days it takes to convert organics to compost. Those bags can go in the landfill to break down, Miller said.

Once the compost goes through the initial sorting process, it is piled in long rows and monitored to ensure that temperatures stay over 131 degrees to kill any bad bacteria, but not so hot that the organics would combust.

After 60 days, the organics are run through a shaker deck, which has a three-eighths inch screen to remove pieces of non-organic materials such as plastic, metal or glass, in the soil. The product is now complete and available for sale to the local agricultural community and wholesalers. This is the same compost that will be given away at the April 26 event.

The better the organics product sent to the facility, the better the compost product. Keeping items like compostable or plastic bags or other contaminants out of the green waste cart will reduce processing costs and keep collection rates to a minimum.

“It’s full circle,” Miller said. “Residents provide the organics, which is then turned to compost, which then helps grow more food for everyone.”