Composting Conflicts in Columbus
Being Green is so trendy right now, even if it is getting a bit ridiculous.
One key thing that is mentioned all of the time on TV and even in our own Columbus Alive is composting. So easy! And the rewards from composting are awesome!
Imagine my surprise today when I found out from the city that composting food scraps (what you need to make a compost worthwhile) is not allowed:
311 wrote Composting of leaves, grass clippings and pine cones only are allowed in the City of Columbus. Residents can not use any form of food matter including pumpkins skins, egg shells etc. as part of the compost pile since this causes a harborage for rodents. Compost piles need to be turned often in order to aerate the pile and keep the smell down.
Columbus City Ordinance wrote 707.03 Standards relative to solid waste.
(A) Every owner or person having charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, multiple dwelling, business building or premises shall store and dispose of all garbage, rubbish, debris or solid waste from those parts of the premises that he or she controls in a clean, sanitary, and safe manner. No owner or person having charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, multiple dwelling, business building or premises shall store or dispose of garbage, rubbish, debris or solid waste by placing said solid waste in or on any land or premises in the city.
(B) Every owner or person having charge of a dwelling, dwelling unit, multiple dwelling, business building or premises shall store and dispose of all garbage, rubbish, debris and solid waste which might provide food for vermin and/or rodents in a clean, sanitary, safe manner. All garbage cans and refuse containers shall be rodent-proof, insect-proof, water-tight, structurally strong to withstand handling stress, easily filled, emptied and cleaned; shall be provided with tight fitting covers or similar closures; and shall be maintained at all times in a clean, safe and sanitary condition. Plastic bags may be used as garbage and refuse container liners but shall not be used without the container for on-site storage of garbage or refuse.
(C) bulk containers, garbage and refuse cans which are used for storage of garbage, refuse and/or other solid wastes shall be placed in an acceptable location approved by the director of public service or his or her duly authorized representative, so as to not create a safety hazard or public nuisance.
(D) The total capacity of all provided garbage and/or refuse containers and bulk storage containers shall be adequate to meet the needs of the occupants of the dwelling, dwelling unit, multiple dwelling, business building or premise.
(E) Every owner or operator of a business building or every owner or person having control of a dwelling containing two (2) or more dwelling units shall provide and maintain adequate garbage disposal and rubbish storage receptacles for the sanitary and safe storage and/or disposal of rubbish and garbage. In the case of one (1) dwelling unit, it shall be the responsibility of each occupant to maintain adequate garbage disposal and rubbish storage receptacles in containers approved by the director of public service or his or her duly authorized representative.
(F) It shall be the responsibility of the owner or person having charge of any garbage, refuse, or bulk containers to clean and maintain the container in a nuisance-free condition. Accumulation of material on the sides or bottom of the container will constitute a violation of this code. If a bulk container is leased, it shall be the responsibility or the lessee to clean and maintain the container in a nuisance-free condition.
(G) No person shall deposit or allow to accumulate in any building, premise, yard, court, lot, street, alley, sidewalk, easement or any other place, except in authorized receptacles, any substance, solid, semi-solid or liquid, or animal, vegetable or mineral origin, that by its decay, decomposition, chemical action or by becoming a harbor for animal or insect pests, would become an unsanitary condition. (Ord. 858-01 §§ 1 (part), 5 (part).
This is especially confusing to me because one of the classes offered in this year’s Ohio Community Gardening Conference (which is promoted by the city) was “From Garbage Cans to Gardens” where participants will learn the ‘ins and outs’ of Worm Composting. (A method for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner).
Since Columbus is all about being the best Green City, and it seems that the major concern with food composting is rodents, can’t we get this ordinance amended to allow kitchen scrap composting in city approved containers? This one sounds like a nice option.
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Related Tags: city hall • composting • green • Politics • recycling • yard waste
April 24th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
It is only illegal until they catch you. Besides, with the curfew laws I am sure CPD has much better things to do (one would hope) than enforce compost regulations.
Make friends with the neighbors and start a community garden co-op. You could get 4-5 plots going in different yards, rotate the crops every year, have a block compost heap to spread around.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:20 pm
Compost is brown gold…if you have a composting bin with a sealed top it is not a big deal. You could also try a worm farm for your food scraps
http://www.wormfarmingsecrets.com/members/wormfarming
http://www.wormfarm.com/
There are several commercial tumblers that will comply with the law.
old skool:
https://www.compostumbler.com/StoreFront/IAFDispatcher?iafAction=showMain
new skool:
http://www.cleanairgardening.com/patdesaustum.html
April 24th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
I’m glad you’re interested in composting. The key in the following paragraph is ‘authorized receptacles’:
(G) No person shall deposit or allow to accumulate in any building, premise, yard, court, lot, street, alley, sidewalk, easement or any other place, except in authorized receptacles, any substance, solid, semi-solid or liquid, or animal, vegetable or mineral origin, that by its decay, decomposition, chemical action or by becoming a harbor for animal or insect pests, would become an unsanitary condition. (Ord. 858-01 §§ 1 (part), 5 (part).
In no way does the City intend to discourage responsible composting.
April 24th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Yeah, I think that’s the approach that the venues to do “Pups on the Patio” events take even though it’s also illegal. I’m sure City Officials would also be quick to tout Columbus as a dog-friendly city and while not enforcing these types of rules goes a long way, it would say even more to not have them in the first place.
How about some composting enthusiasts whip up some sort of proposal for city council to look into that can address concerns for compost regulation while still lifting the illegality aspect?
April 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
“Ok officer… if you *really* want to go digging through my compost looking for food scraps then by all means… have fun!”
I would be laughing too hard to sign the ticket.
BTW: the Seattle Tilth association has a nice composting suggestion that consists of a trash can (with a good lid to keep rodents out) with a bunch of holes drilled in the side so the worms can get in, and buried half way in the ground. It’s working well here, and I have no odors.
http://www.seattletilth.org/resources/articles/HomemadeFoodDigester.pdf
April 24th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
sounds WAY better than worm poop. In fact if it were coffee, I’d buy it! :wink:
April 24th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Are laws like this common in other cities and towns?
April 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
What are the authorized receptacles? The person with the city who responded to me made it sound like food waste is a total no…
April 24th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
If you look at the code, it’s intended to prohibit food grease, animal waste and related icky stuff. Once a tanning oil company filthed up an entire area dumping waste, hoping it would drain down the alley and disappear. They abandoned the site and taxpayers had to pay for cleanup. Unscrupulous restaurants and pushcart food vendors sometimes dispose of this type of material improperly.
There are many acceptable compost containers, pre-made and home-made, that meet the code requirement, which says you must maintain a *’sanitary condition.’
The code you listed is intended, among other things, to outlaw animal waste (read: dog poop) from accumulating in yards, attracting rats. Rodents don’t check demographics and real estate values. They thrive where food sources exist. Keep your compost clean and free of unpleasant odors and you’ll have no problem. PM me if you want to talk to a compost specialist and I can arrange it.
April 24th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
I got a worm composter for Christmas two year ago - I love it! But you have to keep seeds out of there - they sprout like crazy!
April 25th, 2008 at 9:34 am
:cry: :oops: :cry: I throw all food scraps in my pile and have never seen any vermin (except moose) in it. As long as you regularly flip it and keep your nitrogen levels right, you have nothing to worry about, it is going to be hotter than any vermin is going to want to mess with.
April 25th, 2008 at 9:57 am
oh please please PLEASE tell me we have MOOSE roaming 1st ave now!
April 25th, 2008 at 10:06 am
It is true, his AKC name is The Duke of Chocolate Mousse
April 25th, 2008 at 10:20 am
One of my housemates has a composting bin in our back yard but it’s essentially a plastic box with a few holes in the bottom. Are you still supposed to flip those? I’m guessing yes, but I can’t imagine how it could be pulled off aside from pulling rotten stuff from the bottom and putting it back in on top.
I have been surprised at how little it smells, but I’ve also been surprised that I can go put food in there and the stuff that’s 2 weeks old has barely decomposed. Does it take a year to be useable? One person I know told me her family keeps 2 composters in rotation, one for this year, one from last year.
April 25th, 2008 at 10:26 am
Mousse!
Cute!
April 25th, 2008 at 10:37 am
It matters what kind, worm or cold no, but hot- yes. To get a hot pile, all you need to do is get your nitrogen to about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen, water it and flip it. We used to do potlucks where everything was cooked in the compost pile. You can bake a potato in it easy.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:36 am
1. Ewww! :?
2. DAMN :shock:
April 25th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
I’m sure tin foil is involved. It’s better than your gas bill going up…
April 25th, 2008 at 8:11 pm
see. . . this sounds kinda genius. are there products out there that utilize compost heat as a practical energy source?
April 25th, 2008 at 9:14 pm
Stirling engines, passive hot water heaters and I’ve seen them used to heat buildings and greenhouses.
May 4th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I just planted most of the vegies today (lettuces, beans, peppers, brocolli), and harvested the food scrap/guinea pig bedding compost that has been brewing for the last year in the DIY food scrap unit I posted about earlier in this thread.
I gotta say it worked VERY well. With the aspen bedding from the g-pigs mixed in I got 50 gal of a really nice mulchy compost. I have never noticed any smell coming out of that thing. I was worried that maybe the clay soil here would cause problems, but it worked like a champ.
one thing. Wine corks do not seem to compost quickly. I picked those up and put ‘em back in to give ‘em another year.
I plan to plant my corn next weekend!
cheers
May 4th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
It might be helpful to keep a bail of hay nearby and throw handfuls of that in periodically. From what I’ve learned about compost, I’d heard that it’s best to throw some dirt in there, as well as hay, straw, leaves or newspaper, which are rich in cellulose. Cellulose is supposed to be like little “apartment buildings” for the bacteria and/or worms to hang out in while eating up your compost. Its also supposed to keep it from just turning into a slimy, sticky mess.
I’ve also had great success, but in the country, with just burying my compost (outhouse poo included!) in the 6-10 inches of topsoil, and the stuff just disappears. I’ve also never had any vermin issues except for a raccoon pilfering an apple core or two.
One interesting incident was when a friend of mine recently put a bunch of washed, crushed-up eggshells on her compost pile– a whole horde of little birdies came by and ate them all up!! Apparently they were craving calcium? :)
Something that people don’t know is that the topsoil, especially around here, is an amazing digester. I have seen entire HORSES and GOATS buried, only 10 inches down, and a year later…. they are GONE! No smell either. That is what topsoil is made to do.
It’s also why I’d be grooving on a green burial.