28 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 4-10, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com are hesitant to use it on their crops, fine—there are acres of vineyards. Steve McIntyre, who co-owns McIntyre Vineyards with his wife Kimberly, is an early adopter of applying compost to his vineyards. (He uses the “clean green” grade, but that was before the commercial stream grade was available.) McIntyre says he used 30,000 tons of compost—that’s 60 million pounds— in each of the last two years, and has been applying it to his vineyards for the last 20. (By comparison, Brautovich says the composting operation at ReGen produces about 90,000-120,000 tons of compost annually. Last April, the ReGen board approved a $9-per-ton increase, from $26.25 to $35.25, that it pays Keith Day Co. to process the compost, due to added expenses with implementing SB 1383. That contract scales up every fiscal year; it is now $36.56 per ton. That means ReGen pays roughly $4 million per year to the company to process its compost.) “We’re big believers,” McIntyre says of using compost. “It increases organic matter in the soil, and becomes a carbon source for the microbiome. We’re totally non-till, permanent cover crop in all of our vineyards. The microbiome benefit is huge.” McIntyre is speaking the language of Shaffer, the agronomist who is evangelical about the benefits of farmers using compost. The benefits extend beyond just the health of the soil. “When I sit down with composters, I say, ‘We’re not building compost,’” Shaffer says. “We’re farming bacteria and fungi. I train farmers on getting carbon into the soil. Farmers don’t call people like me unless there’s something wrong.” What that often is, he says, is the soil is not being fed enough carbon. And in that fact lies a throughline, or perhaps a circle—SB 1383 was passed to prevent food waste, and other compostable waste, from creating methane emissions in landfills. The spirit of the bill was to fight climate change. And in converting that waste into compost, it’s putting that carbon back into the soil. “For farmers right now, this is a historic moment,” says Shaffer, who also has his own small farm in Hawaii. “We can not only help ourselves get more carbon in the soils, but we can be part of a world movement to get carbon out of our atmosphere.” WHAT GOES WHERE: A composting guide The green bins distributed to ReGen Monterey and Salinas Valley Recycles customers have long been used for yard waste. Now they also accept food waste for composting. Here are some guidelines on what to know about current composting policy. • Most food goes in the green bin. If it’s part of something you ate (or intended to)—a peel or eggshell or leftovers, or even bones of cooked meat or fish—it goes into compost. That’s true for both homes and businesses. • An exception is oils and liquids, which are not accepted. • No raw meat products can go in the compost bin—that still goes in the trash. • For home composting, no containers or bags, even those marked “compostable” or made of paper, can go in the green bin. • That’s different for businesses with bins for compostable waste; there, any products made with paper (napkins, plates, cups, straws) and also bioplastics (but only those marked “compostable”) are currently accepted. Any plastic-type product that says “biodegradable” on it is neither compostable nor recyclable—it’s trash. • Low-grade paper products like plates and paper towels are not recyclable. Some might also have a layer of plastic on them to make them liquid-proof. In most cases, they are technically compostable, but are not accepted locally in residential organic waste bins. • Take plastic stickers off of produce and put them in the trash. They do not break down. • No pet waste can go in the compost bin; that is trash. • Free kitchen collection pails are available from various city halls; check for availability. • Some suggestions for avoiding icky food decomposition: Freeze food waste until putting it in the green bin on trash day; line the green bin with yard trimmings like leaves. Liner bags made of bioplastics are not accepted. BEST SUMMER EVER! THE CITY OF MONTEREY FOR MORE INFO + REGISTRATION MONTEREY.ORG/REC OVERNIGHT CAMP DAY CAMPS TODDLER CAMPS SPORTS CAMPS AND MORE! REGISTER NOW SCAN ME!
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjAzNjQ1NQ==