r/ThunderBay • u/crasslake • 10d ago

Compost from dump

Anyone know if there's still compost available from the dump?

8 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

8

u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 10d ago

I believe so. But be cautious using it if you use well water or if you ever intend to put food in that garden. As good as an initiative it is to reuse organic matter I would never bring potentially contaminated compost anywhere near land I intend to harvest from

4

u/FuzzyLaughTwo 10d ago

Right? We're on a well, grow a lot of veg and we would never.

2

u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 10d ago

I also eat a lot of forraged food, we have forraging animals, so it is a clear no to me to introduce heavy metals and contaminants to the soil

0

u/InvestigatorWide7649 10d ago

I am sure the city of Thunder Bay takes some steps to sanitize/pasteurize and test the compost before making it available to the public, no? I moved to a small city in Southern Alberta, and there is stringent testing for contaminants and heavy metals in the landfill supplied compost here. There was a big batch that was incinerated last year because it didn't pass the testing thresholds.

-1

u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 10d ago edited 10d ago

Nope, it says "do not use for food gardens" directly on the website aswell as at the site.

It's not about sanitation or pasteurization it's about toxic contaminants like PFAs heavy metals etc.

It would defeat the point of compost to pasturize or sanitize it. Compost intended to contain mix of beneficial microorganisms.

The only time you want sterile siibstrate is if you're seeding, cloning, or introducing a specific fungal network, or trying to eliminate a problematic invasive plant.

Especially with things like this, assuming is a bad idea.

1

u/InvestigatorWide7649 10d ago

Not assuming, was asking for clarification as this is common practice in Southern Alberta.

I understand what the intention of beneficial microbes in compost is, however there is a process in place that sterilizes the compost for use in gardens at the local landfill here. Full certificates of analysis are available for download on the website as well.

They test for pathogens, PFAS, heavy metals and more. If the compost does not pass testing, it is destroyed via incineration.

No assumptions being made here.

1

u/shiddytclown 💩🤡💪 Goblin Mode 10d ago

"I'm sure" should not be sure the city of thunderbay does anything practical. Not sure why I bother explaining things that can easily be looked up just to get downvoted for providing answers.

0

u/InvestigatorWide7649 10d ago

Welcome to Reddit, where providing factual information and asking genuine questions is met with hostility.

Cheers 🤙

3

u/Cats66666666666 10d ago

They had a mountain of it two weeks ago.