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Re: Help! Model Ordinances, Direct Marketing Farmer Surv
Dear Susan,
You wrote:
>Are you aware of the kind of compost being peddled by Clarence W. Walker
>and others? Not all compost is alike! Certainly, what we make at home
>is probably the best, especially if we are not using sewage sludge or
>mixed municipal solid waste.
>
>However, those on Clarence's list, Wastenot, are peddling far more than
>clean, environmentally safe compost . . ..
[The rest of the posting with details follows at the end of my response]
Oops!
Thank you, Susan, for contributing more details about Mr. Walker's
"composted organics." I certainly agree with you that this is not the kind
of product I would envision myself or others buying at a farmer's market,
at least not if we were fully informed of the nature of the product! I read
the following message from Cary Oshins of Rodale Institute:
>Clarence walker wrote:
>>Maria, Would it be appropriate for producers of professionally and
>>safely made composts to take their composted organics to such markets as
>>a means of reaching the farmers and possibly even educating those who
>>are interested in the value of composting as an alternative to
>>landfills?
>Clarence, while it would be acceptable to sell compost at a farmer's market,
>it would hardly be economical.
>Cary Oshins
>Rodale Institute
I understood this to be referring to compost derived from such things as
yard and kitchen waste and possibly manures Compost is (was?) being made
from such material collected at the curbside in Seattle (not the manures).
I'll have to check and see if any undesireable materials have been added to
the composting program there since I last checked. I hope they have not
moved toward being so inclusive as Clarence Walker's friends. That
certainly is not what the customers I worked with were looking to buy! I
responded as I did because I felt that enterprising farmers and others who
were making whatI thought was the kind of compost you or I would be
interested in should be discouraged from investigating a marketing
possibility.
Thank you again for your informative reply,
Sheryl Swink
>However, those on Clarence's list, Wastenot, are peddling far more than
>clean, environmentally safe compost. One peddler-activist claims:
>''...We develop systems and produce compost from sludge, septage, mixed
>MSW, restaurant and carwash trap waste, animal waste by-products, and
>yes even landfill leachate...creosote,and a wide range of PAH's,
>chlorinated and halogenated hydrocarbons including PCB's, dioxins, VOC's
>have all been in the mix.''
>I personally have no problem using animal manures to heat up the pile
>and add nutrients, but I have a big problem with compost on farms and
>gardens which have used sewage sludge, landfill leachate, mixed
>municipal solid waste, cartrap wastes, PAH's, chlorinated and
>halogenated hydrocarbons including PCB's, dioxins, VOC's. Furthermore,
>some creative persons are looking to compost radioactive wastes, pulp
>and paper mill waste, oil and gas wastes including normally occurring
>radioactive material.
>There is no wonder why companies like Wheelabrator Environmental
>Services which was a major player in the incinerator industry, is now in
>the composting business. Where else to get rid of that ash without
>regulations on fertilizers, potting soil, and compost?
>There is some good information on sewage sludge (a.k.a. biosolids) in
>chapter 8 of the book, Toxic Sludge is Good for You. Chapter 8 is
>entitled The Sludge Hits the Fan and is located at
>http://www.envirolink.org/issues/sludge/sludge.html
>Since you are at Cornell, I suggest you also read The Cause for Concern
>at http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/wmi/ You will need the Adobe Reader to
>download it in it's PDF form. The report compares standards around the
>world and discusses the problems with the US EPA regulations which
>protect industry but not public health.
>Another source of information regarding standards for sewage sludge and
>compost comes from the paper version of the newsletter, WASTENOT, edited
>by Paul and Ellen Connett of St. Lawrence University in Canton, New
>York.
> WN #241 has a chart which was reprinted with permission from
>Composting Frontiers, Spring 1993, page 3. Editor Susan Mazzochi. Waste
>Not says this is an excellent quarterly newsletter that is directed to
>provide "direction on composting for waste management." For more
>information, contact Composting Frontiers, 19 Girard Place, Maplewood,
>New Jersey 07040-3107. Tel: 201-762-4912. Fax: 201-761-5415.
>I do not have the software to make a chart, therefore cannot give all
>that data that was in #241 in this email. However, for comparison,
>I'd like to share some of the standards for toxic heavy metals allowed
>in both compost and sewage sludge in the United States and in other
>progressive countries.
>The federal [U.S.] government standards for Clean Water Act section 503
>'High Quality' Sludges/Sludge Composts (also known as biosolids) in
>mg/kg weight follows; the second number is the CWA 503 Ceiling
>Concentrations:
>
>cadmium 39 - 85
>chromium 1200 - 3000
>cobalt ---
>copper 1500 - 4300
>lead 300 - 800
>mercury 17 - 57
>molybdenum 18 - 75
>nickel 420
>selenium 36 - 100
>zinc 2800 -7500
>To compare
>The Dutch Compost Sludge Quality Standards for Very Clean
>Compost/Sludge:
>arsenic cadmium chromium copper lead mercury nickel zinc
> 5/15 0.7/1.25 50/350 25/75 65/100 0.2/0.75 10/30 75/300
>The German Compost/Sludge Quality Standards:
>none for arsenic
>cadmium 1.5/1-1.5
>chromium 100/10
>copper 100/6
>lead 150/100
>mercury 1.0/1.0
>nickel 50/5
>zinc 400/150-200
>
>Canadian Compost Quality Standards
> Ontario British Columbia National Guideline
>arsenic 10 13 13
>cadmium 3 2.6 2.6
>chromium 50. 210. 210.
>cobalt 25. -- 26.
>copper 60. 100. 128.
>lead 150 150. 83.
>mercury 0.15 .8 0.83
>molybdenum 2 -- 7
>nickel 60. 50. 32.
>selenium 2 -- 2.6
>zinc 500. 500. 315
>When you look at the numbers, do you wonder why our health in the United
>States is worth less than the health or life in the Netherlands, Germany
>and Canada. Will our children be able to compete in a world where the
>United States allows higher levels of toxic metals, especially lead in
>high quality sludges and composted sewage sludge?
>BTW, when I posted these numbers to Mr. Walker's online discussion list,
>he had me delisted and banished. Contrary to what Clarence W. Walker
>states, he does not want to hear from those who oppose him or the
>environmental community. Can we really afford to continue poisoning our
>soils and life on earth, including our children, in order that
>industries can make money by composting industrial wastes?
>
>
>
>Susan Snow