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Tons of garbage generated at DNC becoming compost

By Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 31, 2008 at 10:45 p.m.

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Tom Lincoln, director of education for A1 Organics, stands inside a compost screener at a company site near Platteville on Friday.

Photo by Ken Papaleo / The Rocky

Tom Lincoln, director of education for A1 Organics, stands inside a compost screener at a company site near Platteville on Friday.

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Compost has never been this chic.

When delegates wined and dined their way through the cocktail parties and confabs of the Democratic National Convention last week, the waste scraped off their plates was being collected and sent to an obscure 70-acre patch of land about 40 miles northeast of Denver.

There, A1 Organics is composting that and tons of other garbage generated at the Pepsi Center, Colorado Convention Center and Denver Coliseum.

In the trashy mix are special cups that were used at the Pepsi Center during the DNC. They break down nicely in A1's long rows of compost because they're made from cornstarch, not petroleum products.

Cardboard and sandwich boxes can be composted, too.

It's part of a process that's allowing staggering mounds of trash to be whittled down so that less is thrown out, landfills last longer, and less methane, one of the most damaging greenhouse gases, is generated.

Compost is the silver bullet that may allow Denver and the Democratic National Convention Committee to slash DNC trash to just 15 percent of the waste stream, their stated goal.

Tom Lincoln, director of education at A1, said that roughly 60 percent of trash now sent to landfills can actually be captured and turned into compost.

"If it once grew, it can be composted," Lincoln said. "It happens in nature all the time. We just speed it up."

Global warming and the quest for CO2 reduction has spawned a whole industry of hip waste haulers, waste stream managers and composters.

Once material is turned into compost, it can be used on lawns, landscapes and gardens, allowing the soil to absorb more CO2 and hold onto more water, meaning less needs to be used.

"It's hugely important," said Parry Burnap, director of greening for Denver's DNC host committee. "Compost has value in terms of restoring the health of the soil and because there is a carbon sequestration value."

A1 has been composting material for Whole Foods Markets for years, and the natural foods grocer remains the company's largest customer.

But since it took on the DNC as a client, a number of Colorado establishments, such as downtown's Westin Hotel and Tabor Center and the Grand Hyatt, have signed up for its composting service, Lincoln said.

Organic composting on a commercial scale is much more sophisticated than the process that farmers and gardeners have used for centuries. A1, for instance, now uses a special predatory wasp to keep flies away from its wind rows.

But allowing soil to heat up and then decompose still takes time: Political junkies who want some of this brown, loamy historic DNC compost will have to wait until December to get it.

smithj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5474

Comments

  • September 1, 2008

    7:56 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    DenverNo1 writes:

    Sounds like a great idea, but my only question is how much fuel is used (and pollution generated) while carting it out 40 miles away?

  • September 1, 2008

    9:01 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Nobama writes:

    Trash is one thing. But, what about all the BS that was generated? Where did that go?

  • September 1, 2008

    9:50 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    The_Punnisher writes:

    The politicians know how to generate BS. If we had the proper waste treatment plants, the BS generated at the DNC would power Denver for the next ten years,,,,

  • September 1, 2008

    10:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    angryrepublican writes:

    All the BS generated at the DNC has now been shipped to Saint Paul. Republicans do believe in recycling!!!!!

  • September 1, 2008

    10:12 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    hikingartist writes:

    At least they are attempting to do right by the earth. Lets see how much composting comes out of St Paul...? Yeah, right.
    Years ago I saw farmers in Canada composting ALL the waste they generated from their households. Since then, I collect all the coffee grounds generated at my work (6 floors x 2 coffee makers on each floor) and spread it on our garden.

  • September 1, 2008

    10:53 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    The_Punnisher writes:

    hikingartist:

    You would be surprised at how much the Midwest recycles...

    THEIR farmers and townspeople have been doing it for DECADES...

    They walk the walk...not PUBLICIZE like some other places..

  • September 1, 2008

    10:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Nobama writes:

    hikingartist,

    If collecting coffee grounds makes you feel better, go for it. It's just a typical Liberal symbollic gesture that has no measurable effect in the total scheme of things. But, that's what your candidates do to get your vote.

  • September 1, 2008

    2:25 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    BrandiWine_84 writes:

    you gotta love the people who will knock your efforts to minimize pain/pollution/waste/suffering/whatever. They seem to get some satisfaction from telling others that their actions just don't matter. They seem to forget that avalanches are just a bunch of snowflakes. . . .