Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 19, 1994 TAG: 9408190073
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Masters, executive director of the Clean Valley Council, plans to give composting bins to 1,000 households as part of a demonstration project in hopes that the idea catches on.
"We could be making garbage to gold, so to speak," she said.
Between 17 and 30 percent of residential waste going to landfills is yard waste like grass clippings, leaves and branches, Masters said. The idea of the demonstration project is to show homeowners - even city dwellers - how easy it is to compost that into their own mulch, rather than take up landfill space.
"It just isn't hard," she said. "It saves us money as taxpayers and saves us money as garden shoppers."
Roanoke Valley Resource Authority Executive Director John Hubbard announced the composting project to board members Thursday when they approved $58,000 for the Clean Valley Council as part of an annual agreement between the two bodies. Hubbard said composting yard waste may become mandated by legislation.
Masters would like to see it catch on voluntarily.
"I would like to see small successes like this eliminate the need for legislation," she said.
The nonprofit organization will find out next month if a Department of Environmental Quality grant to fund the project is approved. A demonstration of different ways of composting is nearly done at Virginia Western Community College, Masters said, and workshops will be scheduled for the fall.
Residents who want to participate in the project must agree to attend a workshop and pay $2 for a 150-gallon composting bin made from recycled plastic.
by CNB