THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504250129
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Coastal Journal
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Although the city's Waste Management Division has only 100 composters to give away, 400 Virginia Beach residents applied to receive one of the free plastic bins in which to recycle their yard waste and garbage.
And that was just within the first three days of seeing a newspaper ad.
But don't despair if you don't get a free composter. You can still learn all about composting at a one-hour seminar from 11 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Great Neck Recreation Center. Backyard Composting is one of three free seminars in the program, entitled ``You're the Solution to Water Pollution,'' sponsored by Virginia Beach Cooperative Extension.
All seminars are free and open to everyone and participants will receive free rain gauges, whether or not they are one of the lucky 100 folks to get a free composter. Other sessions are lawn aeration at 9 a.m. and fertilization at 10 a.m. Call 427-4769 for more information.
Debra Devine, the city's recycling coordinator, will lead the composting session. She will show a video from the manufacturer of The Earth Machine, the give-away composter, answer questions and give out literature.
After seeing The Earth Machine sitting in the corner of Devine's office, I realize that anyone can compost, no matter how small their yard or how little yard waste they generate. The Earth Machine and others like it on the market are small plastic bins with aeration holes and a lid. Smaller by far than the big black garbage cans that are a part of so many landscapes these days, the composters remind me of the little robot, R2D2.
``They are the lazy man's composter,'' Devine said. ``It's enclosed, has a lid and it's no eyesore.''
Just add your egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetable peels and twigs, leaves or grass through the lid. Moisten lightly and add some old compost, compost starter or even old potting soil and work it in. Add your daily scraps and sprinkle with more old compost, working it in again. In several months you'll have your own organic garden fertilizer.
Devine says to avoid meats, bones, oils (no leftover salad) and dairy products and to go lightly on pine needles and pine cones. Also don't add pulled weeds into small home composters because they often don't generate enough heat to kill the weed seeds.
As Devine sees it, composting pays off all the way around. The composter is rewarded with free fertilizer. Furthermore, Waste Management has less waste to dispose of.
That's not an insignificant factor. Nationally, yard waste is about 20 percent of what people throw away and Devine thinks the percentage is higher in Virginia Beach because of the number of suburban yards. Even so, Virginia Beach is getting on top of yard waste with 29,000 tons collected in 1993 and less, 25,000 tons in 1994.
Devine attributes the reduction not only to composting but to mulch mowing, the other important component in reducing yard waste. More and more lawn mower manufacturers are going to mulch mowers which cut grass and leaves finely and spew them back on the lawn to serve as fertilizer.
``If you mulch mow your grass, you save personal time,'' she said. ``You don't have to rake and you get fertilizer back.''
Those who receive free composters won't be getting off scot-free, Devine said. First of all she hopes to convert 100 folks into composters, thus saving yard waste pick up for the city. She also will survey the new users three times over the growing season to see how much waste they think they've saved, how well The Earth Machine works and how neighbors respond. Depending upon the response, Devine may consider a giveaway again.
``Composting is a technique that's been used for decades and decades,'' she said. ``It's nothing new, but now it has a new meaning. Now you save money and time.''
P.S. GRACE SHER WOOD, Virginia Beach's well-known convicted witch, will be brought to life by historical interpreter Molly Kratt at 1, 1:30, 2 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday at historic Francis Land house. The program would be especially interesting to students who are studying Virginia Beach history. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Admission is $1 and reservations are necessary. Call 340-1732.
SNAKES AND OTHER REPTILES is the topic of a program for 3- to 5-year-olds at 2 and 3:45 p.m. Wednesday, at the Virginia Marine Science Museum. Stories, crafts and hands-on experiences with reptiles are part of the fun. Parents are asked to attend at no charge.
The fee is $4 for museum members and $6 for non-members. Call 437-4949. MEMO: What unusual nature have you seen this week? And what do you know about
Tidewater traditions and lore? Call me on INFOLINE, 640-5555. Enter
category 2290. Or, send a computer message to my Internet address:
mbarrow(AT)infi.net.
ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARY REID BARROW
Debra Devine, the city's recycling coordinator, shows off The Earth
Machine, a small plastic bin with aeration holes and a lid. Just add
your daily scraps to grass clippings or leaves - and in several
months you'll have your own organic garden fertilizer.
by CNB