The Circular Economy of Compost & Sprinkler Consultations

The Circular Economy of Compost

Nearly 10 months into Golden’s new organics collection program, the community has diverted more than 330 tons of organic waste from the landfill—a 180% increase over the previous program and a big boost toward Golden’s 80% diversion goals. Golden’s materials head to a commercial “hot” compost operation in Keenesburg, Colorado, run by A-1 Organics. Organics materials are turned several times over a series of 12 weeks, reaching an internal temperature of 140 degrees at least six times before it becomes a finished compost product for sale. Keep an eye out for a special local’s discount on finished compost, available through the new Golden Ace Hardware location opening soon on South Golden Road next to Goodwill.

FEED YOUR SOIL: BENEFITS OF COMPOST

Compost is not just for the spring garden bed. Year-round application is ideal for soil maintenance and water conservation. Summer is a time to maintain your beautiful gardens, lawns and beds. Adding compost will increase water and nutrient retention, reducing run-off and surface erosion. • Spot check your yards for any trouble areas. • Add a layer on top of soil around trees and shrubs • Apply to brown lawn spots for extra nutrients • Add around plants to maintain soil health and continue to increase microbes

CONTAMINATION IS THE #1 CHALLENGE

Diverting food, wood, paper packaging and other organic materials from the landfill has great value and incredible environmental impacts. As more communities like Golden offer organics collection services, more volume is diverted away from the landfill, but this progress often comes with the risk of more contamination. Help us to ensure that only compostable materials and products make it into the collection bins. Check out a list of Compost Dos and Don’ts on the city website at www.cityofgolden.net/trash.

HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE?

If you are a customer of the City’s Pay-As-You-Throw program, you can already choose from a small or large cart for bi-weekly collection included in your monthly service. No room for a cart? No problem! Consider sharing a cart with a neighbor. For residents of apartments or condos or businesses interested in composting, ask your property manager to look into a shared compost dumpster for collection. Coming soon this fall: Your input is needed as the City considers a new ordinance to expand access to recycling and compost services city-wide. The Community Sustainability Advisory Board will seek your opinions about requiring waste haulers to offer recycling and compost collection to all multi-family and commercial properties.

STAY GREEN, SAVE BLUE Sprinkler Consultations Start in June

Slow the Flow can help you maintain a beautiful, healthy lawn while saving water. The City of Golden partners with Resource Conservation to conduct efficiency tests on your sprinkler system to determine exactly how long you should run your zones to keep your lawn green and healthy, without over watering. They will leave you with a custom-ized watering schedule to take the guesswork out of watering your lawn, and provide bi-weekly, weather-based watering recommendations so you always know you’re giving your lawn the water it needs to thrive. Conserving water doesn’t have to look like a brown lawn! Visit www.resourcecentral.org/sprinklers to sign up for a Slow the Flow consultation today.

CSM Senior Design Presentations

When it’s time to evaluate newer sustainable technologies for Golden’s projects and programs, the City of Golden often turns to the Colorado School of Mines undergraduate seniors for their assistance. This academic year, two groups of students, under the guidance of City staff and technical advisors, worked to implement beneficial recovery systems from wastewater for their capstone design projects. One team researched how heat recovery from wastewater could increase the energy efficiency in new buildings. A second team researched how nitrogen recovery from urine has the potential to reduce vehicle miles traveled associated with fertilizing local crops. While there are no plans to implement these projects at this time, the teams have played an important role in proving their feasibility. Their final reports can be found at www.cityofgolden.net/SustainabilityEd.