Composting is the managed microbial transformation of organic residuals into premium soil and soil conditioners. Microbes have been doing this for at least millions of years, maybe billions of years.
In nature the feedstocks are spread out and cycle time is not so important. And, in nature, because the organic residuals are so spread out, oxygen is not much of a problem.
Now we are producing far more organic residuals than ever before in the history of our planet Earth. Well managed composting like we advocate goes to great effort to ensure maintaining the oxygen level above 15%, so there are neither foul odors or phyto-toxic byproducts in the finished material. We also manage temperature, assuring at least 3 days above 131°F, which is needed for responsible control of pathogens which might arrive with incoming feedstocks. Pathogens like E-Coli 0157 can easily be killed by the high temperatures easily achieved in well managed composting.
IF we want to have an environment fit to live in, we MUST start conserving our resources, we must recycle. Those who continue to think of residuals as wastes rather than essential resources are on a suicide path, whether they realize it or not.
We are finding that once people visit our compost facility and discover first hand, with their own eyes and nose... that we are, in fact, good neighbors, and are providing an essential service, that we are committed to massively improving our environmental quality, that they support our activities. The problems come from the uninformed. It is time for all of us to work together to create a sustainable environment. It is time to build better communication, to open up dialogue, for the benefit of all.
There are many wonderful symbiotic relationships in nature. We need oxygen and we exhale CO2. Plants take in CO2 and through the process of photo-synthesis using sunlight, take the carbon for the plant and give us back the oxygen. The plant's primary source of carbon to make its foliage, stems, and roots comes from the carbon in the CO2 that animals exhale.
For plants to thrive we must have healthy soil. Charles E. Little in THE DYING OF THE TREES points out how trees all around the world are dying due to pollution which human beings are causing. IF the plants are not protected, then we will loose our source of oxygen and in the process we will all die.
Equally important, the soil is the foundation for our food supply. We must have healthy soil to have food crops with nutritional value. We already have enough evidence to prove that plants grow better, have more nutritional value when the soil contains an abundance of organic matter and a healthy soil food web made up of a broad diversity of beneficial microbes. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides create far more problems than benefits.
While the pharmaceutical and medical industries don't want us to know that our bodies can prevent and / or clean up cancer with a healthy diet and lifestyle... there is plenty of evidence to show that cancer cannot co-exist with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Is the key to AIDS in its name, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome? Viruses are everywhere. Maybe the key lies in how healthy our immune systems are, which in turn is in large part the result of our diet... and the health of the soil from which our food came. So we are right back to the core premise of honoring Nature's Law of Return, the Circle of Life; the importance of responsibly composting all organic residuals and returning them to the soil, to restore the health of the soil.
are really inter-connected, as is all of life, everything in a sustainable environment.
Great leaders educate the public and develop public support for projects that enhance the general welfare. We salute the administrations in the towns of Fishkill and East Fishkill, New York, for their vision and leadership. We salute all those citizens that have the vision to support our efforts to optimize the preservation of our organic resources through responsible, good neighbor, composting of organic residuals.
We need leaders who will recognize and support those entrepreneurs who are truly committed to creating double win situations, who are committed to creating a sustainable environment, leaders who will work with the private sector to create an economically viable sustainable environment, which includes resource recovery.
Concerned Citizens can contact us by e-mail or telephone, (845) 225-7763. This is the only planet we have, it is time to right some of the sins that we have committed... to clean up our environment, to restore life to the soil. The task demands our combined commitment. Let's work together to create a sustainable environment. ACTION, not apathy, is going to make it happen. Contact us today... e-mail works real well.