BRATTLEBORO — Over the past several months, Windham Solid Waste Management District donated approximately 15 cubic yards of its “Brattlegrow” compost to the following schools for use in their vegetable gardens: Academy, Green Street, and Oak Grove schools in Brattleboro; Guilford Elementary School and NewBrook Elementary School in Newfane; and the Winston Prouty Center in Brattleboro.
According to a news release, the donated value of the compost is approximately $400.
Brattlegrow compost is manufactured at the District's commercial compost facility located off Old Ferry Road. The compost is made from Brattleboro's curbside food scrap collection, as well as commercial and institutional sources of food scraps, leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips.
District Executive Director Bob Spencer says the compost is tested in accordance with state regulations and complies with state standards.
“The compost is great not only for vegetable and flower gardens, but also for new lawns, top dressing lawns, and for athletic fields,” he added.
The district recently approved the purchase of a new loader to mix the organic materials as they come in to the facility and to turn the compost piles to accelerate decomposition. It has also been renting a special screen to make 3/8-inch compost as well as 1/2-inch compost.
Spencer said that the company building the solar project on the closed landfill has been purchasing Brattlegrow compost to establish vegetation in areas that need to be filled.
The District sells bulk loads of compost to a number of distributors, including Boyd Family Farm in Wilmington; D&E Tree in Guilford; Maple Hill Nursery in Swanzey, N.H.; and Renaud Tree Care in Dummerston. These distributors sell compost to retail customers.