There are currently over 100 animals at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. As you can probably imagine, this produces a lot of waste. But what happens after we clean up after the animals? Where does it all go?
The answer is: Composting. We have a section of the refuge with several composting piles, all in different stages of the process, that we rotate through. Every day we dump the waste we have collected and continue the cycle.
What is Composting?
Composting is the decomposition of organic matter – materials from plants and animals, such as food scraps, feces, and even paper – in an environment ideal for bacteria and other decomposers. It is an aerobic process, meaning that it uses oxygen and therefore produces less methane and carbon dioxide than the anaerobic (“without oxygen”) process that occurs in landfills. Composting provides homemade fertilizer that is both great for plants and environmentally friendly.
A byproduct of composting is heat. In order to turn meat, dairy, or animal feces into safe compost, the heat produced needs to be high enough to kill off those pathogens, or else they can make people ill. Although composting these types of waste can be done at home, it is not recommended because it can be difficult to manage.
Composting at TCWR
Here at Turpentine Creek, our compost is all kept in one section of the refuge, meaning that any pathogens do not spread. We have two types of compost piles: an active pile, where we bury and rotate the waste; and an inactive pile, which we use to cover the active compost.
Waste is collected throughout the day in two types of bins: one for feces, and the other for dirty mulch with no waste. After all waste is collected for the day, it is brought down to the composting area. The waste bin is buried in the active pile and covered with mulch.
Composting is a valuable resource, as well as environmentally friendly to get rid of organic waste. Even if it’s not necessarily used for fertilizer, it still allows us to dispose animal waste, while reducing our environmental footprint.
Sources
- Header photo: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/tips-for-composting-in-the-summertime
- Picture 1: https://rodaleinstitute.org/blog/backyard-composting-basics-a-cheatsheet/
- Picture 2: https://itgrowsinalaska.community.uaf.edu/2020/07/15/dont-delay-start-composting-today/
- https://www.charlottesville.gov/1120/How-Composting-Works
- https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-101#whatis