If you have any questions for any of our speakers, please put them here. Thank you.

Hi, are there resources / guidelines available for a non-profit farm who would like to start a public composting facility?

Can you clarify out of farm sources of food that can be taken

I refer to the policy about off farm material to compost in a farm

What is the schedule for permit review by DEEP?

between at home, on site, and large central composting adoption, which would produce the largest impact if there were a 10% uptick in adoption?

You are welcom

welcome

A few quick responses

Permit review time depends on the site specifics, best way to get started is to contact DEEP - preapplication questionnaire is on the DEEP permit webpage.

CGS Sec 22a-208cc allows 5% of food waste to be introduced to an exempt on-farm A.D. food source could be municipal, institutional, private, and is not limited by the CGS

would recommend an onsite investigation by a soil scientist to ID depth of seasonal high water table and kind of watertable. Kip Kolesinskas. Soil survey maps are only a guide

Hi - can these presentations be emailed to participants?

Recording of all webinars will be posted on: RECORDINGS:www.CTRCD.orgwww.ctnofa.orghttps://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Reduce-Reuse-Recycle/Municipal-Recycling-Resource-Center/Archived-Municipal-Recycling-Coordinators-E-News-and-Webinars

Excellent presentation. James do you do end to end consulting for municipalities and businesses?

Can you provide us with a basic budget, ex land acquisition/use? Cost to site, construct, manage, permit, staff and revenue from sales of compost.

James, I'm curious about vermicomposting -- do vermicomposting systems exist on a "commercial" scale (i.e. not in a household or classroom)? If such larger systems do exist what kind of processing capacity do they have? I guess my assumption is using worms might limit throughput efficiency, making vermicomposting better suited to smaller-scale applications.

That was very helpful, thank you!

Thank you - super informative!

I tried typing the link Cori gave for the Community Toolkit but the page didn't come up. Could you put the link in the chat as it was very small on the screen and I may have got it wrong. Thank you!

https://wastedfood.cetonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Community-Toolkit-Yard-Trimmings-Food-Scraps.pdf

Thank you!

https://wastedfood.cetonline.org/toolbox/

What would you suggest for a pile that has become too dry? I have a pile about 80’x12’x6’ that was up to 150F in early May and has cooled down a lot since. I don’t think had enough moisture this year. Should I just hydrate it manually on occasion?

Also what mixing or turning tools for windrows do you suggest to small farms? I turn with a loader currently, but I’m trying to figure out a better mixing/prep tool.

We need to be thinking and planning more for the use and distribution of finished compost, especially to the urban suburban landscape. especially as quantities increase

Thanks to all the speakers and participants who joined us today! Be sure to register for each of the 4 additional webinars in the series. CT RC&D will be circulating an evaluation for today's webinar and we encourage you all to participate in this brief survey.

hy 5%?

Why 5%

Thank you!

link to CGS supplement for 22a-208cc - link to CGS supplement for 22a-208cc - https://www.cga.ct.gov/2020/sup/chap_446d.htm#sec_22a-208cc

So is Coryanne saying that its best for municipalities to start small by starting with a centralized drop-off site to start the conversation? Thanks.

For clarity, my pile that is dry is made up of last winters animal bedding/waste (cattle and poultry)

Here’s a worm composting business in CT: https://www.wiggleroom.org/

my understanding is that vermicompost is the best compost you can make. That's according to Wiggle Room's research.

The worms themselves can also be a product for sale to chicken farmers, fisherpeople, etc.

We need to be careful about promoting selling worms for fishing bait. We do have the Amynthas earthworms (jumping worms that are considered invasive). One of the ways they are disbursed around the region is by fishing.

Of course, if we're just talking about red wigglers it's not really a problem, because they're a different species and don't survive the winters here.

Yes, I was thinking Red Wigglers, but good information, thank you.

:)

I had a question unanswered still!

Thank you all for the work you do!

thank you everyone!

“What would you suggest for a pile that has become too dry? I have a pile about 80’x12’x6’ that was up to 150F in early May and has cooled down a lot since. I don’t think had enough moisture this year. Should I just hydrate it manually on occasion?”

“Also what mixing or turning tools for windrows do you suggest to small farms? I turn with a loader currently, but I’m trying to figure out a better mixing/prep tool."

thank you!