Montezuma County Landfill Supervisor Mell Jarmon stands with a brand new compost turner bought due to a $375,000 grant from the Colorado Division of Well being and Surroundings. (Courtesy Jim Mimiaga)
New tools bought; gross sales are up and expanded facility deliberate
The compost program on the Montezuma County landfill is rising, and has upgraded its operation with new tools.
In October, the landfill bought a compost turner for $409,000 to enhance operation effectivity and the product, stated supervisor Mel Jarmon.
A 2022 Backhus A58 Windrow Turner was funded by a $379,000 grant from the Recycling Sources Financial Alternative Program of the Colorado Division of Well being and Surroundings.
The landfill contributed $30,000 towards the machine as a part of the grant settlement.
Whereas touring on two tracks, the unit straddles a row of curing compost whereas a rotor mixes the mix of natural matter and biosolids.
The industrial composting operation on the Montezuma County landfill is increasing. (Jim Mimiaga/The Journal)
“Earlier than we needed to do all the blending with a front-end loader, which takes much more time,” Jarmon stated. “Utilizing this mixes it extra evenly and takes a fraction of the time.”
The unit has a capability to show as much as 5,200 cubic yards of compost materials per hour.
It operates along with a high-capacity compost screener the landfill bought in 2020 and was funded by a $127,000 grant from the CDPHE.
To make compost, the landfill combines wooden chips, inexperienced yard wastes and biosolid waste supplied by the Cortez Sanitation District.
The piles undergo a curing course of that includes common mixing, water utility and temperature checks over a interval of months.
Composting works to hurry the pure decay of natural materials. The tip product of the concentrated decomposition course of is a nutrient-rich soil used for crops, lawns and timber.
CDPHE doesn’t suggest biosolids compost to be used on vegetable gardens.
Domestically the compost is fashionable product for marijuana farms, flower gardens, lawns and timber, Jarmon stated. It’s bought at an inexpensive value of $30 per cubic yard, and gross sales have steadily elevated.
The landfill has bought 385.5 cubic yards in 2022, up from 270 cubic yards in 2021, a rise of 43%.
In 2020, the landfill bought 220 cubic yards, up from 166 cubic yards in 2019.
Wooden chips from the large piles on the Ironwood Mill outdoors Dolores are getting used for the landfill’s composting operation and are being stockpiled on website.
“We are able to’t use all that they’ve. The chips work properly for this,” Jarmon stated, and can assist enhance how a lot compost could be produced.
Landfill officers plan to maneuver the composting operation onto a close-by 11-acre website being prepped on the west aspect of the landfill.
The aim is to provide two sorts of compost, one which makes use of meals wastes and one other that makes use of the biosolids.
Composts that use meals waste could be safely used on vegetable gardens, Jarmon stated. He plans to work with Montezuma-Cortez College District Re-1 to recycle meals wastes from the cafeterias to be used on the new composting facility.
“Recycling meals waste into compost is sensible. It creates a product in demand and saves room within the landfill,” Jarmon stated.
Allowing for the brand new compost facility is pending allow approval by the CPPHE and is anticipated to open in 2023.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
