City Recycles 4 Million Pounds of Yard Waste
After months of decomposition and aeriation, all the dead grass and yard waste dropped at the City’s Solid Waste Facility is ready to be put back to good use. The City has turned it into high-quality compost.
“We recycle the material that gets dropped in our yard waste bins; in last the year, we processed about 4 million pounds,” said Val Keller, City Solid Waste Superintendent. “That’s up a little from the average year when we see about 3.5 million pounds of yard waste.”
Once the decomposition process is complete, the City screens the material to remove any inorganic material. After that, the City adds it to top soil for city landscaping projects and makes the compost available to the public.
It is $20 a ton or a minimum charge of $4, and it is registered as a fertilizer with the South Dakota Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“The City has seen strong vegetation using the product,” said Keller. “The people who use it in private gardens and lawns have reported positive results as well.”
It takes three to twelve months for the Solid Waste Facility to turn yard waste into ideal compost. The decomposition process is dependent on ambient air temperature and generally slows in the winter months.
Staff places the yard waste in large windrows near the City’s materials recovery site. Once the temperature of the windrows is between 130 and 140 degrees, the staff runs a compost turner over the product to aerate the material and assist the biological composting process.
If you’re interested in purchasing the material, visit the Solid Waste Facility on East Park Street during normal business hours.