Composting improves soil health and gut health dramatically, but not many people know that, said co-owners of Table to Farm Compost Monique DiGiorgio and Taylor Hanson, who have received a grant to grow their operation.
But they are hoping to change that, at least in Durango.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment granted more than $101,000 to the company to help achieve the state’s waste reduction goals, but also to create a soil that supports resilient farms and healthier people.
“In the midst of a crisis, we are supporting jobs and the economy,” DiGiorgio said.
The state aims to divert 28% of solid waste from landfills into composting or recycling operations by 2021. The soil created by Table to Farm Compost is delivered to local farms that grow organic produce, keeping the money in the community, DiGiorgio said.
“We were so pleased to support Table to Farm Compost in reducing waste in rural Southwest Colorado,” said Kendra Appelman-Eastvedt, program administer for Colorado’s Pollution Prevention Advisory Board.
Table to Farm Compost used the grant to purchase new equipment that will help make their work more efficient as well as handle a larger array of compostable items, such as glass. DiGiorgio and Hanson can now grind, mix, sift and bag their compost by machine.
DiGiorgio said ground-up glass is a great addition to their artisanal soil, and perfectly safe.
Table to Farm Compost opened in Durango four years ago to encourage residents to save their scraps for the creation of artisanal soil, instead of for a landfill. The city gave the company a permit to compost instead of setting up their own composting system from scratch.
The producers have since grown to 340 customers who donate their food scraps to create a healthier organic soil for local farmers and gardeners.
The microbes in the soil use carbon for energy, instead of releasing it into the air like a landfill does, Hanson said, helping to reduce the greenhouse gases released by the community.
The result is a “beautiful, earthy compost full of micronutrients that plants love,” DiGiorgio said. It also produces crops that are better for human gut health – the micronutrients create a gut microbiome that controls digestion and benefits the immune system, DiGiorgio said.
It is $18 per month for customers to compost a 5-gallon bucket with Table to Farm Compost, but the company started a promotional deal earlier this week that gives customers the first month free.
The biggest sticking point, DiGiorgio said, is that it is virtually free to dump waste at landfills compared with composting it.
“It’s too cheap and easy to throw stuff into the trash,” DiGiorgio said. She and Hanson said they hope to work with waste haulers and the city of Durango to level the playing field for composting in terms of cost. But the equipment is a good start because it will make their work more efficient.
DiGiorgio said she hopes the many people who have started gardens since the outbreak of COVID-19 will purchase her soil to support the local economy, instead of buying it from a franchise.
Adobe House Farms will start using Table to Farm’s soil as soon as the new batch is ready. Organic farms don’t use fertilizer, so farmer Linley Dixon used fish emulsion, which takes nutrients out of the soil.
Table to Farm Compost has a “vegetarian-based compost with no herbicides,” Dixon said.
In December, Table to Farm Compost partnered with the grocery store Albertsons and nearby community Twin Buttes to increase the amount of food waste they composted. DiGiorgio and Hanson are also working with both north and south City Market to include the high-producing grocery stores in their composting program.
Jessica Trowbridge, a spokeswoman with King Soopers/City Market, said the company has a zero-waste plan that aims to eliminate any waste created by the company by 2025.
“As part of eliminating waste, we have implemented composting programs in our stores across the state,” Trowbridge said. “We are currently engaged with Table to Farm, and hope to bring this partnership to life in our Durango stores in the near future.”
ehayes@durangoherald.com
