Turning Table Scraps Into Topsoil

Last month, I discussed a report that Anne Arundel County was seeking ways to reduce its waste stream. I mentioned the opportunities for recycling and composting, but it wasn't until just today that I realized Anne Arundel County has a large-scale, commercial composting operation right in Crofton.

Chesterfield Farms, at 1230 Cronson Boulevard, accepts all organic material, manure, and food waste (but, no tree stumps), for conversion into high quality compost. They sell the finished material from their Crofton site, along with green roof soil blends and double-shredded bark mulch.

This presents a huge opportunity for the County to reduce its refuse load, as organic materials make up 2/3's of the waste stream in the US. The County already runs an aggressive backyard composting program, but it would be interesting to see it undertake a curbside composting pilot program as well, perhaps in a portion of the County where backyard composting is impractical.