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Department of Streets Refuse Division Recycling Program |  |
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Department of Streets Refuse Division Recycling Program | |
Composting is a practical and convenient way to recycle yard debris, such as leaves, twigs, grass clippings, most weeds, and dead houseplants into a valuable resource. If you have a garden, a lawn, trees, shrubs or even planter boxes, you have a use for compost. When used as mulch, this free soil additive promotes weed and erosion control, protects plant roots from sun and wind damage, conserves water, and reduces soil diseases. When absorbed into loose or sandy soils, it increases water retention; it also aids drainage in clay or other heavy soils.
Yard debris, such as leaves, grass clippings, weeds, and the remains of garden plants make excellent compost. Chipped wood scraps can also be composted or mulched. Vegetable scraps are compostable, but food scraps such as meat scraps, bones, fatty foods, and dairy products should not be composted due to the potential for bacterial growth.
Compost can be used to enrich the flower and vegetable garden, to improve the soil around trees and shrubs, as a soil amendment for house plants and planter boxes, and when screened, as part of a seed-starting mix or lawn top-dressing. Compost acts as a natural fertilizer by returning nutrients, such as phosphorus, potassium, nitrogen, and many trace minerals, to the soil. These nutrients are all to be released slowly over 1-2 years for optimal plant growth and health.
Annually, the City of St. Louis generates approximately 20,000 tons of yard waste, which is composted for use as an alternative soil. The State of Missouri and the State of Illinois passed laws prohibiting yard waste from being disposed of in the landfill, in an effort to conserve landfill space. Yard debris is a highly valuable material that can easily be converted into a product useful for improving your garden, landscaping, and lawn. By mulching and composting yard debris at home, you can save money spent on mulches, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and soil amendments. Mulching and composting at home also reduces the amount of time you spend watering because they preserve the moisture content in your lawn or garden.
The City of St. Louis Refuse Division offers composting classes locally. The class is a 50-minute overview about how you can compost your organic waste at home. The classes are free-of-charge and are available throughout the year. Check our Calendar of Events http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/calendar.html to find a class that's convenient for you.
The following organizations offer speakers who will visit your meetings to present on the topics listed below:
St. Louis Master Gardener Program http://www.stlmg.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/programs.main/index.htm
Below is a list of free publications available on the subject of home mulching and composting, as well as instructions on how to build your own compost bins. Send an email to recycle@stlouis.missouri.org or call (314) 353-8877 if you’d like these publications to be mailed to your home.
| TITLES | AUTHOR | DATE | SIZE |
| http://stlouis.missouri.org/citygov/recycle/vermicompost.html | Refuse Division | July 2009 | 4-page flyer |
| Yard Waste Management At Home | Refuse Division | 2-page flyer | |
| Recycle Yard Waste | Refuse Division | 2-page flyer | |
| Backyard Composting Bins | Refuse Division | 2-page flyer | |
| Circle Compost Bin | Missouri Department of Natural Resources | July 2003 | 1-page flyer |
| Wood and Wire Cage-Type Composting Bin | Missouri Department of Natural Resources | July 2003 | 2-page flyer |
| Wood and Wire Stationary 3-Bin System | Missouri Department of Natural Resources | July 2003 | 3-page brochure |
| Worm Composting System | Missouri Department of Natural Resources | on-line | |
| Home Composting Made Easy | C. Forrest McDowell, PhD & Tricia Clark-McDowell | 2002 | booklet |
| Homeowner's Composting Guide | Missouri Department of Natural Resources | on-line |
For those residents who don't have the physical ability, space, or use for mulching or composting their yard waste, the City of St. Louis operates a separate weekly collection service for yard waste during the spring, summer, and fall. Residents with alley dumpsters should place yard waste in separate dumpsters marked "Yard Waste Only." Residents with smaller roll-out carts receive a separate collection for yard waste on Wednesday of each week. Residents may bundle limbs in six foot lengths and place them out for the monthly bulk pick up. The Refuse Division will also accept one pick-up truck load of yard waste each month from residents at either the north or south transfer station (with proof of residency). Visit the Refuse Division's Yard Waste page or call 353-8877 for more information.
City residents with large amounts of yard waste can dispose of it once a month at the Forestry Division's Compost Section at 560 Terminal Row (located off of Hall Street) in the Baden area (zip code 63147). The site is open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except holidays. It is closed in January and February. The site will accept tree limbs under six inches in diameter, shrubs and leaves. Grass clippings will not be accepted. Residents will be allowed to dump one pick-up truck load per month (also with proof of residency). Commercial haulers are prohibited.Organic Resource Management, Inc.
Location: Fort Bellefontaine Compost Center, 13060 County Park Road, Florissant, Missouri 63034
Hours: 730am-430pm Monday-Saturday.
Fee: $8.00 per cubic yard.
Materials Accepted: yard waste only (e.g., leaves, grass, tree trimmings, etc.).
Phone: 314.355.0052
Web: http://www.ormiorganics.com
St. Louis Composting, Inc.
Fee: Yes.
Materials Accepted: Clean vegetative yard waste only.
Web: http://www.stlcompost.com
Home Eco
Web http://www.home-eco.com
E-Mail info@home-eco.com
Phone 314.351.2000
4611 Macklind Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63109
TerraCycle -www.terracycle.net
Worm's Way
Web http://www.wormsway.com
E-Mail sales@wormsway.com
Phone 314.994.3900 or 800.285.9676
1225 North Warson Road, St. Louis, Missouri 63132
BioBag
Web http://www.biobagusa.com
E-Mail info@biobagusa.com
Fax 208.694.9019
Phone 800.959.2247 or 727.789.1646
Post Office Box 369, Palm Harbor, Florida 34682-0369
Biocorp, Inc.
Web www.biocorpaavc.com
Phone 866.348.8348
15301 140th Avenue SE, Becker, Minnesota 55308
BiodegradableStore.com
Web http://biodegradablestore.com
Phone 303.449.1876
Boulder, Colorado
Ecowareonline
Web http://www.ecowareonline.com
E-Mail info@stonertech.com
Green Earth Office Supply
Web http://greenearthofficesupply.stores.yahoo.net/kitsup.html
E-Mail info@greenearthofficesupply.com
Fax 408.395.3965
Phone 800.327.8449 or 408.353.2096
Post Office Box 719, Redwood Estates, California 95044
Green Home
Web http://www.greenhome.com/products/institutional_sales/food_service
E-Mail help@greenhome.com
Fax 415.752.6389
Phone 877.282.6400
850 24th Avenue, San Francisco, California 94121
Packaging Supersource
Web http://www.usbox.com/green
E-Mail sales@usbox.com
Fax 973.481.2002
Phone 800.221.0999 or 973.481.2000
U.S. Box Corporation, 1296 McCarter Highway, Newark, New Jersey 07104
Recyclaholics
Web http://www.recyclaholics.com
Phone 612.521.LOOP
World Centric
Web http://www.worldcentric.org/store
E-Mail store@worldcentric.org
Fax 866.850.9732
Phone 650.283.3797
2211 Williams Street, Palo Alto, California 94306
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