Get free organic compost!

A column from Sebastopol's Climate Action Committee

By Josho Somine, Sebastopol Climate Action Committee

Sebastopol area residents can get up to a 1/2 cubic yard of free organic compost. (Photo: City of Sebastopol)

Sebastopol area residents are invited to pick up free organic compost for their gardens behind the Community Center Youth Annex (425 Morris St.) on two Saturdays this Fall: September 3 and October 1, from 9 am -12 pm each day. Each household is welcome to up to 1/2 cubic yard, with more available for school gardens and multi-family groups. You are responsible for loading and hauling your own compost (although assistance is often available), so bring shovels, bags, buckets, gloves, tarps, and any other tools that might help. A half-ton pickup truck can hold enough for two households, so get together with your neighbors and prep your fall gardens!  

This event has been popular in the past, so we recommend getting there early. Attendees will be asked to wait patiently in their vehicles (with the engines off, please!) until volunteers from the Sebastopol Climate Action Committee (SCAC) direct you forward to the next available spot. We will be getting 80 cubic yards for dispersal on September 3, but once the pile is gone, that’s it for the month. 

The SCAC has held these events since last Fall, and we plan on having four each year: two weekends in Spring, and two in the Fall.

Where does the compost come from?

The compost is certified organic, and is coming from the Waste Management Redwood site north of Novato. (There is currently no municipal composting facility in Sonoma County, since neighbors complaining about the smell shut down our local site in 2015.)  Compost is provided through Zero Waste Sonoma, a county agency that works to reduce the amount of waste going to regional landfills. 

Since the passage of California SB 1383 last year, all cities and counties in the state are required to divert organic waste from landfills through green waste collection and recycling programs. To create demand for the large amount of compost that law was going to create, the law also required cities and towns to procure 160 pounds of compost per person per year.

Zero Waste Sonoma’s Organics Program Manager Xinci Tan agrees that that’s a lot of compost.

“All cities and states are struggling with that,” she said.

In the meantime, Zero Waste Sonoma is providing free compost to local cities, including Sebastopol.

Why compost? 

It holds moisture, provides nutrients for plants, and improves soil quality by increasing the amount of organic material in the soil structure. For annual beds, mix it into the top foot of soil, or just top-dress perennial beds. Most commercial compost has been heat sterilized to eliminate pathogens, so it’s still good to supplement seasonally with home compost to add in beneficial soil microorganisms. Increasing organic material in the soil is also a good way to work against global warming!

For more information, contact Sebastopolsinkscarbon@gmail.com

Josho Somine is the co-chair of the Sebastopol Climate Action Committee and member of the sequestration working group.