Haines could soon have a composting facility where residents can bring sawdust, fish carcasses and other organic waste, and pick up topsoil and fertilizer for gardens and farms.
Derek Poinsette, Executive Director of Takshanuk Watershed Council, said the nonprofit plans to have six outdoor bays large enough to drive a tractor into. All the materials for the project are locally sourced, and Poinsette said he hopes building will be done in a month. The main building is funded by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida, and the tractor is funded by the Rasmuson Foundation.
While composting may start this year, the program is expected to be fully operational next spring. Poinsette said the group is still deciding how to charge customers. He said it may be subscription based or an exchange, where customers get to take some finished top soil in exchange for their organic waste Some potential customers said it would be a big deal for Haines.
“I’m very excited for the new program. It would be very convenient for me as a farmer to purchase locally made compost,” said Sally Boisvert of Four Winds Farm. Boisvert makes her own compost from her garden waste, seafood processing waste, and sawmill waste. However, she said that she does not make enough, and has to purchase around six cubic yards of compost each year from Juneau Compost. The Takshanuk composting program “would be a great asset to the community,” said Boisvert. “I think it’s a great way to recycle waste and divert waste from the landfill.”
Valina Hansen, another commercial grower in town, said that at Sunnyside Farms, they make their own compost but supplement it with organic fertilizer sourced from Washington. “To be able to use locally made compost, we would just like to know what’s in it and how strong it is,” said Hansen.
The fertilizer they use now has a ratio of eight parts nitrogen, six parts phosphorus, and one part potassium.
“It’s done really well for us,” said Hansen. “It’s challenging to (have something) diverse enough to create enough nutrients in the soil,” she said.
In the past, Haines has had some large-scale composting operations, but they haven’t lasted more than a few years.
Genny Rietze started composting for the community in 2018. At her peak she was processing 2,000 pounds of compost a week, sourced from the distillery, restaurants, a grocery store, and household waste. She only charged businesses for her pick-up services. She ultimately closed her operation in 2021 partially because she was overwhelmed with compost and had not set up adequate support from volunteers.
“I suffered from being too busy,” she said. When asked about the upcoming composting program, Rietze said “I think everybody will be interested. Once you start sorting [waste] there’s no going back. It’s the right thing to do.”
Takshanuk Watershed Council has hired Cindy Zuluaga Jimenez as the compost manager and plans to provide training on what’s appropriate to compost.