No longer a landfill

It may look like 4.5 acres of gravel, but it’s actually a carefully engineered yard waste composting site.

“We’re doing it for the public, and for the sake of what’s right for the environment,” says Tammie Bramer, recycling specialist with the Waseca County recycling center.

“We’re not a landfill anymore.”

Bramer mentions that many people who have noticed the landscaping and large-scale grading underway on the acreage south of the recycling center have assumed that the solar garden located to the southeast is being expanded. But that’s not the case.

Sometime early in September, Bramer explains, the space will be ready to receive yard waste—leaves and grass clippings—for composting. Users will be asked to deposit their waste in deliberately selected locations so that it can be managed and manipulated for the fastest feasible rate of decomposition. Surprisingly, under ideal conditions, waste of this type can be recycled into usable “dirt” in as little as two months—although weather and other factors may extend the process as long as two years.

Among the elements of “engineering” used to prepare the composting site are layers of material placed over the original peat ground at the site. There are layers of crushed aggregate in varying levels of coarseness over a specially placed layer of geotextile “fabric,” all covered by the gravel which is now the most visible element of the acreage. All of these layers have been positioned and landscaped to allow easy drainage of the water which leaches away from decomposing yard waste.  The composting area has been shaped to include gentle rises and valleys. The “windrows”of grass and leaves will be placed on the higher ground.

Water will move downhill away from the windrows to the collecting pond at the south end. There, it will be filtered by carefully engineered aggregates of varying coarseness before being delivered to drainage tiles for removal. 

“We are doing everything we can to assure none of our waste is wasted,” quips Bramer.

She also explains that the county has had a composting area of land on the property with the recycling center for more than 25 years.  Though many residents of Waseca and other communities may not know it, their leaves and yard waste have been being delivered there for all that time: When the city collects the material and hauls it away by the dump truck load, it has been being delivered to the “back lot” compost area.

For much of that time, however, it has been more a matter of collecting than composting, Bramer points out. The stacks simply built up over time and were pushed back to make more room when necessary. She says procedures changed in 2020.

At that time, county staff began repositioning the yard waste into narrow, high rows, called “windrows.” An open area between the rows is needed to allow the materials to be turned, mixed and even occasionally screened to keep natural decomposition processes moving forward.

Bramer demonstrates the energy at work as material breaks down by putting a four-foot-long thermometer into one of the windrows in the current composting site. Already steaming, the location she drives the thermometer into quickly indicates its temperature is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Nearby is the most advanced windrow at the location: A typical observer would probably never guess it was ever anything but a pile of dirt.

‘It’s good soil,” says Bramer matter-of-factly. She mentions that gardeners and landscapers have been buying it in containers ranging from buckets to truckloads at a price of $25 a ton since 2021. So far in 2023, about 120 tons have been sold; in 2021, when the dog parks in Waseca were being landscaped, almost 550 tons were bought.

The current composting site, however, has a number of shortfalls. For one thing, it is reaching its capacity. For another, 25 years ago when it was selected, the large equipment and wide open spaces needed for a large-scale operation were not taken into account. Thirdly, its remote location makes it impossible for recycling center staff to oversee whether people are following the rules.

One rule, for example, is that there should be only loose yard waste. Within a few feet of Bramer, up to five still-full garbage bags are visible. A certain amount of trash is also littered about, including plastic bottles and food containers.

People are also sometimes careless about following instructions. Bramer mentions that she had a few signs on display, some instructing visitors not to place their materials in certain places, another specifying which location was currently meant to receive fresh waste.

Shaking her head, Bramer says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if the signs are all buried in the windrows.”

Once the new site is up and running, she observes, it will be more visually evident where the waste belongs—and recycling center staff will know when materials are being delivered and be able to provide guidance and assistance.

Just as there has never been a cost for delivering yard waste to the “backwoods” location, there will be no charge for delivering it to the new facility.

The engineered surface and the wide-open design will make it much easier to turn, agitate, and screen the decomposing materials.

“All in all,” she says enthusiastically, “it will be a better system for everyone involved.”