04/04/00 LCEC AgP
NOTICE
Land Conservation & Environment Committee
will meet
Tuesday, April 4, 2000
and at 5:45 p.m. at
Shorewood City Hall
5755 Country Club Road
Shorewood, MN 55331
AGENDA
1. Convene Meeting
2. Role Call
3. Review Agenda
4. Approval of Minutes - Meeting of March 14, 2000
4. Discussion on Deer Concerns
• 5. Discussion on Open House
6. Reports on Member Projects
7. Adjournment
A majority of the City Council may be present. No Council action will be taken.
•
• City of Shorewood
Land Conservation and Environmental Committee
Tuesday, March 14, 2000
1. MINUTES
Meeting called to order at 5:47 p.m. by Chair Fred Bruno.
2. ROLL CALL
Present - Chair Fred Bruno, Joel Jurgens, Tom Schmid, Lucinda Kircher, Donna
Woodruff, Anthony Pin and Paula Berndt
Absent - Daniel Ehrke
3. REVIEW OF AGENDA
The agenda was approved.
4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes were approved. Motion by Joel Jurgens, seconded by Lucinda Kircher. 4-0.
• 5. PRESENTATION
John Barten from the DNR gave a 20 minute slide presentation stressing the harmful
effects phosphorus has on our water systems from adding unnecessary levels. John went
on to explain that phosphorus increases the algae and plant ,growth, also changing fish
species. He explained that soil tests should be conducted to determine the phosphorus
levels already present. Likewise, local vendors need to supply zero level phosphorus
fertilizer to citizens, noting that "trophy" lawns can be maintained without phosphorus.
John stated that Plymouth has banned phosphorus in lawn fertilizers. He believes that
similar measures need to be taken when education fails. Measures can be taken through
local laws and ordinances. Other measures to reduce phosphorus in the water system
include removal of leaves and compost type materials from local streets and drains.
3. DISCUSSION OF OPEN SPACE PLAN
The committee made a few corrections on the open space survey, with the decision being
made that it will appear in April's newsletter.
•
Tips for Home Composting
WLIJ
What is 'eomposting? Used as a mulch on the top of the soil,
compost reduces plant stress from droughts
Composting is nature's way of recycling and freezes, controls erosion, and reduces
organic materials. It is the the natural evaporation decreasing the need to water
breakdown (decomposition) of organic during the summer. Your home compost can.
wastes by bacteria, fungi, worms and other also be mixed with perlite, sand and other
organisms under controlled conditions. materials to make an effective potting mix
These organisms use carbon, nitrogen and for potted plants.
other nutrients released from organic matter
during the decomposition process. The • •
result is organic waste converted into a dark, Did you know?
crumbly, earthy smelling mixture that is
used as a fertilizer, mulch or potting mix. In Minnesota it is illegal to throwaway yard
f.:.. - waste with your municipal solid waste.
(MN Statute 115A.931)
Break it down!
Do's and Don'ts
Besides conserving resources and diverting
organic matter from landfills, home You can compost: grass and lawn
composting can also save you money. By clippings, hay; kitchen wastes, leaves,
diverting your household's food and yard agricultural manure, straw, dead brown
waste from the garbage can, .you will lighten weeds, wood chips, and sawdust.
the load you pay your hauler to haul away.
Do not compost: meat/bones, fats and oils,
• In 1996, organic material was grease, dairy products, fish/bones, domestic
approximately 16% of municipal solid pet waste, charcoal briquette ash, diseased
waste in Minnesota. plants, and weeds gone to seed.
• The National Composting Council Note: These lists and other regulations may
estimates it costs around $12 per ton to vary in your county and municipality. Please
compost organic waste. check with your countybefore you begin
composting.
• Home composting is a cost-effective
waste management strategy which can
divert up to 750 pounds of material per Composting Biology 101
household a year from landfills.
By using the compost material around your Greens `l7' brOW17S
yard, you can improve the health of your For best performance, your compost pile
MI1l1eSOta soil and plants. Compost is high in many needs the right mix of ingredients. "Greens"
Office o nutrients your soil and plants need to are materials like grass clippings, green
.1vironmental flourish. Adding compost also increases the leaves, coffee grounds, tea bags, plant stalks
Assistance amount of organic'matter in the soil which and vegetable scraps. These materials
allows it to hold more water and nutrients.. contain high levels of nitrogen. "Browns"
" eco~ e"e ~d. " . ' Not only will you use less water, but less are materi als such as straw, sawdust, twigs,
*5-1 i 'j i, mN garden chemicals as well. Compost bacteria and dry brown weeds and leaves. These
`0
also help fight off disease bacteria that can materials contain high levels of carbon.
Toi, °5"3`'' damage your plants. Both are essential to the process and need to
Afteifan: ibe properly mixed for best results.
1999, the OEA's
=a code July 1998. continued on.other side
phmged to 651.
w°- c;or-consumer recyc%ed oa{Je- :re ..e .c.v-es- -
the starter bin is where you put new materials.. The suppliers listed in the resources section of this fact
middle bin, or high-temperature bin, is the hotter, sheet.
• faster-working pile. The final bin is the curingbin.
This last bin functions as. a finishing bin and stores The container
the finished compost. -
..You need to buy or build a box with holes in the
start bin high-temp finish bin bottom. Wood boxes work quite well as they are
bin absorbent and good insulators for the worms.
_kk Worms are 75 to 90 percent water and their body
surfaces must be kept moist enough to.breathe.
Commereialipavailable'bins through their skin. By covering. the bin you. help .
conserve some of the-moisture in the bin. Cover
Some commercially-available bins operate more with a sheet of dark plastic, burlap or newspaper.
efficiently than a homemade one-bin system and are The worms
often made of recycled material. They can cost
anywhere from less than a hundred dollars to a few Red worms (or red wigglers, brandling and. manure
hundred dollars. These bins are relatively easy to
worms) are best suited to worm composting. They
use and many have convenient sliding doors at the thrive on organic material such as raw food waste.
bottom which allow easy access to the finished Earth worms (or dew worms) are better adapted life
product. Some manufacturers of. these systems are in the soil and should not be used for worm
listed on the last page of this fact sheet. composting. If you are putting one pound of food
Some of the commercially-available bins use a waste iii your bin per day, you need approximately
rotating or tumbling system. The system is designed 2,000.red worms (about 2 pounds). Worm
to turn-the compost mix frequently and maintain reproduction is limited by availability of food and
stable high temperatures. The cost for this type of room to move.
system can be high. 'They are also smaller than a
typical compost bin. However under ideal The bedding
circumstances you can have finished compost in Worm bedding should be damp. It can include
three weeks! shredded newspaper and cardboard, shredded fall .
Vermicompostitlg leaves, sawdust, dried grass clippings, aged manure,
or peat moss.'Peat moss is very acidic and-should be
soaked and.combined with other bedding materials.
Worms, worms, worms Also, adding a handful' of sand can aid the worms
digestion.By varying the ingredients of the bedding,
Worms are very efficient at digesting kitchen food you provide a richer source of nutrition for the
wastes. Each day a worm eats half its weight in worms. Proper moisture levels need to be
food. The care and feeding of worms take far. less
maintained as well. Compost material should be as
effort than maintaining an outdoor compost pile. wet as a damp sponge.. You should not be able to
Some of the benefits of keeping a worm bin include: squeeze more than a few drops of water out of it. In
• Recycling kitchen food waste. addition, you need to provide air spaces by turning
the pile and "fluffing it up„ occasionally.
• Reducing waste disposal costs.
The food
• Fertilizer for house and garden plants.
Composting red worms can eat fruit and vegetable
• A ready supply of fishing worms'. scraps, pulverized eggs shells, tea bags and coffee
grounds. Do not compost meats, dairy products, oily
Worm compost is made by filling a container with foods, grains, plastic, tin or aluminum foil.
moistened bedding (such as leaves or paper), red
• worms and organic waste. It can take up to two
months to get the process started. You can keep your
worm bin indoors. Worms can be bought from worm
July 1998 Minnesota Office of Environmental Assrstance
Cosmo's Red Worms Back Yard Composting, Harmonious Press. Simple,
• 432 Lawton St. easy to read how-to-guide for home composting. All
San Francisco, CA 94122 the basics: Harmonious Press,.Ojai, California.
(4.15) 759-7874 Approximately $10.(ISBN 0-9629768-0-6).
Red Wiggler Worms Laverme's Handbook of Indoor Worm Composting.
836 Willis Street ' Covers the anatomy, physiology and the how to's of
Batesburg, SC 29006 worm composting. Very comprehensive. 30 pp. De
(803) 604-8715 La Terre Press, PO Box 16483, Duluth; MN 55816.
Laverme's Worms, Let It-Rot, Stu Campbell. General guide to.home
PO Box 16483 composting.-Includes detailed information about the
Duluth, MN 55816 biological composting process. Jenkins Publishing,
218-727-8524 Pownal, Vermont (ISBN 0-88266-635-5).
Web sites Videos
www.cals.cornell.edu/dept/compost/ Many of these videos are available for loan from the
Comprehensive information on home and school OEA's Education Clearinghouse .
composting. Includes section on basic science and
engineering prmciples involved. Experiments you Compost Truth or Consequences
can do as well. Takes a quiz show format to answer questions
relating to composting problems and the science
www.gnv.fdt.net1-wind1e1 behind composting. Cornell Waste Management
Lots of information on worm composting: Institute. 100 Rice Hall, Cornell University, -Ithaca,
New York, 14853-5601 or 607-255-1187.
www.oldgrowt,h.org/compost/
Composting information and an interactive The Art of Backyard Composting
`questions and answers'. page., Basics of composting and vermicomposting with in
depth commentary.. Approximately $20. Kuehn
www.geocities.com/RainForestt8262/index.html Mills Productions, Inc: PO Box 5269, Ventura,
The Compost Heap web site. California 93005 or phone'805-647-4905.
www.solidwaste.org/compost.htm Home Composting: Turning Your Spoils to Soil
Information about Spokane Washington's Regional : Teaches viewers about different compost bins and
Compost Facility and home composting information. how to construct one. Also includes information: on
www.cityfarmer.org using yard waste as inulch. Connecticut Department
of Environmental.Protection Recycling Program.,
Discussion on composting and gardening in urban
situations, and vermiComposting. Elm Street 4th Floor, Hartford CT 06106-5127 or
.
phone-860-424-3365.
www".dnr.state.xno.us/deq/swmp/Worml.htm
Learn how to build a compost bin and more about Composting for the, 90's - A Reason and Method for
vermicomposting.. Everyone. 50 min. Easy to understand,
comprehensive look at composting. The why's and
Books/publishers. how's, including how,home composting can save
you money on your garbage hauling bills.. Earth to
Many of these titles are Also available at your local Earth Productions. P.O. Box 1272, Burbank,
library. California 91507-1272.
Worms Eat My Garbage, Mary Applehof Wormaniai 26 min. + 48 page teaching guide:
(www.wormwoman.com). One of the best guides to Information on vermicomposting, worm biology,
• worm composting. Published by Flower Press, - and education. Not strictly a how-to-video, but a
Kalamazoo, Michigan. Approximately $12 (ISBN 0- good outreach supplement to promote
942256-03-4). venmcomposting. Flowerfield Enterprises. 10332
Shaver Road, Kalamazoo, Michigan49002.
July 1 .998 Minnesota Ofte of Environmental Assistance