Facility in April of this year. And the former Pembroke Dump is now receiving approximately 30 tonnes of horticultural waste and six tonnes of organic waste a day, according to site management officer Mr. Dennis Spencer.

Before the programme was launched, a team of Works & Engineering personnel visited a compost management site in Canada.

Said Mr. Spencer: "Four of us went to Canada for a week earlier this year to gain first-hand experience working alongside professional composters. We learned things like how to recognise odours and when to turn or not to turn the windrows.'' Once back on the Island, the crew started an intensive compost programme at the Marsh Folly site, which, according to Mr. Spencer, has been fairly successful.

"We're getting plenty of horticultural waste. But at present, we're only getting about six tonnes of organic waste with the majority of it coming from the cruise ships.

"The ideal situation would be for all the hotels and restaurants to bring their organic waste here. We're hoping to get ten tonnes of organic (food) waste a day,'' he said.

The composting process, which must be monitored carefully to ensure that waste is being properly mixed, is going well, said Mr. Spencer. "I'm extremely happy with the way things are going and I'm confident that we're doing a good job.'' When the horticultural waste comes in, it is chipped into smaller particles before being spread out to form a mould, which is called a windrow. Food waste is then dumped on top followed by more chippings. "The ratio of horticultural waste to food waste should be three to one,'' he said.

Once the windrow is formed, it must be aerated. "This is done by turning the windrow at least once a day, sometimes three times a day,'' said Mr. Spencer.

"We must also measure the temperature of the windrows once a day. They should be maintained at around 50 degrees Celsius,'' he added, noting that the heat combined with organic matter breaks down the horticultural chippings and eventually the horticultural matter turns into a soil formation.

"Each windrow is turned daily for about three weeks before the turning process is reduced. It is then turned every other day,'' said Mr. Spencer, noting that if the windrows are not turned appropriately, they give off an odour.

The composting crew will sift the windrow material after about three months to remove the larger particles. And when a windrow reaches its desirable stage, it will be left for about a month without being turned.

Mr. Spencer noted that certain indicators can signal a problem with the windrow. "If the temperature drops or if there's a foul smell, there's something wrong,'' he said. "It may be that there's not enough food waste in the windrow or there could be too much moisture.'' He added that any problem can usually be easily remedied.

Apart from the lack of organic waste coming in, the composting programme is going according to plan, which is to eventually cover the former dump with compost.

Said Mr. Spencer: "We intend to mix the compost with rubble before covering the dump. The rubble is coming in from excavation sites around the Island. But unfortunately it's not as abundant as it once was and we are stockpiling it now on the Glebe field in Pembroke Marsh.

"We have to clean up the area a little more before we cover it as there is still some garbage to be found. Also we have to figure out exactly where we want to start covering the area.'' As a minimum of three feet of cover -- which includes a mix of rubble and compost -- is required to cover 25 acres of land, it is estimated to take about ten years.

Once the site is adequately covered, plans for a park can be put into action, noted Mr. Spencer.

FOOD WASTE -- Works & Engineering technicians are pictured here de-bagging the organic waste. The Ministry is now looking for a way to receive the food without bags in order to be more efficient and save time.

MIXING IT UP -- Horticultural waste is blended with organic waste at a ratio of three to one. The refuse is mixed together to form a windrow, which must be turned daily for at least three weeks.

MINI SUPPLEMENT