The compost bins at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Edwardsville are an example of one of the composting methods listed by Good Dirt Composting Collective (GDCC).

Edwardsville plans on amending its ordinance about residential composting.

The amended verbiage regarding composting applies to all compost bin systems. Compost piles without structural containment, such as a fence or container, would only be allowed on lots that are 10 acres or more in size.

There, material must be formed into windrows no larger than six feet high, 10 feet wide and 40 feet long. A windrow is a long line of material heaped up by the wind or a machine. For every additional acre of land beyond 10 acres, owners may add a windrow or they can tack 20 more feet onto an existing one.

Other parts of the ordinance include that all compost bins must be maintained to prevent unpleasant, noxious or pungent orders. In addition, no bin system would be located less than one foot from the rear or side property lines or within 20 feet of any home, patio, pool or similar structure. No compost bin system would be allowed to interfere with stormwater drainage and compost bins would not be located in front yards.  

The city's administrative and community service (ACS) committee unanimously voted in favor of the amended ordinance for first reading last week. The amended ordinance was forwarded to the full city council for first reading Tuesday, where it was read. After passing through committees next week, the item will go before the city council for a vote at its Aug. 16 meeting.

ACS chairman William Krause said this is the first of many initiatives that have been in the works for months. He said this is one example of what happens after city officials listen to the public, hear what they have to say and bring that back as an action.

Katja Kopp and Terri Riutcel, members of the Good Dirt Composting Collective (GDCC), came to ACS last week and Kopp gave a presentation on why composting should be encouraged.

According to the United National Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), one-third of the world's topsoil is already degraded and topsoil in the U.S. is eroding at more than nine times its natural rate of replacement. 

Kopp feels soil erosion is just one of the problems communities are facing, and food waste is another.

According to the UNFAO, Americans landfilled or incinerated more than 50 million tons of compostable waste in 2015, or enough to fill a line of fully-loaded 18-wheelers from New York City to Los Angeles 10 times. 

When food this level of food is wasted, it consumes other resources, too. 

Kopp believes the way to stop topsoil degradation is to compost organic garbage and use it as a way to combat climate change in the backyards of households.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says composting reduces methane production, enriches the soil, helps retain moisture while suppressing plant diseases and pests; reduces the need for chemical fertilizers; encourages beneficial bacterial and fungi production to create humus, a rich nutrient-filled material. Finally, composting reduces one's carbon footprint and cuts methane emissions from landfills.

"According to Indiana University's Environmental Resilience Institute, if everyone in the U.S. composted, it would be the equivalent of taking 7.8 million vehicles off of the road," she said.

There are different types of composting: wooden, three-bin systems; wire fences formed into a circle; tumblers; windrows; bokashi, a bucket form of anaerobic fermentation; and uncontained giant debris pile.

Kopp and the others urged the committee that local composting legislation should remain as unrestrictive as possible, to foster it in the community. She showed images of her own hugel, an area of compostable material that can become a garden over time, which illustrated a 12-to-16-month period from compost pile to garden.

"I'm hoping that some of these kids, someone out of high school, create a composting company here in Edwardsville," Kopp said.

Cool Cities members hope that after residential composting takes root, they can create plans for composting on a municipal level.

Click here for more tips from the EPA on composting.

Charles Bolinger covers Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Edwardsville Township and the Collinsville School District for The Edwardsville Intelligencer. A graduate of Webster University in St. Louis, he has been writing for the paper since 2018.