Today we learned...

The rain was falling in small drops today but we braved it anyway and planned routes through the city of Columbia, SC.  It is a very easily maneuvered city that has two distinct food districts in Five Points and The Vista.

Our first pile is being started in Forest Acres, though.  The issue is now and for

the forseeable future convenience.  We had to find just the right place and in so doing we had to ask all of the questions that we know others would.

Location and looks...
We found a spot out of the way that would still be central to all that we are trying to do; collect compost in a convenient way that does not add to the "carbon footprint".  Also, because we really don't receive any real funding, no contributions, and rare donations, we had to look at ways to do this that saved gas money!  Without any real funding, creativity is king and labor becomes a major component so we looked for places that were near where we were going to do so that containers can be carried to the site.  Holding to our promise this means that over 100 tons of matter are going to be carried by hand!

Containerization. 
We had to think about what we were going to do and most of all how to make it convenient for our "customers and contributors".  Convenie
nce is one of the biggest drawbacks for a lot of people.  Finding containers can be somewhat of a hassle for many.  We sought to kill two birds with one stone and part of that was finding consistent, measurable containers that people could use to store compost.
Where did we get them? Well, there are a number of places throwing away four and five gallon buckets daily.   So, we have started to gather them.  They are often large, food grade buckets, that once contained mayonnaise or something of the sort.
These are buckets that otherwise would have gone into a landfill also.  Instead, we saved them and now they are put to use again.

Smell...
If your compost pile smells bad then you are doing something wrong.  This is going to be the largest thing that we have to battle, not the actual smell, but the perception that something is going to smell bad.  That is why we are happy that we have gotten one of our biggest contributors on board, Starbucks.

Coffee grounds are are high in carbon, nitrogen, and cover the smell of just about anything, especially as it is heated through the pile.

Speaking of heat...

Speaking of heat...
If you get a compost pile big enough, it will begin to heat up on its own.  Micro organisms will chew and spit out matter and begin to bump into each other, all causing the pile to get very hot purely out of friction.  When the pile reaches between 120 and 140 degrees, it will begin to kill off weed seeds and dangerous pathogens. The coffee grounds help to add to that heat and "cook" the compost more quickly.  People have been known to run hoses through their compost piles and use them to heat water.

We got a lot of great information and we look forward to passing on a lot more information, starting more sites, and figuring more things out as we go.

Nearly a thousand pounds in two days...We're ok with that.