We are delighted to have launched a commercial food scraps collection program in Santa Fe, using the Aerated Static Pile system to create a premium soil amendment efficiently and effectively. Commercial composting’s impact on our community’s quality of life is immense: thousands of cubic yards of food scraps are being diverted from the landfill where they would create toxic methane. Instead, we are using the organic material to create a rich, fertile soil amendment that retains moisture and nurtures our farms and gardens. Beyond that, composting sets up the carbon sequestration cycle which actually REVERSES CLIMATE CHANGE BY REMOVING CARBON FROM THE ATMOSPHERE. Read to the bottom if you’d like to know exactly how.
Since the program’s inception in April 2014, we have diverted
over 1.4 million pounds of food scraps
thanks to these pioneering establishments:
Sweetwater Harvest Kitchen, Blue Corn Brewery (Southside), Del Charro, Restaurant Martin, Cowgirl BBQ, La Choza, The Shed, L’Olivier, Cheesemongers, Whole Foods, Second Street Brewery, Verde Juice, and Santa Fe Hard Cider.
Are you part of a local business that would like to participate?
Our goal is to make food scraps/organics separation AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE for our restaurant clients, and to make a seamless transition from trash to treasure! We will be providing bins, bags, labels and 64-gallon wheeled carts for collection 1, 2 or 3 times per week. Fees for services are comparable to the City fees for cart services, and we will do a trash audit for you–your monthly fee should be the same or lower by adding compost to your routine…not to mention the great publicity as a pioneer on this important eco project! If your restaurant or institution is interested in participating, please contact us for program details and to schedule an appointment to discuss your particular logistics. Call 505-629-0836 Monday-Friday 9am-6pm.
We have trained ten Santa Fe Public School cafeterias in food waste separation since September 2014.
Thanks to all the staff and students at Salazar, Gonzalez, Aspen, Nina Otero, Pinon, Nava, Ramirez Thomas, Acequia Madre, Kearny, Wood Gormley, El Camino Real and Sweeney Elementary Schools!!
Did you know that composting not only keeps your food scraps out of the landfill, reduces methane emissions and makes your farm or garden healthier, it ACTUALLY REVERSES THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH CARBON SEQUESTRATION. How?
Soil is one of the most important natural resources on the planet. Together with sunlight, air and water it provides the basis for life today. Soil is complex mix of minerals, air, water, and countless microorganisms that comes in many types. It is what allows us to grow our food, filter water, and is host to the greatest concentration of biomass anywhere on the planet. It forms at the surface of land,like a skin for the ground.
Plants, with sunlight and water, perform photosynthesis. They pull carbon in from the air and turn it into carbohydrates, sugars. Then they pump some of these sugars down through their roots to feed micro organisms who use that carbon to build soil. Voila! Carbon moved! The plants pump it in, and the soil stores it. Nature’s living technology is amazing! All the carbon in carbohydrates come from the air and nowhere else. Through photosynthesis, plants convert the sun’s energy into simple sugars or carbohydrates. The plants use water (H2O) from the soil and carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air and recombine them to form carbohydrates (COH) and oxygen (O2). These carbohydrates then form the basis ofthe food chain for humans, animals and the soil ecosystem. Living plant roots actively exude sugars, amino acids and other compounds into the soil to feed soil organisms that in return provide nutrients to the plants and build the soil. Microbes in the soil create enzymes to break down existing organic matter or mineral soil, making nutrients more available to the plant. And, they use these carbohydrates (sugars) to build carbon glues that aggregate the soil particles so air and water can move through the soil system. Mycorrhizae are a specific and especially beneficial fungi that form symbiotic associations with plant roots in the soil. Enlarging the surface-absorbing area of the roots by 100 to 1,000 times or more, mycorrhizae create long threads that create a net which acts like an extension of the root system. This makes the roots of the plant much more effective in the uptake of water and nutrients.
From Soil Story