6th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum Panel 5: BMPs and Rodent Control Linda Bilsens Brolis Institute for Local Self-Reliance Washington, D.C.

1. Linda Bilsens Brolis
Project Manager, Composting for Community Initiative
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
6th National Cultivating Community Composting Forum
May 14th, 2019
Community Composting Done Right:
A Guide to Best Management Practices

3. Report Overview
Part 1: For New Composters
and New Sites
Part 2: The Science and Art
of Composting
Part 3: Managing the
Composting Process and Your
Site
Appendices:
• Glossary of Terms
• Troubleshooting FAQ
• Troubleshooting Table
• Sample Monitoring Data Sheet
• Community Composting in GA

4. Source: L. Bilsens Brolis, B. Platt, Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best Management Practices,
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2019 (www.ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide). Reprinted with permission.

5. Why BMPs for Community-Scale?
To ensure public safety
To prevent public nuisances
(real or perceived)
To maximize benefits
Community-scale is:
• Generally exempt or altogether
absent from permitting
requirements
• Often managed by volunteers
• GREAT for educating the public
about composting…but not if
mismanaged
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance and ECO City Farms launched the
Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program in 2014. NSR
lead instructor, Benny Erez, third from right. Source: Institute for Local
Self-Reliance.

6. How do BMPs change…
Based on:
Scale?
Level of volunteer
involvement?
Location?
What you compost?
• Types
• Sources
End use?

7. Key Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Identifying your team
and a management plan
Selecting and laying out
the site
Developing your
composting recipe
Building and maintaining
your compost pile
Monitoring and keeping
records
Finishing the composting
process & testing
Health and safety
considerations
BK Rot in Brooklyn, started by Sandy Nurse and Renee Peperone in 2013, pays a
living wage to local youth who manage the bike-powered food scrap collection
and composting enterprise. Source: Valery Rizzo.

8. Source: L. Bilsens Brolis, B. Platt, Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best Management Practices,
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2019 (www.ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide). Reprinted with permission.

9. Source: L. Bilsens Brolis, B. Platt, Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best Management Practices,
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2019 (www.ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide). Reprinted with permission.

10. Before You Begin
Clarify your
composting
• goals
• team
• method
Training matters!
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation’s Community Compost Cooperative
Network requires at least one active manager at each of its 50+ sites. The cooperative
at Howard University pictured here. Source: Loop Closing.

11. Source: L. Bilsens Brolis, B. Platt, Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best Management Practices,
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2019 (www.ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide). Reprinted with permission.

12. Site Layout:
Set yourself up for success!
You need space:
 To compost
 To store browns (carbon source &
bulking materials)
 To store temperature probe, scale,
recording binder
 To cure
 To screen
 To store finished compost
 To handle water
 To move around
 To breathe
The layout of a composting site should allow for a logical and efficient flow of
materials and people, while minimizing the potential for contamination of more
stable materials. Adapted from Oregon State University, Agricultural Composting
and Water Quality (2013).

13. Source: L. Bilsens Brolis, B. Platt, Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best Management Practices,
Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 2019 (www.ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide). Reprinted with permission.

14. Determine Your Compost Recipe
Method 1: 3 parts browns to 1 part greens

15. The Science & Art of Composting
Source: Adapted from Benny Erez, “The Composting Process”,
Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program.
Jesse Williams of Rust Belt Riders unloads food scraps collected in
the Cleveland area. Source: Jacob Koestler.

16. The Science & Art of Composting
Building your composting
pile
A cross-section of a well-built composting pile.
Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance
The NYC Compost Project
hosted by Earth Matter NY
is located on Governors
Island and composts food
scraps from the broader
NYC community. Source:
Earth Matter.

17. Monitoring & Keeping Records
Temperature
Aeration & odors
Moisture
Pests
BK ROT in Brooklyn uses a simple data log to track
temperatures and other observations and actions.
Sources: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, BK ROT.
Community Composting Done Right: A Guide to Best
Management Practices, Appendix D. Available for download at
https://ilsr.org/composting-bmp-guide/.

18. Managing the Composting
Process & Your Site
Health & safety
considerations
Red Hook Community Farm has designated tools for
composting that are labeled and stored separately from
gardening tools. Source: Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

19. Managing the Composting
Process & Your Site
Turning or remixing
Monitoring & keeping
records
Managing Problems

20. Compost Testing
Field Tests:
• “Ziplock” test
• Solvita for maturity
• Seed germination bioassay for
phytotoxins
• Electrical conductivity for soluble salt
content
• pH
Lab Tests:
• Nutrient content
• Organic matter
• Trace metals
• Pathogens
Neighborhood Soil Rebuilders Composter Training Program