The pile of fruit and vegetable scraps bakes for weeks under a breathable cover, eventually reaching temperatures above 160 degrees. Broken down by microbes and carefully monitored by employees of the governments of Maryland and Prince George’s County, the waste transforms into a fine brown dirt that can be sold in bulk as garden compost for $12.50 per cubic yard.
“That’s the gold,” operations manager Randy Bolt said recently, as he handed a pair of gloves to supervisor Steven Birchfield, who pushed into the pile and cupped the fresh compost in his hands as if it were a newborn. “This stuff sells out fast.”
The nutrient-rich mixture is a valuable commodity for Prince George’s, which is hoping eventually to make a profit selling the mixture to urban farms, home gardeners and larger clients (current customers include the White House, the University of Maryland and Denison Landscaping).
The county’s initial efforts have been helped by a federal grant covering 8 percent of costs, though the operation is still only breaking even, selling 5,800 tons of compost since the pilot began in 2013, officials said.
But as interest in the issue spreads east from the West Coast, Prince George’s officials are convinced the county’s operation can be one of the first run by a government that makes money through the large-scale composting of food waste.