By Blair Mohn EBS CONTRIBUTOR
Editor’s note: Kathy Bouchard, who regularly writes
“Reflections,” is taking a short leave from writing this column. Her fellow Big
Sky Rotarian Blair Mohn is temporarily stepping in.
Like most everybody
in Big Sky, my wife Megan and I moved here from elsewhere. But given we moved
just two years ago, we haven’t lost our surprise at the absence of convenient
recycling and composting in Big Sky. So, through the Rotary Club and the
broader community Sustainability Network Organization, we are collaborating for
improvement.
Most people are
familiar with recycling, however composting is a newer industry and equally
important to create an environmentally sustainable community. Composting is a
process that diverts food waste plus compostable food and beverage containers
from trash dumps to a commercial composter, which turns these materials into
rich topsoil.
Did you know both
business and home composting services exist in Big Sky? They do!
Many restaurants are
sending their food waste to compost and offering takeout meals in compostable
containers. Please ask if your restaurant of choice is doing this, thank them
if they do, and encourage them to switch if they do not. Trash-hauling fees are
reduced when a restaurant adds composting since their garbage volume is
reduced.
In Big Sky, we’ve
seen much progress this past year. Last season Big Sky Farmers Market vendors
switched to compostable containers and the Town Center added collection bins with
service. The Big Sky PBR and Peak to Sky concert were nearly zero-waste events sending
almost nothing to the dump by coordinating recycling and composting. And Big
Sky Resort added composting to their waste control options with the opening of
the refurbished Vista Hall.
Our home service in
the area costs $15 per month. We receive a green bucket that we fill over the
course of two weeks then place the full bucket outside on the pickup date when
it’s swapped for a clean bucket. Combined with recycling, it takes us about a
month to fill the regular bear proof residential garbage container.
While home composting
to use in your garden is possible in many parts of the country, given the bears
and other wildlife in the Big Sky area, it should be avoided. Luckily we now
have a service provider.
For local service, contact Karl Johnson at Yes Compost by visiting yescompost.com or calling (406) 219-7011.
