Eco friendly solutions in St Maarten / Sint Martin
After a quiet July, August was a busy month for the Green SXM Pilot Compost Project. The first batch of compost has been almost entirely used up, and chamber 1 of the composter is now full with batch 2. Once again, the compost is hot (above 140 degrees Fahrenheit) , and aerated using forced air from a blower, reducing the frequency of turning the pile.
Continue reading “Batch 2 is Cooking – Green SXM Pilot Compost Project: Month 3”
When starting out with small compost piles, you can follow ‘rule of thumb’ measurements rather than calculating the carbon to nitrogen ratio. Simply add one part green to two parts brown, and your compost should be roughly balanced.
Continue reading “Calculating Carbon to Nitrogen Ratios”
The area in front of the compost bins is either muddy or dusty, with a few opportunistic weeds inbetween. To help control this, we decided to add sargassum mulch.
Sargassum is best collected by hand just above the surf line – anything above is usually already smelly and full of flies and gnats.
As we were mulching a path, the sargassum wasn’t rinsed. We applied it 6” thick, working in small patches as collecting seaweed is a heavy job!
Continue reading “Sargassum Mulch – Green SXM Pilot Compost Project: Week 7”
Temperatures have remained between 133 and 155 degrees Fahrenheit. The composter is now just over half full.
The Green SXM Pilot Compost Project is an add-as-you-go pile designed and scaled to process the waste created in a restaurant that serves between 400-500 meals a week. While the restaurant could provide more waste, we chose the 1 cubic meter limit because of the work required balancing the fruit and vegetable waste with enough carbon. Also, 40-50 lbs of food waste every two days is just the right amount to mix in one standard size wheelbarrow.
Continue reading “Green SXM Pilot Compost Project: Intro and Week 1”
