Introduction

To make wise decisions about how to manage waste, it is important to know what the possibilities are. One method successfully implemented across Alaska is composting. Accurate information and education is needed to expand efforts; that is what this booklet is about. In 1996, the Alaska Science and Technology Foundation (ASTF) established a Compost Work Group to draw together individuals and businesses that were involved and interested in large scale composting. This booklet was developed in 1998 as an outreach tool of the ASTF Compost Work Group and the Cooperative Extension Service (CES).

In Alaska, composting is a successful method for reducing waste and producing a marketable product. The beneficial uses of compost are well known; improve soil fertility, texture, and disease control, etc. There are some basic principles that must be followed to produce a good quality, finished product that has the properties desired (see compost definition that follows).

This booklet contains summaries on projects that may no longer exist, but that may provide relevant information to make your composting project successful.

• Definition of compost
  
• Department of Environmental Conservation permit requirements for composting
• Alaska fish and chips in Haines, 1994
• Composting waste in the Anchorage area, 1998
• Composting dog waste in Fairbanks, 1998
• Composting of lawn and farm wastes in North Pole, 1998
• Waste disposal with Sitka Tribal Enterprises, 1998
• Composting camp and sludge in Prudhoe Bay oilfields, 1998
• Composting at the wastewater treatment plant in Fairbanks, 2008
• Submit your project- form