Compost tainted by herbicide Future of solid waste system's contract in doubt if Colbert product can't be sold

Oliver Staley - Staff writer

Tons of compost from the troubled regional composting facility are tainted by a herbicide and are unusable for many agricultural uses, the Spokane City Council was told Monday.

The presence of the herbicide, a Dow AgroSciences product called Confront, also throws into question the future of the Spokane Regional Solid Waste System's contract with the company that operates the Colbert facility, said Dennis Hein, director of the system.

"The implications are pretty significant," Hein told the council.

The solid waste system is a joint venture of the city and county, but it is managed by the city.

So far, the herbicide's impact is confined to 47,000 cubic yards of compost -- about one year's worth -- that the system had planned to sell for $282,000. Now, that compost will be used on city landfills to help grow grass, which is not affected by Confront.

The larger concern is if Norcal, which has taken over operation of the facility, is unable to market compost in the future, Hein said. Norcal has planned to sell the compost at rates between $6 and $12 a cubic yard, he said.

"Our contractor expects to sell this product," Hein said. "It's quite possible that the contractor would seek relief (in court)."

While Hein said he believes the solid waste system is protected by its contract, he said he would rather not go that route.

Norcal spokesman Robert Reed said talk of lawsuits is premature.

Instead, Norcal, Dow and the solid waste system are working on a research project with Washington State University to find a solution.

"We've got a lot of resources looking at this concern, and we're going to do everything we can do to address it directly," Reed said.

The goal of the research is to develop a way to treat the compost to eliminate Confront's impacts. If that is unsuccessful, the system could propose a regional ban on the herbicide, Hein said.

This not the first controversy surrounding the compost facility.

The Solid Waste System recently settled a suit from area homeowners over foul odors emanating from the composting facility. The terms of the settlement requires the system to pay the homeowners $1.5 million and buy them out of 15 houses, which are now being resold.

As a result of the suit, the system switched contractors, and selected Norcal, which uses an "ag bag" technology that encloses the compost in plastic and may eliminate odors.

The herbicide problem was first detected in 1999, when a tomato farmer who purchased the compost reported that his crop was destroyed by compost produced with the old technology. The Solid Waste System paid three claims last year because of the problems with the compost, and it was hoped that Norcal's new method would eliminate the problem.

That was not the case, said Hein.

"We're surprised that it's in the ag bag," he said. "We're disappointed that it's in the ag bag."

But Norcal's Reed said the compost was tested in January, before the ag bag technology had an opportunity to work.

"The compost had not gone through the curing process," Reed said. "The process was not done."

The active ingredients in Confront are a pair of chemicals called triclopyr and clopyralid, which are considered safe for humans.

Confront has been used by golf courses and parks for about 10 years, Hein said, but only in the last five years has it been used on area lawns, where it kills dandelions and clover. The same properties that make it effective against weeds also destroy vegetable plants.

Composting facilities in other regions haven't had the same problems, in part because they are in areas that don't seem to use as much of the herbicide, Hein said.

In Eastern Washington last year, 1,367 gallons of Confront was used, vs. 477 for Western Washington, Hein said.

It's widely used here because of the range of weeds it kills. And because there is a shorter growing season, it is used more intensely, he said.

Even more troubling is Confront's persistence, Hein said.

It is found in compost that is primarily leaves, which means it was either picked up by leaves on treated grass or transmitted through the tree into its new leaves. It could linger for three to five years, Hein said.

So far, Dow has been helpful in working toward a solution and has issued a bulletin to users of Confront suggesting they use less of the product, Hein said.

Even if the herbicide cannot be neutralized in the compost, there might still be uses for it, Reed said.

"There are multiple markets for compost," he said. "One market could be the sod market. We're working with all parties to see where it could be applied safely."

But while Norcal may be able to sell its tainted compost in the future, the solid waste system is out of luck this year.

"We're sitting on a whole bunch of really great compost and we don't have the ability to sell it," Hein said.

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-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001

Answers

That is just awful. The city of Durham picks up yard waste, composts it and gives it away to anyone who wants it. I refuse to use it because I've seen what was in the pick-up load my neighbor picked up. She had to sort out bits of plastic garbage bags, whole and broken plastic toys, a trowel, wire, and several unidentified bits of metal. Now if the people putting out yard trash are so careless with the visible stuff, you have to wonder about the diseased and contaminated material going in there. I'll stick with my own compost heap.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001

Actually, herbicides are just one reason. Persistent insecticides would be another. It's why organic gardeners are advised NOT to raid yard waste bags left curbside unless you know that owner does not use chemicals.

-- Anonymous, April 17, 2001