[USCC] treating compost as a science, art and business

[John A. Crockett]

Recently I saw a post on the list asking if anyone was willing to accept
horse manure and shavings with no tipping fee, and they even expected the
composter to pay for the loading and hauling.

I tried composting horse manure and shavings for six and a half years,
without much tipping fee, and one of the things I learned is that finished
product sales income, even at $25 / cy, does not provide enough income to
provide a reasonable profit after paying the cost of proper management of
the material.   Composting, to be done right, and be sustainable, must yield
a reasonable return on investment of capital and other resources, including
our time and energy.  Finished product sales income can't cover all those
expense.  Those who generate the organic residuals need to bare a
significant portion of the cost of transforming those organic residuals into
a marketable product.

Creating a sustainable environment requires that we cover all costs. To
create a better industry image, we've got to improve our processing so there
are NO foul odors, and no risk to ground water quality, no adverse affects
from our composting.  That costs money, and much of that has to be covered,
in my opinion, by tipping fees.

If you don't believe you, and your services have real value, then your
belief will undermine your ability to command a reasonable tipping fee.
With some organic residuals, $50 per ton, or more, may be a very reasonable
tipping fee.  If you're a composting professional, and want to stay in
business, look at realistic numbers, an income and expense statement.

Working Together to Create a Sustainable Environment,
John A. Crockett, a.k.a. Dr. Mike Robe
Mother Nature's Farms, Inc.
(845) 225-7763
http://www.magicsoil.com/
jac at magicsoil.com