Join us as Steve Birchfield gives us a tour of Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, as we try to answer the question, “There is too much trash. What can we do?” See how your yard waste and food scraps become LeafGro®, a soil amendment that makes your soil more nutrient-rich.
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A Visit to the Organics Composting Facility in Prince George’s County
Parks and Recreation, Prince George’s County
Join us as Steve gives us a tour of Prince George’s County Organics Facility in Upper Marlboro, MD, as we try to answer the question: “There is too much trash—what can we do?” See how your yard waste and food scraps become LeafGro®, a soil amendment that makes your soil more nutrient-rich.
What’s up, everybody? This is Baba Bomani, and welcome to Baba Bomani’s Basement. Today, our good friends at the William S. Schmidt Center, otherwise known as Camp Schmidt, are sending us on an amazing field trip to the Prince George’s County Organics Composting Facility.
We are going to learn how food scraps and lawn clippings turn into nutrients for the soil we grow our food in. Keep an eye out for vocabulary words and make sure to ask questions when we reach the end.
Let’s go!
Behind me, we have our open windrows. Windrows are open rows filled with yard waste—grass, leaves, and brush. They take about eight months from start to finish to process. In comparison, our food scraps program using the Gore system only takes eight weeks. While the windrow process is significantly longer, it produces a high-quality product.
This facility began with windrow operations in 1991, with over 50 to 60 rows across the entire site. Now, we use a designated pad for this process.
Behind us is the food scraps receiving area, where composting begins. This is where food scraps are delivered. Once they arrive, they are covered with a carbon source to help prevent flies, vermin, birds, and rodents. The natural carbon source on-site helps keep the area clear.
Once we have a pile, we put it through our grinder, where materials are mixed and broken down. Then, it goes into the Gore cover system for a total of eight weeks. Afterward, it matures for another two to four weeks before being screened and sold as finished compost, ready to be used in gardens.
Our Gore cover system consists of 12 bunkers and eight mobile heaps. Each bunker processes approximately 300 tons of food scraps. This system accelerates the composting process by controlling the internal environment, while its Gore-Tex-like covers help trap odors.
From start to finish, the process for LeafGro® Gold is simple:
- Food scraps arrive and are processed through the grinder.
- They spend eight weeks in the Gore system.
- After coming out, they mature for another two weeks.
- The compost is screened and made available to the public.
At the compost site, we also focus on other environmental efforts. We collect and reuse used oil from loaders and trucks as fuel to heat our shop in the winter. This is one more way that Maryland Environmental Service and Prince George’s County are working to protect the environment.
There is too much trash — what can we do? The William S. Schmidt Center has some tips:
- Compost food scraps and yard waste.
- Reduce what we throw away to minimize environmental impact.
- Divert waste to sustainable solutions.
By composting food scraps and organic waste, we help reduce waste, create nutrient-rich soil, and give back to the community.
One thing we learned today with Camp Schmidt: Composting makes a difference!