Compost Campaign: What to Keep and What to Pitch When Organizing Waste

By Reece Nations, Managing Editor

Graphic by Reece Nations

While the lasting effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have led to workforce constraints, the Texas Tech Operations Division services persist under duress. 

One facet of Operation Divisions on-campus services includes full time trimming and limb removal and repurposing the material to help with grounds maintenance, Charles Leatherwood, Operations Division Managing Director for Grounds Maintenance, said. 

“Ever since I started working here — especially with the mulching of trees, tree limbs and all of that — we’ve been doing that for over thirty-nine years,” Leatherwood said. “And I think it’s just being a good steward.”

Photo by Patricia Valério on Unsplash.

When tree limbs fall or are pruned by grounds maintenance staff, the discarded plant material is brought to a centralized location on campus where it is shredded and reused in flower beds around campus, Leatherwood said. 

This plant material, when ground down and combined with dead leaves, food scraps, fertilizer and decomposed granite, allows flora throughout Texas Tech’s campus grounds to flourish on limited amounts of water, he said. This practice, in tandem with automated irrigation techniques, is crucial in keeping up appearances in the drought-ravaged high plains. 

“You know, there’s no sense taking that to the landfill when we have the capability of grinding it ourselves and then (releasing) it on campus, where the well water will irrigate,” Leatherwood said. 

Similarly, Lubbock residents can help keep reusable plant material out of landfills by breaking down and collecting yard debris and disposing of it at a City of Lubbock Citizen Convenience Drop-Off Station, according to Lubbock Solid Waste Management. 

Large hedge trimmings and trees not exceeding three inches in diameter and have been trimmed to not exceed five feet in length can be brought to these stations. Tree trimmings, grass clippings, leaves and small spent plants can also be disposed of at these locations. 

Small rocks, loose gravel and “other debris not common in normal yard maintenance” cannot be brought to the convenience stations, according to Solid Waste Management. This material must be “loaded, secured with a tarp and taken to the landfill” because it is “not typical household waste and indicator of remodeling or other large jobs.”

Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash.

Citizens convenience stations accepting yard waste can be found at the following locations: 1631 84th Street; 208 Municipal Drive; 7308 Milwaukee Avenue and 4307 Adrian Street. 

Food scraps — such as fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, eggshells nutshells and teabags — account for 15% of household waste according to takecareoftexas.org. Sawdust, wood chips, fur, hair, fryer or vacuum cleaner lint and shredded cardboard and paper is all compostable material as well. 

Yard trimmings that have been treated with chemical pesticides should not be composted, in addition to “diseased and insect-infected plants,” Take Care of Texas advises. Further, avoid adding pet droppings, cat litter, shavings and sawdust from treated wood, charcoal or coal ashes and noxious weeds with seeds or runners to one’s compost pile.

Graphic by Reece Nations

“I would just, in general, like to encourage our public if they’ve got items that they think are hard to discard — something that you couldn’t necessarily just put in a dumpster — to reach out to us, we probably have some ability to help with some of that,” Brenda Haney, City of Lubbock Director of Solid Waste Services, said. “And we can direct them to a way to get rid of those items in such a way that they can be managed more safely.” 

By mixing compost into their lawn or garden, residents can reduce their need for watering by up to 60%, according to Take Care of Texas. When in doubt, it is advised that residents consult local waste management authorities before disposing of solid waste material. 

Yard debris like leaves, limbs and grass clipping comprise 13% of waste sent to landfills annually, according to Take Care of Texas. Rather the repurposing this debris, it costs Texans over $250 million yearly to collect and dispose of it.

“You don’t need to pile brush up somewhere on the side of the road,” Haney said. “You can take it to one of the main drop off facilities and we grind that up and utilize that mulch we have and make it available for folks that want to come in and get some of that.”