Prince George, B.C.- Gardeners who are getting  a jump on their annual chores  are welcome to get some free compost from the Foothills Landfill this Sunday.

For the cost of a donation of  a non perishable food item ( for the St. Vincent DePaul Society)  Regional District  staff will load  a pick up truck or  trailer with   about  2 metres of the  soil  enhancing compost.

This will actually  be  a three  way win  says  Rachael Ryder, Waste Diversion Program  Leader with  the Regional  District of Fraser Fort George   “Gardeners get  compost,   the  St. Vincent De Paul Society  gets  the food donations,  and the Landfill  gets to reduce its  compost pile in preparation for the  changes to the  entrance to the  Foothills Landfill.”

The entrance project is expected to  start next year,   and will  see traffic  entering the landfill in the area where the compost is  currently  stored.

“We make about 5 batches of compost  each  year, which  totals about 2,000 cubic metres”  says Ryder   who  adds that  other than this  free event,  a load of compost  normally costs $30 dollars.  “We find that  those who  take advantage of this free event  often return  later   and pay for  extra loads.”  The compost,  called NorGrow, is produced in accordance with the Provincial Organic Matter Recycling Regulation, and is classified as a Class A compost.  It is produced from local yard and garden waste of grass clippings, leaves, shrubs, and branches. There are no biosolids (residuals from the municipal wastewater treatment plant) in NorGrow.

To  make sure  the  compost loading doesn’t conflict with normal  operations at the Landfill,   the gates will be  open  at 8 am on Sunday for  those  who want compost,  while garbage won’t be accepted until 10.  Ryder advises those who are making the trip to get compost  refrain from making this a double duty visit  ” If  they  bring garbage,  they will have to wait to get on the scales,  then  get back in line for the compost”.  No truck or trailer?  No problem,   Ryder says you can bring buckets to  be filled.

Last year,  250  pick up loads of compost  (about 500 cubic  metres) were  moved during the free compost day .

The event runs from 8 a.m to  noon on Sunday.