By: Isabel Lisle (SLVEC Communications Manager)
Date: September 11, 2024
In a piece of land across from the Salida airport, Julie Mach and her assistant
Rook Stavish are running a residential and commercial composting operation
called Elements Mountain Compost that services rural communities throughout Colorado.
They regularly collect compost from Salida, Alamosa, Buena Vista and Canyon City from City Market, the school districts, and some local residential areas.
This September, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council took a tour of the compost facility to learn more about what happens the compost from the Alamosa City Market.
Compost Process:
Each week, Julie and Rook drove a trailer to Alamosa to collect the compost from the city Market that serves the San Luis Valley. Once at the Salida site, the compost takes about three months to turn into soil.
First, the compost pile is mixed with wood chips and covered in a tarp and
turned twice a week.
Next, it’s turned and mixed again as BPI certified compostable products like
cups, plates, and utensils begin to break down.
BPI Compostable certified cup breaks down in the compost pile 
Rook points to new compost pile, scraps collected from Alamosa City Market After 2 months, plastic, fruit stickers, and other non-biodegradable materials that are
not sorted correctly become apparent. The temperature of this compost pile got up to
140 degrees fahrenheit during our visit due to the activity of microbes and other
bacteria actively eating and breaking down the food within the pile.
At 3 months, the compost is put into a sifter and any of these non-compostable
materials are sifted out of the pile.
Then, the compost is ready to be distributed and sold as soil for gardeners and
farmers across the state where it’s used to nourish our fresh vegetables.
Tour Updates
Both Julie and Rook explained why they are passionate about composting.
Rook shared that about ⅓ of what goes into our landfills is organic waste that could be composted. When organic waste goes to the landfill, it produces methane, a strong greenhouse gas that is eighty times more harmful than carbon emissions. So, in his mind, “composting just makes sense.” If organic waste can be repurposed into something useful like providing nutrient rich soil for our arid Colorado landscapes, and reducing space in the landfill, he says, then why aren’t we prioritizing composting more?
Julie stated that for her, composting is about bringing an awareness to individuals about the importance of waste diversion. She finds great meaning in educating people on the human component of where waste goes and its inherent value. Julie’s vision for Elements Mountain Compost is to expand and create satellite operations in Alamosa, Buena Vista, Canyon City, Alamosa, and Leadville that are able to function as mini compost facilities in their own communities.
Learn more at https://www.elementscompost.com/.
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