My grocery store produces a fair amount of waste (maybe a ton or two per month) of breads, and produce.
How feasible is it for me to buy an acre of land and use it as a compost heap, which we later harvest and sell in our stores?
Would it be worth the trouble? Any laws prohibiting this (Wisconsin)
I think you would essentially create a rat farm.
Yeah, not a good idea. Compost needs the right mix of plant matter, moisture, air and such to be any good. All you would be doing is making a mess. A better idea would be to contact local pig farms and see if they want the material as a feed supplement. I know that several farms outside Las Vegas live off of buffet leftovers.
I did it for a few years when I was gardening. You need the right ratio of nitrogen to carbon. You have no nitrogen (grass clippings are simple). It has to assembled fairly fast and pulled up high to achieve the necessary temperatures in the core. The core needs oxygen so you either need perforated tubes bulit into the heap, or turn it daily. If the minimum temperature/time is not achieved, you will have pathogens.
Does your county have a Master Composter program? Or does your city provide any kind of waste stream analysis? They LIVE for calls like yours!
I’d say 90% of my current organic waste goes to either pig or chicken farms.
But being the capitalist I am, always looking to trim fat where I can 
Sounds like you are on it, then. Maybe some following posters can give you some ideas.
Buying an acre of land out in the middle of nowhere for a sizable compost heap would be a lot less trouble than trying to use an acre in a populated area. People have misconceptions about compost heaps (such as their supposedly attracting vermin, alleged smell etc.) and there would likely be neighborhood opposition and a hassle over getting a permit. Then there’s the cost of labor to turn the pile regularly and to bag and transport it for sale.
Donating waste food that can’t be eaten to a local community garden to make compost might work out.
This thread reminds me that I have compost in a barrel that I haven’t checked for a few months. I probably should see what’s going on in there. 
:smack::eek:
[quote=“Jackmannii, post:8, topic:765139”]
Buying an acre of land out in the middle of nowhere for a sizable compost heap would be a lot less trouble than trying to use an acre in a populated area. People have misconceptions about compost heaps (such as their supposedly attracting vermin, alleged smell etc.) and there would likely be neighborhood opposition and a hassle over getting a permit. Then there’s the cost of labor to turn the pile regularly and to bag and transport it for sale
[quote]
The way I look at it, the incoming product to the heap would be free, since I’m either throwing or donating anyway.
I would have to haul there, get a skid steer to turn the heaps, buy custom bags, load the bags (or maybe sell bulk compost) transport it to the store, and come in at a better price than other compost. Which looks to me to be around $5 for 50lb.
Not really sure it would even make sense financially.
[quote=“Mrdeals, post:9, topic:765139”]
[quote=“Jackmannii, post:8, topic:765139”]
Buying an acre of land out in the middle of nowhere for a sizable compost heap would be a lot less trouble than trying to use an acre in a populated area. People have misconceptions about compost heaps (such as their supposedly attracting vermin, alleged smell etc.) and there would likely be neighborhood opposition and a hassle over getting a permit. Then there’s the cost of labor to turn the pile regularly and to bag and transport it for sale
Particularly since, I think, people don’t generally come to the grocery store to buy 50lb bags of compost. And, getting good sellable compost is going to take a bit more attention that just pushing it around with a skid steer once a month.
If I were you, I’d try to find someone in the area that does sell compost, and see if they want your waste as input. Even if they’re just coming and picking it up (neither of you paying the other), that’s saving you money on waste disposal (I assume you’re paying by the ton for garbage hauling). As a bonus, you can put up signs bragging about how environmentally responsible you are (depending on where you are in Wisconsin, I guess that might be a positive or negative).
There are even non-profit environmental groups (and sometimes state agencies) trying to help out with this kind of matchmaking, so you might do a web search or make a couple calls checking if anyone is doing that in your area.
I shudder to think what ends up in a pathologist’s compost barrel.
We had someone try something like that in my area. He got massive, massive inputs of organic waste and something or other did not go according to plan - he was shut down because the stench was making people downwind puking sick and sending those with breathing problems to the hospital.
Keep in mind, this is in an area notorious for stench and being downwind of steel mills and coke furnaces. Anything smelling bad enough to freak out the natives around here is really freakin’ awful.
So, yeah - requires a bit more than just piling crap on an acre of land and letting it decompose.
On the other hand, the city of Boston sells Bay State Fertilizer which is essentially the city’s treated sewage solids, so it’s possible to do such things. Just takes a bit more than a shovel, an empty lot, and a few months of time.
Nope. Straight to the pig farm.
Fibrous produce, no starchy produce.
That’s all I’ve got, but you’ve got a good thought at least. I’d say start small, nothing but veggies, and save your landscape trimmings if you’ve any of those. See how that goes, then build it up.