Calabasas : Compost Giveaway Program Expanded

Demand for compost produced from sludge is running so high that west county residents will be required to show good reason before they can get more.

The compost giveaway program run by the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District has become so popular that the agency has also decided to increase the amount residents may receive.

Water district customers have been limited to 70 cubic feet a year, or roughly a pickup truck full. The agency’s Board of Directors voted Tuesday to allow them more if they can show good reason.

How much more they could receive would be determined on a case-by-case basis, said the district’s spokeswoman, Arlene Post.

The compost is made at Rancho Las Virgenes Composting Facility in Calabasas, using sludge piped in from Tapia Water Reclamation Facility about two miles away. Some of the compost--which is safe enough to use on gardens--is given to Carson-based Kellogg Supply Inc. in exchange for sawdust used in making the compost.

District officials said that since the program began last November, they have given away 22,115 cubic feet of compost.

To be eligible for more, customers must write a letter stating why they need more. District officials said they want to make sure the compost is not sold or used for commercial purposes.

Some customers can easily use more than 70 cubic feet, officials said. “Many of the residents have large properties . . . or the soil is very sandy or a heavy clay,” said Jim Graham, the district’s water conservation coordinator.

The $50-million, state-of-the-art facility, one of the few of its kind in the nation, is touted as part of the answer to the area’s recycling needs.