Gold Dust Compost on sale soon
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on March 2, 2004 1:59 PM
Goldsboro gardeners will soon be able to buy bags of the city's high-quality compost and mulch.
Several nurseries in Wayne County will be selling bags of the material. The city will also sell from its compost plant, but there, customers must buy at least 50 bags per purchase.
The compost will be on sale at places like Casey's Garden Center, Long's Plant Farm, Mulch X-Press, and Waltham Gardens.
The mixture, called "Gold Dust Compost," is made at the city's compost plant from biosolids and yard waste. It will be sold in 20-pound or 40-pound bags.
The city has been selling the compost per the cubic yard since last fall to several businesses in the area, but it has received a number of requests from citizens who also want to buy it.
City Manager Richard Slozak said the city didn't have enough staff to sell individual bags to citizens. The city will charge 75 cents for the 20-pound bag, and $1.50 for the 40-pound bag, but orders must be for at least 50 bags from the compost plant.
Public Utilities Director Karen Brashear brought some samples of the compost Monday for council members to look at, and smell.
"It has no odor," she said, "and this table top has more bacteria than the compost. Most of this is chipped yard waste."
Goldsboro's compost is tested by the Seal of Testing Assurance Program of the United States Composting Council, and it receives the highest grading possible.
"It's a feeding mulch," Ms. Brashear said. "That means that when it rains it will trickle down nutrients to the plant a little at a time."
Currently city staff is hand-bagging and hand-sealing the compost material.
"If it takes off, we could see about working with one of the correctional facilities and maybe getting some of the prisoners to help with this," Slozak said.