Local permaculture expert and composting enthusiast Whitney Vanderleest recently put out a notice to the Cortes Island community that their household compost could be dropped off at her farm, or picked up from any residence. She received no response.

Household waste on Cortes Island is picked up curbside on a weekly basis, transferred to the Cortes Depot, then shipped off-island to a landfill in Campbell River.

In a 2017 Waste Composition Study for the Comox Strathcona Waste Management service (which manages waste from Strathcona district), it was found that organic material made up the largest component of divertible materials in household waste, with 20 per cent of that consisting of food waste. Vanderleest and others want to change that by undertaking initiatives to keep organic waste on the island, and turning it into valuable compost—a soil amendment that can be used in local gardens.

Vanderleest has had more success, however, in composting local woodchips. Recently, the Strathcona Regional District, thanks to advocacy by Vanderleest and other Cortes Islanders, announced that wood chips generated locally through the FireSmart Residential Driveway Wood Chipping Service can stay and be composted on the island (previously reported), rather than being shipped away.

Listen to the CKTZ interview with Whitney Vanderleest: