Compost News

Ann Lovejoy Speaks Out Against Killer Compost

Ann Lovejoy is one of the Northwest's leading garden writers. In her most recent column in the Seattle P-I (below) Ann calls on her readers to join in the campaign to stop the production and distribution of herbicides containing clopyralid, a toxic chemical with the potential to kill the compost industry.

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From The Garden: Beware of Herbicide-Laced Compost

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Thursday, January 10, 2002 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/53843_lovejoy10.shtml

By ANN LOVEJOY

I recently organized a daylong workshop for nursery professionals on compost and brewed compost teas. The main speaker was Vicki Bess, a microbiologist who works with producers of commercial compost products.

Her slide programs introduced the basic concepts of soil biodiversity, then explored the success of both pathogen suppression and boosting soil fertility with composts and aerobically brewed compost teas. For many of the nursery folks in attendance, seeing the evidence created a shift in awareness.

For Art Biggert, who runs his consumer-supported Ocean Sky Farm with sustainable agricultural techniques, the program was extremely helpful. "I knew quite a bit from reading and from my own experience, but seeing pathogen suppression in action through the slides was a revelation," Art reported.

Most of the workshop programs were full of excitement and hope. Several developers of systems for brewing compost tea decided to develop standards and guidelines together for this young, pioneering industry. Though they sell rival products, they are now supporting each other through sharing ideas, information and experience.

Urban composters from Cedar Grove and LRI Inc. explained how, with advanced techniques and constant testing, they may achieve certified organic status for compost, potting soil, mulch and top soil derived from city-collected green wastes. Even when the stock material is contaminated with pesticides and herbicides, they are usually able to break down the toxins to undetectable quantities.

One very somber note was introduced near the end, during an exhilarating panel discussion among compost makers and tea brewers. Biggert, whose crops had suffered mysterious failures, asked if the panel members knew anything about "killer compost."

Sadly, many did know. Killer composts contain almost undetectable quantities of clopyralid, an herbicide made by Dow Chemical. Even at 5 parts per billion, clopyralid residues can create toxic effect on legumes (notably beans and peas) and members of the nightshade family, including tomatoes, eggplants and peppers.

The most common commercial forms of clopyralid are sold as Confront, Curtail and Stinger. The commercial pesticide containers carry a warning that crops sprayed with clopyralid can't be composted, indicating that Dow Chemical has long been aware that residues of clopyralid continue to damage crops even years after the initial application.

Indeed, Washington State University has been testing composts made with clopyralid-tainted crops for several years. At present, it seems that the toxin can be broken down only so far, then remains stable and active even after two years or more of aggressive composting.

What has this to do with home gardeners? Potentially, plenty. Art's farm compost became contaminated when he collected manure and stable bedding from his neighbor's horses. The bedding straw was bought at a local feed store, but traced to fields in Eastern Washington.

As it turns out, nearly all hay and wheat crops grown in Eastern Washington are at least spot-sprayed with clopyralid, the herbicide of choice for Canadian thistles and other grain crop pests. Out of a huge crop of hay and straw, perhaps 100 bales will be deadly and 10,000 harmless, but there is no way to identify which is which.

As Confront, clopyralid is used by nearly every major commercial lawn care service in Eastern Washington. Thus, all those lawn clippings are contaminated and no longer suitable for composting.

Dow's position is that since the original clopyralid container was labeled as unsafe for composting, it becomes the farmer's responsibility to label all end products that may have been contaminated.

The organic growers in Eastern Washington who lost their certification due to involuntary clopyralid contamination disagree. So do officials at WSU at Pullman who have paid out more than $200,000 in damages to growers whose tomato crops were killed by clopyralid-contaminated WSU compost. So, thankfully, does Eastern Washington University, where researchers are calling on Dow to cease clopyralid production.

Urban commercial composters are also deeply concerned, realizing that they could inadvertently pass along killer composts to customers. They, too, are requesting that clopyralid be banned in Washington state.

Similar killer compost problems are emerging through research conducted in several states and as far away as New Zealand.

Instead of listening, Dow recently announced plans to introduce a home-consumer line of clopyralid products for lawn and garden use. Understandably, this proposal has the entire green industry alarmed. Should clopyralid products come to be included with chemical lawn feeds, one obvious side effect could be the destruction of the commercial composting industry.

How can urban recycling composters screen for the presence of clopyralid in every sack of collected lawn clippings? The answer is, they can't. Thus, they won't be able to use any homeowner's green wastes, since the risk of deadly contamination would be too high.

Since Dow is unwilling to take this product off the market, it is up to us. As gardeners, we cannot only refuse to buy any product that contains clopyralid, we can request that local nurseries and garden centers also refuse to stock them. Copy this article and ask the store chemical buyers to read it.

Here is a Web site where you can learn more about clopyralid: http://www.grrn.org/dow/index.html .

In Seattle, you may contact Gabriella Uhlar-Heffner for more information at 206-386-9772 or email: GabriellaUhlar-Heffner@ci.seattle.wa.us .

To write to Dow: Dow Agrosciences, LLC9330, Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268-105430.  

Athena Lee Bradley Computer Repair Training Program Goodwill Industries --Knoxville, Inc.        

EPPNET, the Environmentally Preferable Products Procurement Listserv sponsored by The Northeast Recycling Council (NERC) For more information visit this list's webpage at http://www.nerc.org/eppnet.html or NERC's home page at http://www.nerc.org/