The inevitable happened
Have you seen
footage of the enormous mountains of
mulch fully ablaze at the Long
Island Compost facility in Yaphank
on July 11 and 12? At first glance
it looked like video of a Hawaiian
volcano. Sadly, but not surprisingly
they were burning mulch piles that
required more than two dozen fire
departments to extinguish. The brave
volunteers struggled to find
hydrants to combat the blaze and
were forced to close local roads to
run water hoses and employ the use
of water trucks. They say it may
take days for the internal
smoldering to cease.
For a number
of years residents have been voicing
their concerns to officials of the
town of Brookhaven, the New York
State Department of Environmental
Conservation and Suffolk County
Department of Health Services
without much recognition, support or
enforcement of obvious violation.
I believe the
piles are mandated to a maximum
height of 20 feet but are regularly
over 60 feet or higher, in my
estimation. High piles limit air
current and produce anaerobic
decomposition, which is the cause of
objectionable odors (the main
complaint of residents). Particulate
generation from grinding and
processing mulch (the second largest
complaint of residents) can be
greatly controlled through the use
of a sprinkler system.
Had there been
a sprinkler system in place, there
would not likely have been piles of
mulch spontaneously combusting. A
sprinkler system would also cool the
hot piles of mulch. Standing water
reclamation and precise length of
time and pile turning management of
the decomposition process are other
crucial aspects of non-nuisance
composting.
The Long
Island Compost facility in Yaphank
should be closed until it can be
made to respect the letter of the
law, modernized and proven to
operate in a safe, non-invasive
manner before operations can resume.
Christopher
Broszeit
Yaphank
