What really happens when you put a bag of leaves, grass, clippings, or other yard waste out at the road? Today we took a journey to follow what happens to that bag and how it ends up back in your garden.

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43 Comments
In Germany the town were I live, we have can get 2m^3 loose compost for 7,5 Euros.
JADAM should leave seedless Liquid, correct?
I had no idea about this facility, thanks for sharing.
Great idea! I'll have to look into doing that!
Here in Oregon, same thing but they sell the compost at a landfill for 25$ per yard. No minimum to buy but only sold per yard.
Keep making these kinds of videos! Though I love the gardening videos (and don't stop making them), these ones are nice too! Very interesting.
Only since you said it a bunch…methane is completely odorless. What you are smelling is probably the hydrogen sulfide or other organosulfur compounds that comes with anaerobic breakdown for the same reasons as the methane formation.
I get my compost from a place like that here in Texas
Great explanation, Luke, thanks! I'm going to see if there's anywhere better around here than my town. They want $1 per pound. Sounds very expensive to me. Hoping I can find something for free.
It worries me that I won't know what goes into a public compost facility. People put all kinds of things in their yard waste collection bags.
Great video. Thanks for sharing
I’m in Cape Town South Africa and I get people to dump their yard waste in my driveway and turn it into “free” compost! 🤣 it’s not really free since it’s a lot of labour but it doesn’t cost me money!
Does Indian Summers, Michigan or you ever check for PFAS. Compost great stuff but now I worry here in Virginia that animals are pastured in land fertilized with Biosolids which may be very high in PFAS.
Read about the organic farms in Maine shut down due to contaminated soil. Biosolid use now illegal, the only state so far to pass this legislation is Maine. I only get hay, straw, animal manure from organic farms using hopefully organic feeds. Our county and several others in Virginia allow biosolids to be spread
We go to the city compost & buy for our raised beds. Ours is $5-$20 a scoop (depends on how broke down it is). Takes 1 scoop to fill our truck bed & it's a 6' bed. We take our 24' trailer & leave with woodchips for $15 or $60 for compost dirt.
I'm glad you finally covered the tag, lot of whackos out there.
I watched to hear if their processes guarantee that viable invasive jumping worm cocoons (from unknowing neighbors whose properties are infested) don't end up on your property…to say nothing of Japanese knotweed, Tree of Heaven, Buckthorn, English Ivy, et al. Looks ok near as I can figure. I cannot say the same for my (northeast Wisconsin) recycling facility's practices. That compost looks beautiful.
Also, what about foodscaping folks like myself who have a mix of veg and fruit/tree/shrubs? Which would be better, a fungal or bacterially dominated soil?
Beautiful Compost it's Gorgeous!! Luke I always thought they were lying to us and it all went to the dump Thankful I was Very Very Wrong.. And I don't want you to know what I spent on soil. This is a life/game-changing video for me.
My hometown is the location of the county wide composting facility, although they stopped giving away free municipal compost two years ago. Their excuse was that they had dredged up the pond at the local nature center, and since it all got mixed together, it couldn't pass inspection. However, I saw construction companies trucking it off, which tells me they're selling it for profit rather than letting residents have it. I will never not be upset over this decision. You are not even allowed to purchase it. More than a year has passed since they did the dredging, yet they're still telling me the same thing, that they can't get the inspector to come.
This is why I've decided to compost the yard waste myself. Last year I started hauling away all the autumn leaf piles from my block. I'm going to shred them with the electric mower, spread them in the large unused flowerbed, and mix them with biodegradable cat litter to add nitrogen. That bed is already inoculated with wild fungi, which should help. I have a lot of containers and raised beds that will need filling next year, and I'm not holding my breath for the town to get its act together.
Have you ever had an issue with compost with roundup or roundup like compounds in them? Roots & Refuge along with other gardeners are starting to have this problem. I e learned that farms who still spray their pastures the poisons are still there in the manure. Last year I got mushroom compost, planted your Amish paste tomatoes & they were not only giant but so prolific I couldn’t use them all. My family thanks you.
How much "round up" do you get with that?
Good video BUT, in Urban areas a high amount of sprays are used in lawns and those clippings end up at municap facilities. Compost from those facilities is fine for "landscaping," but not so good for growing food. You should address this issue.
Awesome, I just paid $250 for six yards of mulch delivered. Wish I had access to something like this!
That rain is going to hit us in Cleveland tomorrow. 😂
By luck and some planning, my property doesn’t generate much yard waste. The greatest change was switching to grass that doesn’t need very much mowing. I can compost what little there is. To prep new planting beds for next year, I confiscated full bags from my garden club’s cleanup of a local park. Win-win!
My city does this and gives it away for free to residents in the city. I got quite a bit this year to start, but next year I want to take a trailer to really help my garden
really interesting. Did not know the different applications for cold vs. hot compost. Don't live to far from this facility and did not know they sold to the public…will definitely check it out
Here in Oregon have been using a local compost facility for the past 5-6 years and I also pay $15 per yard.
If I use hot composting will the heat kill grubs that are in the pile?
We get compost from Recology a couple times a year, and they process a similar scale of materials. But surprisingly, we sill get plenty of weeds germinating right there in the compost mix. Not to mention theres a bunch of plastic and other inorganic debris in each load. While I still appreciate what we can get locally, there's nothing like having your own clean pile that can get hot enough on its own, but not too hot to kill a lot of the beneficial microorganisms like muni piles do.
Great video! Loved how you expanded on the bacterial and fungal compost. I already use a local company for a 50% topsoilcompost mix. Last year they dumped 8 cubic yards in front of my garden. I buy in bulk because it is cheaper, and I don't have a trailer like you. It's under a tarp and about a year old, so I'm hoping that the bacteria are still alive. Any thoughts? Thanks! 💩
What happens when you put a lane bag at the curb? People like me come by and pick them up. Thank you to all those kind people who do the hard work especially when they are mulched already.
So what happens to the weed killer and other chemicals people use in there yard ,
I know when I put a lawn bag out to the road here in Genesee County. It just goes into the garbage truck which is so frustrating.
I got a load of compost and it had some plastic, rope, and other items in it. Is not normal or should I search for another company.
My neighbor uses the company with great success (large harvest), but I want to be careful.
Very cool video.
If you want to check your compost before using sprout beans in it. They germinate quickly and will show herbicide damage quickly. Also if your compost is hot don’t use it yet.
I get glass ,stones , pieces of wood in the city compost. I forgot 4 colors of plastic .
You forgot to cover your plate in one scene.
I admire your dedication to doing this in the rain
Where we live you can get free compost from the city but you have to load your self lots shoveling but worth it we go multiple times in fall to prepare for next season
Suggestion add some of this stuff to your compost pile a to hear up and to transform your compost with good bacteria 😊
I’ll tell you where you can get cheaper than $15 per yard municipal compost… Los Angeles. It’s 100% free along with free mulch. A lot of the compost ingredients also come from the LA Zoo.
Definitely going to look into this! I had plenty of compost this year, I feel like more couldn't hurt though!