"Bob F" wrote in message
...

"jthread" wrote in message
...


Our citys compost at one time was contaminated by chemicals some
homeowners use on their yard. It killed some plants it was used on.

Ya know i could see that happening!

But how did it get into the compost (enough to cause damage) if they are
just putting in clipping and such? And where do you live?

It was one herbicide that just didn't biodegrade, that was effective at
very low doses.

Seattle

Wow, scary stuff.

"Bob F" wrote in message
...

"jthread" wrote in message
...


Our citys compost at one time was contaminated by chemicals some
homeowners use on their yard. It killed some plants it was used on.

Ya know i could see that happening!

But how did it get into the compost (enough to cause damage) if they are
just putting in clipping and such? And where do you live?

It was one herbicide that just didn't biodegrade, that was effective at
very low doses.

Seattle


You don't know the name of the chemical do you?

Jim

The chemical found in Seattle and Spokane was Clopyralid from lawn weed
killer. At that time it was a favorite chemical for lawn care companies and
was even in some weed and feeds.
Picloram has also been found in compost that used straw where the field had
been sprayed with Tordon but that only showed up in towns next to large
farms.
The contaminated compost could be used on lawns but if it was put in a
garden it would be three years before a tomato plant would live in the soil.
(If you wanted to grow tomatoes on ground that has chemicals in it.)

Bill

"jthread" wrote in message
...

"Bob F" wrote in message
...

"jthread" wrote in message
...


Our citys compost at one time was contaminated by chemicals some
homeowners use on their yard. It killed some plants it was used on.

Ya know i could see that happening!

But how did it get into the compost (enough to cause damage) if they are
just putting in clipping and such? And where do you live?

It was one herbicide that just didn't biodegrade, that was effective at
very low doses.

Seattle


You don't know the name of the chemical do you?

Jim

"hollenback" wrote in message
...
The chemical found in Seattle and Spokane was Clopyralid from lawn weed
killer. At that time it was a favorite chemical for lawn care companies
and was even in some weed and feeds.
Picloram has also been found in compost that used straw where the field
had been sprayed with Tordon but that only showed up in towns next to
large farms.
The contaminated compost could be used on lawns but if it was put in a
garden it would be three years before a tomato plant would live in the
soil. (If you wanted to grow tomatoes on ground that has chemicals in it.)

Bill

Thanks,

I did a Google on it and found an article about finding Clopyralid in
compost in the Seattle area, but not specifically in Seattle's Public
Services compost. I emailed both the Austin TX and Seattle's Utility
departments and asked basically: How are we protected from this type of
contamination? I'll post the answers in a new header.

Jim
--
"I like this opera crowd. It makes me feel tough".

I put everything from my garden into the compost bin, its great for my veggies.

Cheers

On Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:40:18 -0800, Jay Chan
wrote:
I could have used the free compost from the local government. But
that would make my car dirty. If I had a pickup truck, I might have
used the free compost from the local government.

Towns around here collect yard waste separately for composting, and
give it away also. My concern is I don't know what *other* people dump
on their lawns & gardens before bagging the refuse for the city to
collect.

No way would I use it on food plants. Ornamentals....maybe. There's
too many people that simply do not read directions on their lawn
chemicals and overapply thinking that more is better.