This post--with pictures!--originally ran in the September 2012 Cedar Park Neighbors newsletter. Didn't receive a newsletter? Consider becoming a member of Cedar Park Neighbors by clicking here. The Dirt Factory, a project of the University City District, is a new community composting facility located at 4308 Market Street and is open for drop-off from 5-6pm every Wednesday. The Mission of the Dirt Factory is to:
- Keep fallen leaves out of the waste stream, and in University City;
- Provide a location for the University City community to sustainably dispose of its food scraps and other organic waste
- Generate high quality organic compost to be used in University City gardens
The Dirt factory features the high capacity Earth Tub Compost System that will produce compost year round from neighborhood organic waste. The Dirt Factory is also a community education center, featuring residential scale composting facilities, where community members can learn more about composting at home, and gardening using compost.
Drop-Off Leaves: UCD collects bagged leaves and wood chips from the neighborhood for processing at The Dirt Factory. Do you have bagged leaves or wood chips? To arrange pickup, contact: compost@universitycity.org Food scraps and other organic material: The Pedal Co-op collects compostable material from University City residents and businesses, with drop-off at The Dirt Factory. To find out more about this service, which is available for a low monthly fee, contact the Pedal Co-Op at 507-581-4421 or 507-581-4421. You can also drop off up to 5 gallons of organic food waste per week at The Dirt Factory. The facility is open for drop-off from 5-6pm every Wednesday, but please check this page to confirm those hours before dropping off. For a list of materials that are accepted for composting, please visit http://pedalcoop.org/compost. Pick-up Contact compost@universitycity.org if you are interested in obtaining finished compost from The Dirt Factory. UCD will contact you when material becomes available.
Hours: The Dirt Factory is open during scheduled drop-off times, and for educational and community events. Currently, the scheduled drop-off time is 5-6pm every Wednesday. Changes will be posted on the UCD webpage link: http://universitycity.org/dirt-factory
Upcoming Events: This season, the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners will present a series of seven workshops related to composting and gardening. All workshops are free, and will feature raffles, and other giveaways. Check out upcoming workshops at the link above. Saturday, October 6, 10:00 AM: Extending the Growing Season If you love eating home grown vegetables, learn how your garden can keep producing fresh food well into the fall, and even throughout the winter! Master Gardner Lauren McEewen will discuss inexpensive tools, such as reusing plastic soda bottles and old vinyl windows, as well as the more advanced techniques that will keep your vegetable garden going all year long.