Prince William Cooks Up Compost Awareness Event

A Recipe for Regeneration  

Prince William, VA, March 25 --The Prince William County Solid Waste Division and its partners Freestate Farms and Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteers will host a Compost Awareness Day event on Saturday, May 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event will be held at the Balls Ford Road Compost Facility, 13000 Balls Ford Road, Manassas.  

Volunteers from the VA Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners program will be present to share materials on the benefits compost and its use, as well as information on yard waste and food composting at home.    In addition, event visitors can drop off food scarps and receive a free compost sample in their own bucket, compliments of Freestate Farms.  Compost bins will also be available for purchase. Compost facility tours will begin at 10:30 and 12 noon.  

The Prince William event supports International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), the largest most comprehensive education initiative of the compost industry.  ICAW promotes composting efforts in the back yard and at large scale commercial composting facilities, like the County’s Balls Ford Road Compost Facility, operated by Freestate Farms.  

This year’s theme, “Recipe for Regeneration: COMPOST”, highlights the overall regenerative agriculture movement and how compost and organics recycling fit into that process. Regenerative agriculture is a system that focuses on improving soil health using agricultural practices with the idea that healthier soil will lead to healthier, more nutrient-rich crops and, ultimately, less carbon in the atmosphere through increased carbon sequestration. The 2022 theme empowers everyone to recognize and promote the importance of composting and the use of compost in growing healthier food, supporting healthier soils, mitigating climate change and, ultimately, creating a more just and sustainable world. 

Compost adds carbon back into the soil, promotes erosion control and closes the loop by avoiding the loss of valuable organic resources. From on-farm composting, large-scale commercial composting facilities to community composting and composting in backyards, this amazing resource provides an ecologically responsible option for managing organic materials. 

In October 2021, Prince William County implemented a yard waste collection program to better manage this organic resource, which is 13% of the waste stream.  Local trash and recycling haulers must now collect yard waste separately from other trash and recycling for composting at the Balls Ford Road Compost Facility versus landfilling. Residents can also bring yard waste such as leaves brush, garden, and hedge trimmings to be processed. The compost that is produced at Balls Ford Road Compost Facility can be purchased by the cubic yard at the Balls Ford Road facility or the County landfill.  

Attend Compost Awareness Day on May 7 and learn more about composting. Visit at www.pwcva.gov/trashandrecycling for more information about yard waste collection regulations and other Solid Waste services. 

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Photos: 455 – Young gardeners fill their buckets with a free compost sample at the 2021 compost event. 

421 – Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardener Volunteer chats with compost event attendee about composting experiences.