Arlington Hts. reconsiders compost rules
A master gardener took on proposed composting rules at the Arlington Heights village board meeting Monday night, and they will probably be changed.
Rather than adopting the rules agreed on at the recent committee of the whole meeting, the board sent them to the Environment Commission, which will schedule a meeting soon, said David Templer, chairman of the commission.
Diane Bolash objected to a part of the proposed ordinance that would limit homeowners to one compost container no larger than 5 cubic feet.
A three-bin system is “the most efficient and most consistent” said Bolash, who compared creating compost to making wine.
Not only does a single container require more work because the contents must be turned every week, but the owner would have to hold off putting in more materials for weeks until the compost was finished, she said.
The first bin is for collecting and mixing the organic materials, the second is where they heat or cook, and the mixture ages in the third, she said. Each should be 3 or 4 feet square.
“Different microbes do the work at each stage,” she said.
Bolash said she is advising a young man who is working on a compost system for the Arlington Heights Historical Museum as part of his Eagle Scout project.
A group of master gardeners will teach how to start gardening in April at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, and composting is an important component of that, Bolash said.
In other business, resident Tom Krausmann praised the village's snow removal during and following the huge storm last week.
But Pat Curley, who said she frequently walks around the village, suggested there should be an ordinance requiring homeowners and businesses to shovel their sidewalks.
It is unsafe for schoolchildren to walk in the street, Curley said.
Officials indicated such an ordinance for residences had been considered and rejected over the years.
Trustee John Scaletta said people who don't shovel might be elderly or on vacation, although a few could be lazy.