Compostagem!

For two years, Ben was the dirty happy pile manager of ASUCD Project Compost. He took care of the piles built from food and other organic waste collected from campus and straw for foundation and cover. Ben would keep them moist (not too moist) and use a giant tractor to turn them--an easy way to churn and to twist tons of organic matter into neat and tidy rows. As the pile sits under pleasant conditions, microorganisms and bacteria eat, and heat and cure the organic waste into black gold to be used in our gardens. Thanks Project Compost!

Here in Brazil originated Ben’s composting past. His father, Rick, is a composter too! In Portugeuse, composting is compostagem. (-agem is syn. to -ing)


As a professor at Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rick began Compostagem in 1995. The piles are located on campus behind the science buildings. Unlike Project Compost’s piles, these piles are static. This means they are only turned at the end of the year. The piles from 2007 were pushed into a gigantic pile of mostly finished compost just a couple of weeks ago by a large tractor. The pile will now sit for an another 3 to 4 months before being distributed to landscaping, gardening and agriculture around the island.

The organic waste is mostly foodstuff from dining courts, supermarkets and hospitals. Rat bedding from the science labs and grass clippings from landscaping are used for carbon and to prevent exposure to birds, rats, and iguanas. Iguanas!

Undergrad students maintain the piles, but all is done by hand. At least the small blue compost bins are delivered to the site and have handles on each side so that a train can be made of people and bins to dump onto the new piles. A new pile is started when an old pile reaches shoulder height.

Some students have completed interesting projects at the composting site. How about a dip in a hot tub and, after stinky composting, a nice shower? The water pipes run to a tank in the compost pile and the water is heated for our delight.

A new venture for Compostagem will be composting for Walmart, which is unfortunately arriving in Florianopolis. But, fortunately, they are going to be in good composting hands. Or piles…