Local News
From Grass Clippings to smiles: Volunteers share the joy of composting in Steinbach
Volunteers were busy this weekend at Steinbach’s compost depots. Saturday morning started with the hum of lawn mowers that could be heard throughout the city. SteinbachOnline caught up with volunteers Rachel and Melissa during their first hour at Steinbach's newest compost depot, located at the Smith Neufeld Jodoin Law Office. They reported a busy start to the day with a bunch of grass clippings, leaves and fruit scraps. Over at the Woodlawn depot, volunteer Evelyn Paton was quick to help people unload their compostable materials, saying she’s a firm believer in composting. “It’s good for the environment,” she says, pointing out that composting is a better way to get rid of yard and food waste, turning it into nutrient-rich compost. Her friend Claire Crampton also volunteered at the depot on Saturday. “I’m happy to be here again, especially on a May long weekend when people are out preparing their yards and there’s a lot of composting to be done.” Crampton says it feels good to be doing something to support the environment. Amanda Friesen was one of the volunteers at the depot at Stonybrook Middle School. “Customers have been pretty frequent and very friendly,” she says. “It’s a great atmosphere to come and bring compost.” Friesen was volunteering with her friend Tina Harder who says helping at the compost depot is truly a family affair. “Our daughters are at (one of) the other compost, so we do this location,” Harder says. “And we brought our youngers kids with us, and we’ve been doing this for a number of years now.” And what do the youngsters think about spending their Saturday collecting compost? “It stinks,” laughs 6-year-old Grace, who is also quick to say it was fun being at the depot and enjoying the “lovely weather.” 7-year-old Olivia also had an abundant amount of giggles to share with everyone who stopped by the depot. She seemed to enjoy everything about the day. “We get to splash in puddles, also work here, and give tickets, and have fun.” Those “tickets” were actually coupons for free Dairy Queen Blizzards that the city offered to the first 50 people at each depot to encourage people to compost.