Have you ever wondered what happens to potato peel from large french fry makers or the material you bring to compost depots in Steinbach, Mitchell or Kleefeld? What happens to organic waste from a horse race track or trees that are cut down because of Dutch Elm Disease?

The answer to all of those questions is Overton Environmental Enterprises and its organics resource management facility near Giroux. Dale Overton started the business in his garage and today he has a staff of about 17, including their Winnipeg operation. They operate on 30 acres near Giroux, but own 240 acres there.

"Basically, any company that's building a large volume of organic waste, we take that waste and we build recipes and we actually transform it into compost to return back to the earth," explains Overton, giving a quick synopsis of what they do.

Overton says he got the idea that they could build microbes for plant growing systems and that by using advanced composting techniques, they could reintroduce microbes that have been decimated through chemical agriculture.

The processes aren't solely the ideas of Overton, who admits local composting legend Gerry Dube has helped along the way. It also took organizations like Simplot and Assiniboia Downs, that have become "partners in waste."

Overton says every single day they make a trip to Simplot to pick up potato peel, raw potatoes and the dirt used in processing. Instead of bringing this waste to the landfill, it gets delivered to the Overton facility near Giroux where it is blended with other ingredients and turned into compost.

"We actually manage a lot of waste, probably would be equivalent to what the city of Winnipeg manages," says Overton. "I think so far to date since we started operations in November last year, we've processed about eighteen or nineteen thousand tonnes of material."

Dale OvertonAccording to Overton, it takes about 90 days from the time the waste is delivered to their site, to the time it is ready for its next use. The first 60 days is spent heating up the material and transforming it into a soil based compost product and the next 30 days are needed for it to mature.

The end product is used by large landscapers and golf courses and such places like Clear Lake Golf Course, Parks Canada and Gerry Aubin.

"We work with some large farming operations, we're exploring opportunities with some organic operations as well for top dressing their fields for a nutrient source," explains Overton. "And because it's such a high nutrient value compost, it really helps with all sorts of nutrient management problems on the farm."

Overton says when you buy from his company, you are getting an intensely managed product, free of weed seeds and very high in nutrient value.

He notes their goal is to set up one of the largest Earthworm farms in the world and also to turn enough waste oil into biodiesel in order to become carbon neutral.

"It's all happening so fast," admits the owner. "We've broken down the barriers with huge companies and the world is changing and we have a solution. So I feel like we're making a lot of headway and it feels good."