I see problems as opportunities and things like leaves as assets to be used and as the lady in this video from the University of Maine points out, leaves make up part of the bedding and food needed in the raising of worms used in vermicomposting-- a process that turns leaves and waste food into the most productive soils and organic fertilizers known to man.
You'll notice she suggested that vermicomposting is so clean and odor free that she suggests you do it inside your home. Lots of people do. I do my own vermicomposting in 55 gallon drums in my backyard.
For large commercial worm farms, harvesting the worms is a secondary source of income with the worm castings being the more valuable product. If you search online you'll find that worm castings retail at .50 cents to $2.oo per pound bagged. Truckloads are naturally less.
From Wikipedia:
"Large-scale or commercial
Such vermicomposting systems need reliable sources of large quantities of food. Systems presently operating[18] use:
Dairy cow or pig manure[19]
Sewage sludge.[20][21] Cornell Waste Management has shown that land that had sewer sludge (biosolids) applied was devoid of worms.
Agricultural waste
Food processing and grocery waste
Cafeteria waste
Grass clippings and wood chips"
With the exception of agricultural waste and dairy cow or pig manure, all the above is currently being hauled from Greensboro to a landfill 70 miles away, millions of pounds a year costing the City $Millions of Dollars a year when in-fact we could be selling it and getting a return on our investment. This idea, combined with some of the other ideas in this same series could almost completely eliminate Greensboro's need to haul our waste to distant landfills while saving us money and providing much needed jobs at the same time. And with 500 never before use acres we've got room to do them all and then some.
And like the lady from the University of Maine mentioned, up north people do this inside their homes to keep their worms from freezing to death. Google the words, "kitchen worm farm" and you'll find out how clean and sanitary it really is. Odor is not an issue. As a matter of fact: even without worms, anyone who manages a well kept compost pile knows odor is not an issue.
If I were seated on the Greensboro City Council I'd be suggesting we issue an RFP to commercial worm growers to consider using part of the never before used 500 acres at the White Street Landfill and put Greensboro's leaves and other waste to good use while providing the best fertilizer known to man to local farmers and gardeners at the lowest possible cost rather that having it shipped here from somewhere way far away.
