BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON – After lengthy discussion about a proposal to continue the composting program in Canton on a three-month trial basis, some village officials are still not convinced the nuisance factor will be rectified at the Bend in the River compost site.

At Wednesday night’s monthly meeting of the village board, Trustee Klaus Proemm, who sits on the Sustainability Committee, introduced a proposal in an attempt to salvage the composting that has been under fire for improper and negligent practices by users.

The proposal involves hiring North Country Compost, Inc. who will pick up the composting once a week. The cost is $248.44 per week. The compost would be taken to the farm of Cory Vinyard.

The proposal also calls for a composting site at the Village Park during the Canton Farmers Market on Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will be on site to monitor materials collected. The site will be located at the corner across from the Unitarian Universalist Church.

“We hope to encourage more people to compost,” Proemm remarked.

Proemm said Casella Waste has donated six 60-gallon containers for use at the Bend in the River site.

“I think we can keep a closer eye on it and minimize some of the problems we’ve had,” stated Proemm. “If the problem continues, we can close it at any time.”

The problem was addressed at a joint meeting on July 26 where Mayor Michael Dalton noted that misuse has created problems with bees and maggots and has put an increased burden on village Department of Public works employees.

On Wednesday night, Dalton said he appreciates the work put in by the committee but still has concerns.

“I do not have warm fuzzies about the original site because of the problems we’ve had,” the mayor said. “Another concern is funding. We did not budget for this.”

“The worst that could happen is that it’s not working and we have to close it,” Proemm responded.

There was also talk about implementing volunteers at the Bend in the River compost site and offering limited hours.

There was also discussion about usage.

“There is no data on who uses it or how many,” said Deputy Mayor Anna Sorensen.

Greg Todd of North Country Compost spoke.

“It’s not contamination that’s the problem, pickup is the problem,” said Todd, noting that a plastic bag problem exists everywhere. “Hopefully consistent pickup will solve the problem we’ve had.”

The issue was referred back to the Sustainability Committee for further review.