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ELEMENTS COMPOST TOUR SALIDA, CO

By: Isabel Lisle (SLVEC Communications Manager)

Date: September 11, 2024


In a piece of land across from the Salida airport, Julie Mach and her assistant

Rook Stavish are running a residential and commercial composting operation

called Elements Mountain Compost that services rural communities throughout Colorado.


They regularly collect compost from Salida, Alamosa, Buena Vista and Canyon City from City Market, the school districts, and some local residential areas.


This September, the San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council took a tour of the compost facility to learn more about what happens the compost from the Alamosa City Market.


Rook stands behind a compost pile with view of trailer and compost sifter in background.

Compost Process:


Each week, Julie and Rook drove a trailer to Alamosa to collect the compost from the city Market that serves the San Luis Valley. Once at the Salida site, the compost takes about three months to turn into soil.


  1. First, the compost pile is mixed with wood chips and covered in a tarp and

turned twice a week.


  1. Next, it’s turned and mixed again as BPI certified compostable products like

    cups, plates, and utensils begin to break down.


    BPI Compostable certified cup breaks down in the compost pile
    Rook points to new compost pile, scraps collected from Alamosa City Market

  2. After 2 months, plastic, fruit stickers, and other non-biodegradable materials that are

    not sorted correctly become apparent. The temperature of this compost pile got up to

    140 degrees fahrenheit during our visit due to the activity of microbes and other

    bacteria actively eating and breaking down the food within the pile.


White microbes eat organic waste to create compost
Microbial activity heats up compost to 120 degrees
  1. At 3 months, the compost is put into a sifter and any of these non-compostable

    materials are sifted out of the pile.


Sifter sifts out unwanted material
Finished compost pile, ready to be sold as soil to gardeners and farmers

  1. Then, the compost is ready to be distributed and sold as soil for gardeners and

    farmers across the state where it’s used to nourish our fresh vegetables.


Tour Updates

Both Julie and Rook explained why they are passionate about composting.


Rook shared that about ⅓ of what goes into our landfills is organic waste that could be composted. When organic waste goes to the landfill, it produces methane, a strong greenhouse gas that is eighty times more harmful than carbon emissions. So, in his mind, “composting just makes sense.” If organic waste can be repurposed into something useful like providing nutrient rich soil for our arid Colorado landscapes, and reducing space in the landfill, he says, then why aren’t we prioritizing composting more?


Julie stated that for her, composting is about bringing an awareness to individuals about the importance of waste diversion. She finds great meaning in educating people on the human component of where waste goes and its inherent value. Julie’s vision for Elements Mountain Compost is to expand and create satellite operations in Alamosa, Buena Vista, Canyon City, Alamosa, and Leadville that are able to function as mini compost facilities in their own communities.


Rook points to trailer used for collecting compost from events across rural Colorado.



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