Frequently Asked Questions

What is unique about The Wynbrandt Method?

  • The Wynbrandt Method is the first and only low tech (no electricity or moving parts) compost program in the USA that meets these 2 qualifications:

    • Is capable of composting 100% (thousands to tens of thousands of pounds annually) of an organization’s food waste on its campus - ALL food waste, including meat and dairy - no separating. 

    • Utilizes a no-turn system. This is a sophisticated, advanced method of composting that makes it possible for the first time ever on an organizational scale to process thousands of pounds of food waste without the gargantuan physical feat that typical turning systems require. It is not realistic or sustainable for organizations such as schools (teachers, students, maintenance or outside garden/outdoor educators, etc.) to turn thousands of pounds of compost each week as it demands far too much time, energy and labor. 

  • The Wynbrandt Method container innovated by Steven Wynbrandt is the first and only low-tech (meaning it doesn’t have moving parts that break, it doesn’t use electricity, etc.), in-vessel, no-turn system designed specifically to be used at organizations who create thousands of pounds of food waste annually. It is 100% pest proof, auto-irrigated, highly breathable, highly durable, modular, light weight and movable.

  • We compost ALL food waste. This means anything we eat, and anything attached to anything we eat (such as a chicken bone, a banana peel or carrot top, an avocado seed, an egg shell, etc.)

  • Food waste and wood chips are prepared with The Wynbrandt Method signature technique eliminate foul smells and flies that are a common and expected characteristic of compost piles containing large amounts of food waste.

  • The Wynbrandt Method ensures that we consistently and successfully create and maintain the proper conditions in the compost mixture so pests are not attracted to the food refuse being composted. Additionally, our containers are 100% pest proof. It is impossible for creatures large and small to penetrate our containers.

  • The compost created with The Wynbrandt Method is a valuable commodity of impressive quality.

    Few, if any, “community scale” compost operations across the country can claim this. This rare quality of compost (measured by many indicators including all trophic levels of microorganisms, humic and fulvic acid, humus content, cation exchange capacity and nitrogen cycling capacity to name a few) is produced by a distinguished group of organic farmers and professional compost makers (Steven is in both these groups) and by boutique soil amendment companies, of which there are very few in the nation (Wynbrandt Farms is in this group).

    Far more than a mere waste reduction strategy, the compost produced with The Wynbrandt Method will grow your gardens, athletic fields, and all parts of your landscape (flowers, shrubs, trees, etc.) with remarkable vitality, vigor, and disease and pest resistance without the use of any pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. The compost made from each container is valued at $1,000+.

  • Organizations we work with receive unparalleled training, support and close program oversight by Steven Wynbrandt and Wynbrandt Farms.

    Steven is one of the foremost experts in artisanal compost making (Tens to hundreds of thousands of pounds, both handmade and with machinery) on the west coast of the US. Steven has extremely rare experience and a stunning track record making hundreds of thousands of pounds of compost in the most stringent, demanding urban environments where there is zero tolerance for factors that are commonly associated with composting: smells, flies and pests. See Steven’s bio and career highlights for more on his rare and unique qualifications and experience.

    The Wynbrandt Method is the culmination of all of Steven’s rare and specialized  knowledge and experience mastering the art and science of creating and maintaining the optimal conditions for the most efficient conditions for the decomposition of organic matter into humus - into truly finished compost. He created The Wynbrandt Method to fill a great need of our time: to make it possible for organizations to compost on their campuses safely, responsibly and with consistent, sensational success.

Why not have our waste hauler pick up our food waste?

  • Waste haulers transport food waste in large trucks 50 to 100 miles + away from your organization, which in itself is a heavy (and needless) carbon footprint. They dump it at industrial facilities who pile it into large pyramids with heavy machinery.

    These pyramids are notorious for being anaerobic (without oxygen). Consequently, they off-gas harmful greenhouse gasses such as methane, ammonia and Co2 which are responsible for climate change. Other than the landfill, this is the worst thing we can do with our food waste. 

  • Waste haulers supply organizations with dumpsters or large plastic cans (think residential size 90 gallon blue and green bins) for their collection. When food waste sits in these containers for more than a day, it begins to smell.

    Highly offensive odors occur if food waste sits in these containers for more than a couple days, particularly when the outside air temperature is greater than 70 degrees. As a result, the containers must be picked up at least twice a week, at a significant cost.

    When the containers are emptied, they are not cleaned, and residues from yogurt and nut butters to meats, food greases and juices stick to the containers, which continue to smell and harden.

    Cleaning dumpsters or large plastic cans is exceedingly tedious, time consuming and messy for maintenance staff. It soon becomes untenable for them.

    If the hauler fails to pick up on any given week, organizations are left with dumpsters or containers that have rancid and putrified smells, and that may become too heavy for the truck to lift. 90 gallon cans cannot be filled more than half way to the top with food waste or they will be too heavy for a truck’s machine arm to lift.

  • Haulers charge thousands of dollars annually, both for renting containers from them AND to haul your food waste.

    The cost to haul your organizations food waste will soon exceed the cost of our Compost Program. 

  • There will likely be frequent contamination of trash (particularly at schools) that will cost your organization a significant amount of money on a weekly basis.

    Our compost program has zero contamination because we see all the food waste when we are composting it in which there is an easy opportunity to pick out trash. And of course, there is no charge for contamination.

  • When we see food waste we see great value. We see potential, opportunity, medicine, money, inspiration and so much more! We LOVE that we have the knowledge, the methods and the tools to be able to transform this resource into high quality and highly valued compost, and we want to empower you and your community to do the same!

    High quality compost possesses unparalleled fertility for all plants that thrive in rich soils, from vegetables and flowers, to shrubs, grasses and trees.

    The connection between soil health and human health cannot be overstated. High quality compost is the cornerstone of soil health. The healthier soil is, the more nutrient dense our food grows. The healthier soil is, the more carbon it can sequester from the atmosphere and trap it in the soil where carbon belongs. From human health and well-being to climate change, making high quality compost holds answers to some of the most critical issues humanity faces.

    *See “WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF YOUR PROGRAM FOR SCHOOLS?” below which include benefits for all kinds of organizations.

Why not start a compost program on our own?

  • Compost making on an organizational scale (dealing with thousands to tens of thousands of pounds of food waste) is an extremely delicate, volatile art and science that takes highly specialized expertise. Making compost correctly means that the compost maker is creating and maintaining the proper conditions to facilitate the controlled decomposition of organic matter. Beyond mere waste reduction, the end result of this process is a valuable organic fertilizer. 

  • People who attempt this without the empirical knowledge and experience required do not understand how to create or maintain the proper conditions. They therefore put their organization and community at risk of exposure to a plethora of hazards including rancid and putrefied smells, various pest infestations such as flies, rats, mice, skunks, coyotes and other predatory animals, and harmful human pathogens. When proper conditions are not created and maintained, novices end up with thousands of pounds of smelly, rotten food waste or worse - hazardous waste - that has to be hauled away. Would a large-scale failure likely turn an organization off to further pursue one of the most impactful ecological actions of our time?

  • We highly recommend that your organization’s compost system has protocols that ensure a safe, effective and successful program. All systems should have these specs:

    •USE ONLY CLEAN - POISON AND TOXIC FREE - CARBON (brown) INGREDIENTS: We use only wood chips sourced from healthy trees cut and chipped by commercial tree trimmers. All carbon ingredients should be able to be traced back to their point of origin and confirmed to be herbicide and pesticide free. These chemicals should not come into contact with children or adults, nor should they be anywhere in our world.

    •No flies, rodents or other pests attracted to the compost area

    •100% Pest proof containers

    •No foul smells

    •A system that ensures all food waste heats up to the appropriate temperatures (131+ deg F) for the appropriate amount of time (3 days minimum, 1 week+ is ideal) to kill harmful human pathogens, and that utilizes a consistently and accurately repeatable process for food waste to heat up appropriately, and that utilizes compost thermometers to verify and document temperatures have been reached

    •Overseen closely by qualified leaders who have a proven track record of experience successfully composting thousands of pounds of food waste who ensure the conditions above and teach others the comprehensive set of techniques for how ensure them

What are the weekly compost program tasks with this method?

  • •Bringing the food waste collection buckets from the lunch area to the compost area

    • Preparing and measuring amounts of food waste and wood chips to be composted

    • Record keeping: weighing and recording food waste and recording temperatures of compost in the containers

    • Filling the containers with buckets of food waste and wood chips

    • washing and returning food waste collection buckets to the lunch area

What are the benefits of the Compost for Life Program?

Interdisciplinary and experiential education
There are a plethora of both theoretical and practical hands-on learning opportunities in which students can participate

    • Life sciences: biology, microbiology, biochemistry, botany, soil science and ecology

    • Mathematics, statistics and data tracking

    • Ecological values, applied ethics and sustainability

    • Organic, regenerative agriculture

    • Next Generation Science Standards and curriculums such as the Full Option Science System integrate magnificently

    • Food waste collection

    • Making and harvesting compost

    • Growing vegetables, herbs, flowers and trees with compost

    • Therapeutic connection with nature and natural cycles to support students’ emotional wellbeing, mental focus and sense of interdependence

    • Educating fellow students about waste resource recovery, soil regeneration and the role of compost as a central climate mitigation strategy

    • Learning Teamwork co-ordinating, communicating, and organizing who will do what task when, for the common good

Myriad Additional Benefits

  • Being amongst the first schools in California to implement on campus composting for up to 100% of your food waste (closed loop composting). Your school will be a model for what is possible in creating a more resilient, sustainable society for our children to inherit.

  • Your school will be diverting thousands of pounds of food waste from the landfill and from waste hauler food waste dumpsters.(Shipping food waste away with waste haulers involves a huge trucking, machinery and fuel footprint and the industrial processing of it releases massive amounts of methane and ammonia - greenhouse gasses - into the atmosphere. Composting on campus is the best thing we can do.) In the long run, our program can save your school a considerable amount of money over paying waste haulers endless monthly fees for both containers and hauling.

  • Our program significantly reduces and offsets your school’s carbon footprint. The act of community scale composting is amongst the most critical and effective climate mitigation strategies that exist. Compost has myriad benefits for soil, from increasing its carbon sequestration capacity (sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and trapping it in soil where carbon belongs) and water retention capacity, to providing microorganisms that are essential for optimal soil health.

  • Produced from our system is an exceptionally high quality, valuable organic fertilizer. This compost makes your vegetable gardens, trees, shrubs, grasses, and all parts of the landscape grow vibrantly, without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Each container’s finished compost is valued at $1,000+. In addition to using it on campus, compost can be donated to various gardening programs throughout the city, sold at school fundraisers, etc. 

  • All students, faculty and staff participate and contribute towards the common goal of sustainability and experience the results of your collective participation in doing good for the planet.

  • Most of us perceive climate change as too big to tackle. We're searching for something palpable we can do to heal and connect with the earth, which will actually make a difference, but not take a huge amount of our time or brainpower. Composting is exactly that: a powerful hands-on act we can do that takes only a little effort but makes a huge positive impact on the planet. That impact increases exponentially when we do it as a community, leading by example to inspire others to join in.