Where Did All the Leaves Go?

Where Did All the Leaves Go?

Our compost, and our compost-based soil mixes and amendments, are produced using locally sourced plant material. This plant material is collected from landscapers, city cleanup crews, and local residents, and sent over to our processing sites throughout the year. Residents are incredibly familiar with the yearly tradition of raking fall leaves into massive piles, and setting them on the curb for city collection. Looking out over the big snow piles on the curb, you may be wondering, “where did the leaves go?” Look no further than your friendly, local, Purple Cow Organics manufacturing site!

When materials end up in a landfill, methane gas and nitrous oxide are produced as those materials are broken down anaerobically. That same plant waste, when composted rather than placed in a landfill, produces only a small amount of carbon dioxide during the composting process. This reduction in harmful gasses helps to reduce the impact this waste has on the atmosphere, and producing a rich organic compost allows these raw materials to be returned to the soil! By collecting and processing this plant waste, we work as a community to grow a healthier world.

Our Retail Sales Representative, Amy Ziegler, recently took a tour of our production site in Orchard Ridge with Molly Bernard from WISN 12 News to talk about our process, the environmental benefits of composting, and the science going on in the pile. Check out the interview below!

Soil health is more than our profession, it’s our passion. Compost is an excellent soil amendment for it’s ability to return organic material and nutrients to the ground, and for it’s rich population of microbiology. The best part of compost? It not only takes waste away from landfills, but it gives back to the earth.

To learn more about our compost, and the environmental benefits of repurposing plant material, contact us here!