About Our Project
Update May 2, 2025
We are excited to share our upcoming plans for 2025!
Operations
We are shifting our operations to a local farm – Bulkley Canyon Ranch – to address the facility upgrades such as power, water, and access to a tractor for turning – that simply were not possible at the Compost Hub site at the Old Chipper Yard. Unfortunately, residential drop-offs won’t be possible at the farm but we are eager to explore alternative solutions.
We are continuing with our food service and workplace pickups and are out and about three times per week. All the material is brought back to the farm and composted in one of MASH’s Passive Aerated Boxes. The Hub will be closing down and all assets relocated to the farm and added to our Equipment Library effective May 7, 2025.
We’ll be learning about composting on ALR land and will share out as we go so that other farmers can benefit from our research and experience. In the meantime, we encourage you to visit our YouTube Channel to watch a video about on-farm composting created by Debbie and Terry Bexon of Salmon River Ranch in the Kispiox Valley.
Community Engagement
Our first event happened March 10 and 11 for our AGM, Dinner and Talent Show as part of a two day Community Composting Convergence. This event was wildly successful and we thank Kispiox River Lodge for being amazing hosts. The follow up for that event is happening May 20 with a virtual meeting for everyone who attended. A summary report of this event and presentations are available here.
We have plans for more special events and workshops this year beginning with May 3 and 4. We’re combining Wildfire Community Preparedness education, Woodchipping Services, BearSmart education and Compost Sales. Watch our event listing for other opportunities later this year.
The connections we made last year have led to a Build a Box workshop with the Kitselas First Nation on May 8. This workshop will teach participants how to construct composting boxes using sustainable materials.
MASH is working with the Food Systems Lab at Simon Fraser University on a research study about what people think about community composting and their willingness to participate. Help us out with this study by filling out a survey on behalf of your household. You could be one of the lucky winners of a $100 MASH Cash gift card. MASH Cash can be used for a MASH membership, equipment library rental, compost, wood chipping, apple pressing, custom workshops, and more.
Survey: https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/comm-compost
Learn more about MASH Cash: https://mashazeltons.org/mash-cash/
The Board of Directors for MASH have requested that we come up with a three year transition strategy to align with local government efforts to introduce organics recovery for local residents. Understanding the cause and effect of local policies and services is critical to supporting the advancement of community composting as was a major theme of our event in March.
Your support and involvement are crucial to our success. We would love to hear your insights and feedback. Together, we can create a resilient and sustainable local food system. We look forward to your participation in our initiatives!
New materials – MASH has developed two new handouts that are now available for public distribution.
We are so grateful to everyone who supported the pilot project – funders, community members, workplaces, staff and local organizations who helped with publicity such as Smithers Community Radion and the Bulkley Browser. If you would like to be part of our vision through financial or in-kind support, please contact our Executive Director, Laurie Gallant using our email address, Facebook messenger or by phone.
You can read all about our experience and the results in our final report by clicking on the button below.
Our pilot project has four main elements:
- The Community Composting Hub which is the physical location where we receive and process materials for composting, as well as host learning events. We are located on Churchill Drive (aka N. Railway Ave or 12th ave) towards the mountain (Stegyoden) past the train tracks. There is a sign visible from the highway. Click here for a map.
- Community engagement that includes:
- a weekly collection service for businesses and organizations
- a weekly drop-off day for existing and new members of MASH
- coaching for anyone wanting a little extra help creating and implementing solutions
- workshops for building backyard composting bins, best practices for composting including animal-friendly and cold weather tips, and how to use finished compost to grow food.
- Data collection to help us evaluate the effectiveness of our project and identify how we can get better results.
- Business case for a long-term permanent solution for composting including facility design, collection service, cost recovery, and supporting policies and education to maximize our capture rate and minimize contamination.
Follow MASH on Facebook for updates on the Community Composting Hub.
Our project is located on the traditional and unceded Gitxsan territory in beautiful, downtown New Hazelton.
