A new compost program in Old Massett is making waves in waste management, significantly cutting down on the amount of garbage heading to the landfill while improving local soil health. The initiative, K’wiyée tla ‘láasaang (Making the Soil Well), which launched in the fall, has now expanded into full operation, with promising results that could set a precedent for sustainable waste solutions on Haida Gwaii.
“After two months, we are about half full,” Dave Whitehead, the compost coordinator for the Old Massett Village Council (OMVC), told Haida Gwaii News. “OMVC decided to divert the organics because it is the right thing to do.”
In its initial phase, OMVC began collecting food scraps from public buildings, including Chief Matthews School and Kwiiyaans Hall. These scraps, including meat and bones, are shredded, mixed with alder wood chips, and aerated in a modified 40-foot shipping container equipped with a motorized auger, subfloor blowers, and filtered exhaust pipes to control odours. Once processed, the compost is transferred through a series of stalls until it is fully matured and ready for use in gardening and agriculture.
“It was really good for the community to do this,” Whitehead said. “We say another four to six weeks before the material comes out of the dump end,” he explained.
At that phase of the process, Whitehead explained, “It’s not finished compost, it’s through the active phase. But it needs to go through a phase where it finishes, the longer you can get it to age, the better the compost you get.”
The project has about 80 to 90 households involved in collecting their household organic food waste, which is less than half of the potential household participation in Old Massett. “We would like to see more community involvement in the collection of the organics,” he said.
The program will pick up household organic waste on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Whitehead said they have had minimal contaminants make their way into the collections. “Mostly the odd fork and knife,” he said. The biggest offender for contaminants is Keurig coffee machine pods that sneak by the team during the pickup.
The household organics are then inserted into the machine with a 1:1 ratio of waste and wood chips, and the composting process is started. As the machine fills, the material is constantly moving slowly towards the back. Whitehead explained it as a four-foot-deep glacier of compostable material moving towards the back end, from which the almost finished product will be dumped.
Now that the Green Mountain Technologies compost machine is fully operational, OMVC has expanded the program to include door-to-door organics collection. Close to 100 households are currently participating, receiving five-gallon screw-top buckets for their kitchen organics. The system accepts a wide range of organic waste, including animal and fish bones, ensuring a comprehensive approach to waste reduction.
In tandem with the composting program, Old Massett has also launched the first-ever door-to-door recycling pickup program on Haida Gwaii. Households receive colour-coded bags for sorting recyclables, with all final sorting completed in a purpose-built cube van. These initiatives, supported by the Indigenous Zero Waste Technical Advisory Group (IZWTAG), are part of a broader goal to achieve zero waste.
After two months of operation, the K’wiyée tla ‘láasaang (Making the Soil Well) community composting program has already made a measurable impact. The program has successfully diverted nearly 8,000 pounds (3,628 kg) of organic waste from the landfill, significantly reducing potential greenhouse gas emissions. Residents can stay updated on the program’s progress and developments through its dedicated Facebook group.
Looking ahead, the composting initiative is expected to provide substantial benefits to local gardeners, a particularly timely advantage given the rising cost of fresh produce. As more residents turn to home gardening, the availability of nutrient-rich compost will support sustainable food production and strengthen community resilience. Whitehead expects the finished compost to be ready close to June, in time to take advantage of the growing season.
With continued success, the Old Massett composting and recycling programs could serve as a model for broader waste management improvements across Haida Gwaii, ensuring long-term environmental and economic benefits for the region. Skidegate has started its recycling program and has expressed interest in OMVC’s compost facility.