Sayre borough officials are exploring options to make use of its unscreened compost, borough manager Dave Jarrett told members of the borough council's public works committee Monday.
The borough has given most of its compost away in the past, but Jarrett said a local company has approached officials about purchasing it. The company will take the approximately 80 dump truck loads of compost as-is, Jarrett said.
In the past, the borough has rented a machine to screen the compost, which removes larger pieces of debris from the mixture of leaves, grass, woodchips, small tree limbs and other residue. However, the machine costs between $5,000 and $7,000 to rent, an expense Jarrett called impractical.
After screening, the compost is usually given to residents to use in their gardens or mixed in with topsoil for the borough's tree planting projects, Jarrett said.
The company interested in the compost may be able to trade services of equal value for it, Jarrett said, including riprap for future projects.
Jarrett estimated the compost's worth to be about $6,400. "That's a lot of riprap for another project," he said. "It would kind of be a win-win for us."
The sale or exchange of the compost would likely need to be approved by the full council, Jarrett said.
The borough will receive a screen for its compost and the generator that powers it from the Valley Joint Sewer Authority after construction on the sewer plant upgrade wraps up, Jarrett said. The authority transferred the parts, which the plant's new system will not use, to the borough about a year ago.
Amanda Renko can be reached at (570) 888-9652; or email: arenko@thedailyreview.com.
