Where the Banana Peel Hits the Compost Pail

So I'm at this big consumer-facing trade show in downtown Atlanta all day Saturday with Judy of the CSA, and we're taking a break on a black bench for a few minutes, having a high-level discussion about the true price of carbon and the future of solar, as I eat a banana. I scan the room, filled with booths representing every eco-thing you can imagine, and notice the aluminum can recycling containers at the ends of aisles and wonder, "What do I do with my banana peel?"

"This is it, Judy," I say, the banana peel resting on my lap. "This is where the rubber hits the road, um, I mean, the banana peel hits the compost bin."

I mean, here we are, at an Enviro Expo, and I don't know what to do with my banana. If people don't have the simplest solutions to the most mundane everyday eco-challenges, then all the talk about high-fallutin' fantasy solutions is worth nothing.

So, I say to Judy, "Okay, we're going to go on a hunt to see how long it takes for me to find a place to recycle my banana peel."

As luck would have it, we turn a corner and see . . . Farmer D's booth! And now is the time to tell you the big Farmer D news. Farmer D is realizing one of his long-time dreams on December 15, 2008 when the Farmer D Organics store opens right here in Atlanta! Farmer D will be selling his compost, organic seeds and supplies, and custom-made "gardens to go" in cedar raised bed boxes that he and his dad are making right there at the shop (and yes, this means Farmer D will once again be Atlanta-based after the past few years in Savannah). He had truly one of the best-looking booth displays at the show (as did Jen the Soapmaker, by the way, whose mom was working with her as well).

So Judy goes up to Farmer D and tells him I'm on a hunt to find a place for my banana peel. By the time I walk over, he is holding out this compost pail for its very first deposit of the day.

I don't know how full that pail got by the end of the day. But at the end of the day, that's what it's all about. Being able to do the simple, responsible things so that we can then, together, move on to the biggies.

It all starts with the banana peel. Try it sometime. Just bring a banana and try to figure out what to do with the peel wherever you go. If we can't solve that one, folks, then something is very, very wrong.


Here's Farmer D's booth, and his dad, Stanley Joffe!

Where the Banana Peel Hits the Compost Pail