Members of the Scadding Court Community Centre (SCCC) feel they were unfairly targeted this week when the Ministry of Environment shut down its neighbourhood composting pit.

What was once a modest kidney-shaped hole, under 2 metres across, has now been now covered, closed and lined with bright yellow caution tape.

Some community members active in composting still do not understand the reasoning behind this.

“Are my carrot peels going to react badly to your carrot peels?” asks Krista Fry, a community development worker at the SCCC at Dundas St. W. and Bathurst St.

According to Kate Jordan, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment (MOE), community composters must apply for a certificate of approval to make sure there are no threats to the surrounding community, whether it’s the use of hazardous waste or rodent control.

Certificates of approval allow the ministry to regulate industrial facilities, farms and other businesses which may pollute. Some question whether this kind of documentation should even be required at the community level.

Comparing the small operation to the city’s enormous green bin program to the tiny park-based operation is like comparing apple cores to orange rinds.

“This process is not feasible for those working on the small community scale,” says Ravenna Barker from FoodShare, a grassroots food network that advocates educating people about food related issues. “The kinds of documentation needed to be completed are arduous.”

The SCCC is considering whether to seek ministry approval.

Its 10-year-old composting program is strict about accepting only fruits, vegetables, grains, grinds and eggshells. It has provided its local community with a way to dispose of organic waste and has provided outreach programs for youth.

Many informal and formal community garden centres in the city continue to operate much as the SCCC has.

The system is flawed, according to Kevin Lee Executive Director of the SCCC.

“This is a case of the right arm not knowing what the left is doing,” he says. “The city funds composting projects, but it’s illegal to compost.”