Cover Shot!

The Gorge is famous for “nuclear winds” which draw kiteboarders and windsurfers from around the world (including ourselves). The high winds are perfect for boosting big airs and carving jibes on wind swell, however they are not perfect for composting opeations. In fact, they can quite easily shut us down  (any material we move on a windy day can blow off site, which is a violation of our permit). While high winds are great for our kiteboarding habits, they’re not so good for business.

One way we try to beat the wind is by getting up before dawn and starting work before the wind cranks up for the day. We are particularly cognizant of wind on days when we grind yard debris. Grinding involves perching an excavator on top of  a pile of yard debris and loading an 850 horsepower machine capable of turning a four foot diameter tree into four inch wood chips.  On one such day this past summer we snapped a photo of our grinding operations at dawn. Through a last minute email conversation with Dan Sullivan, BioCycle Magazine decided to pick up the photo and run it for the cover shot this month. We are stoked and honored to have the photo run in our favorite composting magazine.

Big thanks to our grinding partners D&Z, Dan Sullivan, Nora Goldstein and the art staff at BioCycle.

Posted in Business, Composting, Media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

We are hiring

I came across this photo a few months ago while surfing the web and always liked it for the concept and composition. That said, I take issue with the content. People often talk about ‘loving’ what they do, but I’m not sure that’s entirely possible. There are things about a job that people will love: being around others, being challenged, growing as an individual or even certain tasks. But, invariably there are always things people don’t love or even like about their job (think: meetings, expense reports, powerpoint, or water cooler gossip). More than ‘loving’ what you do, we think it’s important to believe in what you do. There are parts of Dirt Hugger I don’t love (like reconciling monthly bank accounts), but I believe in what we are doing, which makes even unenjoyable tasks worth while. So, while I hope you like the photo, please accept our desire to update it to: “believe in what you do”. On that note, below is a job description for a position that we hope that you, or a friend, or a distant friend who lives in Oregon (social networking -weak ties theory) will at least like, but mostly importantly believe in.

Part-time position with Dirt Hugger located in The Dalles, Oregon.  We are seeking someone who is self motivated, hard working, reliable, and doesn’t mind coming home absolutely covered in dirt (room mates, spouses, and significant others might not let you in the house). This outdoor position will be active in receiving feedstock, creating high-end compost, delivering to customers, and any of the million other things that pop up in a given day. Experience with heavy machinery, being mechanically inclined, and interest in working in a green industry is preferred. This is an entry level position with lots of opportunity for growth and advancement within the company. Starting at 20hrs a week, with a flexible work schedule. Please send letter of interest & resume to pierce@dirthugger.com if interested (No phone calls please).

Posted in Business | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gift Certificates

If you’re like most people, the last thing on your mind right now is compost. Driving on snowy roads and staring at the grey sky seems a long way from spring flowers and April showers. That said, at least one Dirt Hugger fan was thinking about compost and asked us if we had gift certificates available. We’ve never really had gift certificates, but hey, it’s not a bad idea. So, as of this morning, Dirt Hugger gift certificates are now available. This could be a great little stocking stuffer that will offer someone special’s soil a lasting gift. You can give a gift of just a half yard of compost picked up at Dirt Hugger ($19) up to a truckload delivered in the Gorge ($354) Feel free to contact us for details.

Thanks Crystal Davis Ross for the tip on GC’s.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Truck Save Money

Hands on a Hard Body, a film chronicling a Longview, Texas car dealership’s annual Nissan truck giveaway contest, delves into the topic of truck culture in America. One of the key takeaways from the movie is how useful trucks are for getting work done. This overarching sentiment is summed up by Hard Body contestant Ronald McCohwan.

The statement “truck make money” has long been a favorite of mine. However, inspired by a recent Dirt Hugger acquisition we are tweaking McCohwan’s statement slightly to “truck save money”.  We’ll explain. In the composting industry a truck is a useful and necessary tool – as McCohwan says, a truck can do things that a car can’t.  That said, a truck’s utility is usually good, but truck’s fuel economy is not.

Spending a depressing 10 minutes on fueleconomy.gov reveals there haven’t been any trucks released in the past 20 years that have even moderately good fuel economy. Which, is what drove us to look to the past for the new Dirt Hugger commuter truck. We stumbled upon a 1981 VW Rabbit diesel pickup truck, which enthusiasts call a “Caddy”. We picked it up from the single owner who had the original purchase receipt from Volkswagen.

not the biggest truck in the lot


The best part about this rig, and the reason we bought it, was fuel economy. It gets between 39 and 45 miles per gallon- which leads us to the post title, Truck Save Money. It blows us away that trucks 30 years ago got that kind of mileage and now a scant few cars, save hybrids and TDI’s, achieve that. Like many, we have to commute to work, however, with the new super-commuter we’ll hopefully reduce our costs. From the numbers we ran the Caddy should pay itself off in fuel savings within a year.

Coming up, the new biodiesel plant….

Posted in Business | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sold Out (Again)!!!


Before we started Dirt Hugger other composters had told us that spring would be the best season for compost sales, but that fall could also be strong. This spring we had the good fortune to sell through all of our compost- mostly to home gardeners a yard or two at a time. As luck would have it, we sold out of compost again this fall, but this time truckloads at a time to local farmers. In fact, we sold our first-ever semi load of compost to a Dalles area cherry farmer.

A main goal in starting the business was to return recyclable nutrients to local farms. We had a blast this fall meeting farmers, hearing about their operations and delivering compost to cherry orchards, garlic fields, organic mixed veggie farms and even a hops grower for Oregon breweries.  A huge thank you to all the farms who applied compost this fall and for a great crew of contract haulers: Ross and Kiwi Construction, Braun Enterprises and Munsen paving.

(We will have more compost available this winter so please check back if interested. We’re also hoping to stockpile some compost for the spring season).

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Technology Upgrades

As a start up we wanted to get a composting facility off the ground at the lowest initial cost possible. On day one that meant borrowing machinery from our gracious neighbors to build and turn piles of compost. Slowly, we obtained grant funding and were able to purchase some of the most critical equipment needed. As we’ve grown and developed we have become interested in improving and advancing our technology (although still at the lowest cost possible).

The most recent technological jump we’ve made has been adding forced aeration to the composting process. Perforated pipes laid underneath the piles allow us to blow oxygen into the pile which amazingly does numerous things: allows us to more closely manage oxygen levels, reduce the amount of turning using machinery (read: fossil fuel intensive machinery), speeds up throughput (by adding more oxygen) and increases the footprint efficiency (we can pile more material on the same space). The goal of this technology is to allow us to produce 2-4 times the volume of compost on the same one-acre pad we have.  Thanks to some old blowers donated by Recology we are up and running with three zones of aeration. We have just completed the transition, so the jury is still out, but so far it seems to be positive.

A second technology update has been the addition of a new screener. We have been looking since March for a good (cheap) used screener for our final product. Again graciously, Tom Walter from Pacific Rock & Recycle has been allow us to rent his screener, but it was too small for our volume of material. After months of searching, a investigatory trip to Lost Hills, California, much negotiating and a sweet loan deal from Centerpointe we are now the owners of a new-to-us screener.

Big thanks to Peter Moon and Harold Ruppert at 02 Compost, everyone at Crestline, Dave, Larry, Ame, & John at Recology, Tim & Jason at Ferguson, Tom at Pacific Rock, Mark at GrinderCrusherScreen and John Gass at Centerpointe.

Posted in Business, Composting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Free Brush Month – The Dalles Disposal

November is free brush month at The Dalles Disposal. There were whirling debates and City Council subcommittees dedicated to burn bans and alternatives to burning – and here is an existing solution! Bring your yard debris or brush down to The Dalles Disposal transfer station and they will take it for free. We will compost it.

The Dalles Disposal
1317 West 1st Street, The Dalles, OR
Open Monday thru Saturday
(541) 298-5149 ‎

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Organic Certification!

We just got word that Dirt Hugger Local Compost is officially “listed by the Organic Materials Review Insitute (OMRI) for use in organic production.” From the beginning have been making compost according to organic standards, but we finally bit the bullet went for the certification. It’s a little confusing, but OMRI Listing is to food production inputs (farms, gardens, etc…) as USDA’s “Organic” is to food.   The same group, National Organic Standards Board, regulates both Organic food and Organic input certification, but when it comes to the certification process there is a distinction between food and farm inputs. We’re excited because of the added credibility for our product, and because certification streamlines paperwork for our organic farm customers.

Posted in Business, Composting | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

STA Certification

We just received the Seal of Testing Assurance from the United States Composting Council!

OMRI Organic Certification is next (stay tuned!)

Posted in Composting, Events | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Summer Scenes

This summer has been a busy one. We’ve had a lot of early mornings, late nights, and made a bunch of compost. Check out this photo essay of the Dirt Hugger summer.  

the site from afar

an early morning

Dirt Hugger name and logo- a registered trademark!

Hood River Middle School's new greenhouse

compost customer- Nora’s Table
the site after grinding yard debris

compost customer Full Sail

delivering compost to a local farm

early morning

Hood River Middle School

commercial food waste

the black gold mine


Posted in Composting, The Gorge, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment