The town has made numerous efforts to control the smells emanating from the composting center. Islip purchased an expensive shredder and a tractor-like machine to grind the compost and aerate the rows. Wood chips and leaves were used to dilute the grass, which is the biggest culprit. Waste-collection days were shifted to prevent freshly cut grass from sitting and rotting in closed plastic bags. But to no avail.

She said she would like to see composting work, and suggested the town may have gone too big too soon. "The question is whether you want to make composting work . . . Why not start out small, and gradually increase it. That way, you could provide a positive example for other towns," said [Pam Warganz].

1) Newsday Color Cover Photo by Cliff De Bear-Islip High School junior [Ross Marchetti] and teacher David Roberts test Marchetti's idea of capturing energy from compost. 2) Newsday Photo by Don Jacobsen-Solutions to the smells produced from the composting site at Ronkonkoma include moving it, enclosing it and realigning the compost heaps.