WINFIELD TWP — Frederick C. Miller refers to the microbes that break down material in compost as “little wild beasties.”

Microorganisms are vital to the composting process and are found everywhere in the environment.

Miller, who holds a doctorate degree in microbial ecology from Rutgers University, has ridden his “little wild beasties” to jobs, research work, consultancies and teaching positions all over the world.

He was director of research and development for the underground-based Moonlight Mushrooms operation in Butler and Armstrong counties.

He was part of Therion Corp., which consulted with the Australian mushroom industry.

“Therion was an appropriate name,” Miller said. “Therion means wild animal or beast. We were working with these wild little beasties.”

They've led him on a long journey from his boyhood home in Southern New Jersey to stints in Australia, Alberta, Canada and back to New Jersey.

7-year stint

After graduating college with a bachelor's degree in biochemistry, Miller said he knew he wanted to get into research. That led to a seven-year stint with the federal Environmental Protection Agency doing waste composting research.

Miller traveled to Australia to work with the mushroom industry there, devising compost that would increase mushroom yields while decreasing odor problems.

Along the way, he's written 50 scientific papers and six book chapters.

While the simplest definition of compost is decayed organic matter used as plant fertilizer, Miller sees it as so much more.

“Compost I would define as a self-heating ecosystem,” he said. “It's an aerobic process. Self-heating is characteristic of a positive process.”

Compost heat is produced as a by-product of the microbial breakdown of organic material.

That heating is positive to a point, Miller said.

“The hotter it gets, the slower the process becomes. At 140 degrees Fahrenheit, the microbes are literally killing themselves off.

“Imagine a jogger working out in a rubber suit,” he said.

'Found naturally'

“Biomass and heat are found naturally in nature,” he said. “You could start a compost pile in the Antarctic, it will have the same thermophilic organisms that can take a lot of heat.”

The heat provides an added benefit of killing pathogens.

In addition to devising the makeup of compost to provide the perfect growing mediums for mushrooms in nearly 600 acres of underground tunnels that made up the Moonlight Mushroom operation, Miller also worked to create compost for use in large-scale animal operations such as poultry farms.

It's a complex process creating the right compost for such a circumstance, he said.

For instance, compost can be used to combat an outbreak of bumblefoot disease in a neighboring poultry farm.

Bumblefoot is characterized by a pus-filled abscess that is covered by a black scab and is paired with lameness.

“In this case, it was caused by little splinters,” Miller said. “We had to change the substrate (of the barn's floor covering) around.

“We solved it without using any bacteriological or chemical agents,” he said, adding it's always better to use natural methods to counter a disease.

Niche competitor

For instance, he said, to fight a mushroom disease, he introduced a niche competitor to grow in the compost, which took over the ecological niche used by the disease, crowding the harmful organism out.

“The organism was very similar to what you get in cottage cheese,” Miller said. “It was safe as milk. You could literally drink the stuff.”

Composting as a way to reuse organic waste is growing in popularity.

According to the Earth911 database, due to industrial-scale composting facilities, 8.9% of America's organic waste is composted. Some communities, such as Seattle, mandate composting.

Miller, who calls himself semi-retired, said composting on a large scale can be used as a pathogen control, both halting and preventing harmful organisms from having the opportunity to grow and prosper.