Creating some good from waste...

We started composting about 3 years ago and I can’t believe how much waste we produce. I thought that it was going to be a big pain but it has been so easy! And the compost has been awesome for the garden. For those of you who don’t know what it is – compost is basically just decomposing fruits, vegetables and yard waste. Some people do all sorts of food in their compost but we basically just stick to fruit, vegetables, eggshells and coffee grounds and then add the grass clippings from the lawnmower. I recently heard that food scraps and yard waste make up more than 28 percent of our garbage. It’s hard to believe that we waste that much food – but a little less surprising when I think about the fact that we fill up our compost pot at least once a week. It is nice to know that by composting we keep it all out of landfills (where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas). According to the EPA, composting requires three things:

• Browns - This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs.

• Greens - This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds.

• Water - Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development.

While it is recommended that you have an equal amount of browns to greens, we never track it and it seems to work. Likewise, it is recommended that you alternate layers of organic materials of different-sized particles but we have never done this either. If you’re interested in the science behind it - the brown materials provide carbon, the green materials provide nitrogen, and the water helps break down the organic matter. The EPA lists the following as things to compost:

· Fruits and vegetables

· Eggshells

· Coffee grounds and filters

· Tea bags

· Nut shells

· Shredded newspaper

· Cardboard

· Paper

· Yard trimmings

· Grass clippings

· Houseplants

· Hay and straw

· Leaves

· Sawdust

· Wood chips

· Cotton and Wool Rags

· Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint

· Hair and fur

· Fireplace ashes

As mentioned, we stick to the eggshells, fruits, veggies and coffee grounds from the house and then add yard waste – I may try adding some of these others though. And while there are lots of fancy tools to buy, we have had good luck with the following: inside we use an old pot with a lid. We keep this on the kitchen counter and once it’s filled we dump it outside. If we are really fancy we put a damp paper towel at the bottom of the pot to make it easier to dump. When we moved we bought the following composter outside since there are so many rodents around and not a great place to build one but at the old house my husband just dug a hole in the ground and added some sides to it. Like I said, so easy!