Composting is nature's way of recycling. It occurs when microorganisms break down (decompose) organic material such as grass, leaves, or food and turns it into rich soil. The best thing about composting is that it keeps organic material out of landfills, where lack of oxygen prevents it from decomposing and allows fermentation to occur. Fermentation releases methane gas, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide!
What You Should Know
- If every American composted his or her organic garbage this year, we would reduce the national waste stream by the size of 460 landfills, and reduce man-made methane emissions in the US by 40% produced from organic materials rotting in landfills. (Composting in your backyard produces no methane emissions).
- Composting can help you reduce your annual trash bill by at least 25%, and reduces the amount of garbage that needs to be transported (by gasoline-powered trucks) to a landfill which also cuts down on greenhouse gas emissions.
- If you spread the fertile soil that composting produces--called humus--onto your garden or lawn, it will work just like trees do to soak up and store carbon dioxide that's in the air, plus it's great for your plants.
Easy Things You Can Do
Start a compost pile! Once you get the hang of it, you'll be amazed at how easy composting is. Here's a simple checklist to help you get started:Rake those leaves. When the leaves fall in autumn, you'll find yourself stuck with more brown materials than you can handle. One solution is to create an all-brown compost pile next to your actual compost pile, that will just take a long time to decompose. Another solution is to mow the leaves back into your lawn or mulch them.
- The Spot. Pick a location for your compost pile that's convenient (not too far from your kitchen). If it's too far away, you won't use it!
- The Pile (or Bin). Choose a partially shaded, level spot either to start your compost pile or to place your composting bin (available at hardware stores). A simple pile will compost just as well as a bin, although you may want to put a small fence around your pile to keep the wind from blowing it. Check to see if your city requires the use of a bin.
- The Stuff. There are two types of composting materials: greens and browns. The microorganisms that do the decomposing need green, nitrogen-rich materials in order to grow and brown, carbon-rich materials for energy. The key to a good compost pile is always to use both green and brown materials, ideally in a one-part green to three-parts-brown ratio. If you use only brown materials, your pile will take a very long time to decompose. If you use only green materials, your pile will attract flies and animals and give off a foul odor. The key to having a compost pile that doesn't give off an odor is oxygen. There are two kinds of microorganisms that break down organic material: those that need oxygen and those that don't. The ones that need oxygen don't smell, which is why mixing up your compost pile every two months or so (which aerates it with oxygen) is so important. If you don't mix your pile and it's too wet and compacted, the organisms that don't need oxygen will take over and a different kind of decomposition, called fermentation, will occur, giving off a foul odor and releasing methane.
- The How. To begin a compost pile, simply pile up any materials listed in the Include column. Don't let the pile get bigger than three cubic feet (start a second pile if you have to). When adding kitchen scraps, dig a hole in the compost pile, drop them in, and cover them up to keep pests away. Every two months or so, go out and turn or mix your pile with a shovel to give it some oxygen. Besides that, there's nothing you have to do. Just let it sit there!
- The Results. After six months you will start to find finished compost (or humus) at the bottom of the pile, ready to use on your lawn, garden, and houseplants. Collect the humus from the bottom of the pile and work it into your garden soil or use it as a top-dressing.
Leave it a-lawn. Think putting your grass clippings into a compost pile is easy? Leaving them on your lawn is even easier, and can save you money.
Compost in your community. Creating a compost pile in your backyard is just one way to compost. Many cities have community compost centers where you can drop off your food scraps and yard trimmings. In that case, you can freeze your food scraps in a container until you have a chance to drop them off.
Source: You Can Prevent Global Warming (and save money!) 51 Easy Ways, by Jeffrey Langholz, Ph.D., or Kelly Turner