I grew up composting so it was only natural that I would compost as an adult. There were some fallacies about composting that I had to work through to finally arrive at the green & clean method we use today. Here are some reasons we compost:
1. It's easy. Once you get the hang of it, composting becomes second nature. I find myself looking for friends' compost bins whenever I'm at their house. Throw the banana peel in the trash can? Really? Maybe I'll just stash this till I get home to my bin.
2. It saves space. With the terrific accumulation of waste product, composting can save quite a bit of trash space. We use MAYBE 2 small plastic grocery bag's worth of trash every week for a family of 4 (that includes diapers!) Btw - of course, we recycle.
3. It's good for the planet. Landfills are being pushed to the max. The EPA estimates that roughly 25% of the garbage in the U.S. is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. Imagine all the land and energy we could save, simply by composting.
4. It's good for the garden. "Black gold" loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. Composted gardens tend to produce more and higher quality fruits and veggies than gardens made with commercial fertilizer alone.
5. It saves money. After the tiny initial investment of setting up a space to compost, we find that composting saves us money by reducing what we pay for fertilizer and yard waste removal. We save $5/month by composting ourselves and not paying for the municipal yard clipping bin pick up. We used an old crib to set up the boundaries for the outdoor compost and we use various bowls to haul indoor scraps outside. Recycling means zero-minimal cost on both ends.
6. It's clean. Only composts done wrong attract pests. Keep dairy products, meats and anything cooked out of your pile and you'll be golden.
Hey! If we started collecting compost materials, could I drop them off at your house? I really want to compost, but don't have anywhere to put the stuff...
ReplyDeleteCheck to see if City of Chandler has green yard waste bins and if not check out the cool composting devices you can get online and if those don't suit your fancy, I'll take your compost! :)
ReplyDeletefinally getting around to checking it out! ok wow...you can be my compost guru. i actually just started composting this summer. i was reading about it this winter and finally took the plunge. i'm sure there is much more i could compost. i have mine in a rubbermaid bin ...anne could try that. i will probably start a 2nd one in october so i can have 2 going at once. anyway...i think i need help!!! i have flies swarming me. they are not regular flies they are those annoying lil' fruit nats or whatever they are. is that normal? i'm turning it monthly. how often should i be adding paper and deads? it's starting to compost because it stinks like poo now.
ReplyDeleteWhat are you putting in your compost? It should be a heavenly earthy smell...poo scented sounds sketchy. Where do you keep it? You don't necessarily have to turn it if it gets enough heat/sun. You want to layer live compost with dead leaves/grass clippings/shredded paper. Hmm...keep me "posted"... tee hee.
ReplyDeletejust checking your response now. well, i'm pretty much putting in food. perhaps that's the problem. when i started it i layered with dead leaves, paper and food. however, i'm mostly adding food now. i add paper from time to time. i don't have much in the way of deads here as we don't have giant amounts of glass clippings. right now our grass is half dead so we can't even mow. i keep it out back so it does get plenty of sun but it's contained. hmm i'm still getting hit with the flying critter. i will go to the woods to get leaves tomorrow. i will turn and then relayer. i will send you a link if i think of it of where i got my instructions.
ReplyDeleteoh i know not to put in dairys or meats...it's pretty much veggies and fruit in there.
ReplyDelete