by Carly Foubert, CFICE Communications RA
Whether you already have one or you’re thinking of starting one, today we鈥檙e going to talk about composting.
Composting is a super effective way to reduce household waste by diverting biodegradable material away from landfills. It also returns valuable nutrients to the soil, so you鈥檒l have some great nutrient rich soil for your garden in the spring!
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This compost journey starts by purchasing a compost bin. You鈥檙e going to want something big and with holes so that the microorganism that will break down the biodegradable materials have access to oxygen. 聽This will also prevent the production of methane gas through , which is the process of composting without oxygen, this is what occurs when compostable material begins to decompose when buried in landfills.
The achieve the , it’s best to have a ratio that is half green and half brown compost. 聽This refers to the colour of the biodegradable material; green can be grass clippings, plant matter, and green table scraps like spinach and broccoli. While brown matter can include wilted plants, pine needles, and straw or sawdust. 聽This is important as the brown contributes carbon and green provides nitrogen, both of 聽which will help in the composting.
Backyard composting isn’t the only way though, you can too.
Or if you鈥檙e not interested in composting, but still want to contribute to reducing your waste, some cities have in place green bin programs, which can be collected and composted by the city. 聽If not, you could also collect your organic waste and ask a farm near you if you can drop it off or a community garden if they would make use of the compost. 聽
But what goes in the compost bin?
I鈥檓 glad you asked! There are so many things that can go in your compost bin! The EPA estimates that food waste is the number one material sent to landfills of our everyday trash! And globally about 聽 of the food produced is lost or wasted, which is 1.3 billion ton annually!
Here is a quick list of SOME of the things that you can compost:
- Coffee Beans and tea bags
- Baking ingredients and baked goods
- Breads , cereals, crackers, and other grain products
- Dairy products (cheese and sour cream)
- Fruits and vegetables
- Eggs and eggshells
- Peanut butter
- Pet food
- Seeds and nuts
For a larger list check out this .
Turn the compost every couple of weeks and keep everything moist to help maintain the compost.
Then just sit back and let the microorganisms do their thing and break down the biodegradable materials. 聽聽