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Composting provides an alternative to the environmentally unsound method of dumping food and yard wastes in landfills. In addition to reducing approximately 1/3 of the space used for landfills, composting your food and yard wastes helps significantly reduce the energy costs of waste transportation. For those of us who pay for trash pickup by the can, composting will significantly reduce your weekly waste load.
If you have a garden, you're probably already familiar with some of the benefits of composting. Composting adds essential nutrients to the soil that help support the many different types of life that sustain soil health. Mature compost can be used in the garden in place of expensive chemical fertilizers, eliminating the need for this environmental pollutant. It can also help to protect garden plants from disease and pests by enriching the diversity of beneficial soil organisms. Compost can help keep house plants healthy too! (For more information on the benefits of composting and good scientific information that may help you better understand how to get the most out of your compost, visit the compost resource page at (http://www.oldgrowth.org/compost/compost.html).
Most people seem to prefer using a bin of one type or another in which to neatly contain compost, deter critters, and perhaps speed up the composting process by consolidating their kitchen and yard wastes. For those of you that really don't want to invest too much time or energy into this whole deal, you might ask the question: Can I go binless? Sure! Back when I was living in Texas, we use to toss the scraps into a heap right out the window, and the compost turned out beautifully. However, this may not be considered civilized behavior in some parts of the country. You should also know that exposing your compost is illegal in some municipalities, due to the possibility that open compost may attract rodents and rodent pests. If you opt for a bin, you can easily build one yourself (the simplest are basically wooden boxes) or purchase one from a variety of stores or online shops. If you decide to purchase a bin, you might want to check out the Brooklyn Botanic Garden site on composting (http://www.bbg.org/gardening/techniques/compost/everything.html ) The information at this site can help you choose a bin as well as other tools that are right for your particular composting needs.
Vermicomposting (composting with worms) is ideal for apartment dwellers. Worm castings are an excellent finished compost that can be used to fertilize your apartment plants. This type of composting works well at the office too (if your lucky enough to work in a progressive environment that encourages such practices). Here's a great website that will tell you everything you need to know about getting started with vermicomposting http://go4green.sask.com/home/garden/compost4.html . You will be amazed at the reduction in food wastes in your bin after the worms go to work.
You can compost just about all food scraps and yard wastes with the exception of meats and bones or oily fats, which may make compost smelly and increase the likelihood of attracting mice and rats. There are some general guidelines regarding proportions of different types of yard waste that should be followed if you want the material to decompose quickly. The addition of too much of certain types of yard waste will significantly slow the composting process. For more details about what to compost and how to get the best results, visit the Go for Green website at http://go4green.sask.com/home/garden/compost1.html
The microbes that are breaking down the nutrients added to your compost pile also require air, so you might have to turn you compost with a gardening tool once a month or so to keep it aerated. If you don't do this, the pile can become anaerobic (without oxygen). Materials will decay at a much slower rate and develop a disgustingly putrid smell that won't make the neighbors happy. For more information about composting fundamentals, visit the following website: http://www.vegweb.com/composting/
Okay, you have more information than I did when I first started composting, so no more excuses-get to it!
A great easy guide to composting with all the how-to's and helpful hints for
both yard composting and composting with worms:
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/compost_sum/home.htm
Great page that includes a lot of
the science behind composting
http://www.soilfoodweb.com/systems/compost/compost.html
Vermicomposting
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/worm/worm1.htm
http://www.dnr.state.mo.us/deq/swmp/worm1.htm
http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/compost/worms/basics.html
Ordering worms
http://www.vermicore.com/vermicoreworms.html
The information on this page provided by Rachel Heichen