Green Living Feature of the Week - Composting

Composting household scrap/waste organic matter is a great Earth-friendly, sustainable living activity.  It is beneficial because:

• Composting prevents organic materials from going to landfills, where they contribute to landfill volume and generate methane gas.  Reduction of volume going to landfills also reduces the amount of vehicle fuel burned transporting waste to landfills and the pollutant generation associated with burning the fuel.
• Compost replaces chemical fertilizers.  Gardeners can grow great organic vegetables using compost to add nutrients to the soil.  Eliminating chemical fertilizers also reduces the pollution generated in the fertilizer production process, and conserves the raw materials used for fertilizer production.  It also reduces fertilizer run-off into our watersheds.
• Compost builds better soil for gardening.  In addition to adding nutrients, it loosens the soil and helps moisture retention.
• If you don't garden, compost makes a great mulch to use around trees and bushes.

I keep a covered compost pail under the kitchen sink to hold compostables between trips outside to the compost bins.  Compostable ingredients are generally classified as "green" (nitrogen-rich) and "brown" (carbon-rich).  It's good to use a mixture of the two. Examples of "green" materials are vegetable/fruit scraps and peelings from the kitchen.  Examples of "brown" materials are leaves and grass clippings.  Here are some of the types of things I compost:

• Vegetable and fruit peelings and scraps.
• Coffee grounds.
• Tea bags.
• Egg shells.
• Leaves.
• Grass trimmings.
• Garden plant & house plant debris.
• Yard trimmings.
• Sawdust.
• Paper (in small quantities).