The following question was posed to a Food Coop employee, “What is one thing everyone can do to live more sustainably?” An honest answer came back. “One thing our family struggles with–because we don’t have the systems in place–is composting. It’s not hard, and it’s something we all could do. And, it could be an easy way to get your kids involved, especially because a lot of kids are learning it at school.” As a consequence of this question and answer, I thought it would be good to use composting as a way to introduce something my spouse and I call, One Step Forward. The One Step Forward framework provides some background information about a given topic, a few how-to’s, and resources you can use to learn more about the topic or pursue your own actions.
Rather than start with the composting process, let’s take a quick look at the origins of materials that go into composts. In your home the places of origin typically include the kitchen, indoor plantings, and the yard (or other green space). Here we are generally talking food wastes and yard/plant trimmings. If you take a look at the latest information on the municipal solid waste stream in the United States, you quickly see nearly 30% of the weight consists of these two categories. Much of this material finds its way into gigantic holes in the ground and is buried. Unfortunately, much of the material in a landfill does not decompose very quickly. Researchers have pulled out 70+ year old newspapers and years old banana peels. The specific landfill conditions greatly impact the decomposition rate of its contents. If you want to learn more about the contents of landfills or about garbage, look at the late William Rathje’s Tucson Garbage Project, read the book Garbology (nerd alert: Ann Marie and I love this book), or find a copy of the National Geographic ChannelMegastructures episode titled, Garbage Mountain. Composting and recycling can reduce and potentially eliminate this contribution to the waste stream.
Composting takes advantage of the natural processes used to break down organic matter, materials composed primarily of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and a few other elements. Good compost strikes a balance among the properties of the input materials. A roughly 2:1 mixture of browns (carbon rich materials) and greens (nitrogen rich materials) yields a pile that will feed the naturally occurring microorganisms and generate the final product in a reasonable time. So what are some examples of browns and greens? Think dry materials for browns, such as dried leaves, sawdust, shredded newspaper, or even the fabric from the Three Tines studio. Food scraps, coffee grounds, fresh grass clippings, and newly pulled weeds all fall into the greens category. Avoid placing high fat materials or meats into the compost bucket. You need much higher temperatures to break down these kinds of materials most effectively. Once you have your brown and green mixture add water – just the right amount of moisture. I like to describe this as the amount of water needed to form the mixture into a ball that holds its shape and doesn’t drip. Now, you will be feeding organisms that need oxygen to survive. As a consequence, you simply mix the pile at some regular interval, perhaps daily or every other day, to get air to all corners.
In the kitchen collect your food scraps in a simple bucket with a lid and keep it under the sink. Periodically empty the bucket into the location of your compost bin or bins. I have seen homes with limited space use a prefabricated bin that tumbles the contents, such as the envirocycle, or employ a compact system in a yard using the green cone when small amounts of waste are generated. A larger compost bin or set of bins can be constructed of reused lumber, such as old pallets, or purchased as an assembly. Whatever your situation composting provides an experimental learning adventure, removes wastes from landfills, and generates a rich material to use as fertilizer in your gardens or in your potted plants. For additional information, check out the Rodale Book of Composting, your local extension service, or the quick start guide for home composting.
Enjoy these new adventures by taking One Step Forward and let me know how it goes!
Post originally appeared at ThreeTines.com/Blog
