Composting
City Dwellers Composting?
08/25/09
Okay, so I don’t live downtown. My house sets on a standard lot. I may have more room than an apartment dweller, but composting is not limited to those in rural locales. Personally I got started because of an article in my Florida Gardening magazine. This article gave instructions on turning our old recycle bins into worm composters. (We now have large rolling garbage cans for all of our recyclables in Dade county.) By adding a few more holes to the bottom and layering dirt with kitchen scraps, the worms, theoretically, would find their way up from the soil into your bin and break down the scraps into compost.
Apparently, you needed to have a few worms to begin with.
Even though, I did not have any naturally occurring worms, my scraps composted nicely in about six weeks. Thus, my journey into composting had begun. Now, I take out a plate when I’m chopping vegetable and pile up my scraps for the bin. When I plant something new in my yard, I grab some of my rich dark compost to supplement the soil.
All you need for a successful compost bin is a container and a little nitrogen and a little carbon. Nitrogen comes form green plants and your kitchen scraps. Carbon comes from brown things like leaves. You need to alternate layers of nitrogen and carbon as you fill the bin. I use garden soil, leaves, or newspapers as my carbon. Be sure your scraps are in small pieces if you want fast composting.
Even apartment dwellers can get into the action with a smaller bin that is kept under the sink, on top of the fridge, or on a balcony. If you don’t keep plants yourself and have no use for the soil, give it away or add it to the landscaping around the building. If you’re handy and have a decent sized yard, make a compost bin out of old pallets.
So why is this important? When we throw our table scraps in the household trash, they end up in the municipal waste dumps. (Here in South Florida, the municipal dump is affectionately referred to as Mt. Trashmore.) Organic waste like kitchen scraps and yard clippings do not really break down in the dumps mainly because of a lack of oxygen. Landfills are generally sealed off to prevent contamination and the trash is compacted and flattened in order to harvest the methane gas naturally produced.
The average American throws away about 100 pounds of food scraps in a year which adds up to more than 7% of the waste stream. I have read conflicting opinions on whether disposing of scraps is better in the garbage disposal or in your municipal trash. Ultimately, either method taxes our system. The water management system has to treat all the waste water entering its system so any food value in the scraps is lost, and adding scraps with all the rest of our household trash just adds to Mt. Trashmore. Besides, having a free source of gardening soil is a great cost saver in this recessionary climate.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Apparently, you needed to have a few worms to begin with.
Even though, I did not have any naturally occurring worms, my scraps composted nicely in about six weeks. Thus, my journey into composting had begun. Now, I take out a plate when I’m chopping vegetable and pile up my scraps for the bin. When I plant something new in my yard, I grab some of my rich dark compost to supplement the soil.
All you need for a successful compost bin is a container and a little nitrogen and a little carbon. Nitrogen comes form green plants and your kitchen scraps. Carbon comes from brown things like leaves. You need to alternate layers of nitrogen and carbon as you fill the bin. I use garden soil, leaves, or newspapers as my carbon. Be sure your scraps are in small pieces if you want fast composting.
Even apartment dwellers can get into the action with a smaller bin that is kept under the sink, on top of the fridge, or on a balcony. If you don’t keep plants yourself and have no use for the soil, give it away or add it to the landscaping around the building. If you’re handy and have a decent sized yard, make a compost bin out of old pallets.
So why is this important? When we throw our table scraps in the household trash, they end up in the municipal waste dumps. (Here in South Florida, the municipal dump is affectionately referred to as Mt. Trashmore.) Organic waste like kitchen scraps and yard clippings do not really break down in the dumps mainly because of a lack of oxygen. Landfills are generally sealed off to prevent contamination and the trash is compacted and flattened in order to harvest the methane gas naturally produced.
The average American throws away about 100 pounds of food scraps in a year which adds up to more than 7% of the waste stream. I have read conflicting opinions on whether disposing of scraps is better in the garbage disposal or in your municipal trash. Ultimately, either method taxes our system. The water management system has to treat all the waste water entering its system so any food value in the scraps is lost, and adding scraps with all the rest of our household trash just adds to Mt. Trashmore. Besides, having a free source of gardening soil is a great cost saver in this recessionary climate.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
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