Get the scoop on how to do it!
Composting is an easy way to practice sustainability at home by diverting food waste away from landfills. It’s a great benefit to the environment because “when food scraps in the landfill rot, they emit methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide,” says Elvis Cedillos, commercial support manager at CompostNow, a composting service in Atlanta. “Compost materials, on the other hand, decompose and become a nutrient-rich soil amendment that can be used as a natural fertilizer for healthier soil and plants.” Unlike chemical fertilizer that washes off when it rains and runs into our water system, Cedillos says compost strengthens the physical structure of soil. That’s all great, but how complicated (and smelly) of a process is this for those interested in adding it to the home routine? Here’s the 411.
What tools are needed?
Only two, suggest the experts at Atlanta’s Food Well Alliance, a nonprofit that supports local growers. You’ll need a food-scraps collection bucket with a lid in your house that can be kept on the countertop or under the kitchen sink—somewhere easily accessible for the home chef. Additionally, purchase an outdoor composting bin that is at least 3- to 4-feet wide and tall, and located in partial sun to help heat the organic matter to promote decomposition. (Smaller piles will not get hot enough, and a larger pile will be difficult to turn.) Alternatively, hire a service like CompostNow to pick up a weekly or bi-weekly bucket of your food waste and compost it for you.
What goes in the bin?
Think of your backyard compost as vegetarian. “If it grows, it goes [in the bin],” Cedillos says. “Any plant material that once lived is a candidate.” Try to get a balanced mix of “brown” ingredients that are high in carbon, such as dry leaves, sticks, shredded paper bags and cardboard egg cartons, and “green” stuff high in nitrogen, such as vegetable peels, fruit cores, bread, discarded plants, grass clippings, tea bags and coffee grounds. Hair clippings and eggshells can go in, too.
What shouldn’t be composted?
Cedillos advises not to add animal products because of smell and pests, used cooking oil because it can clump the material and make it difficult to aerate, and compostable household products, such as cutlery because the temperature of an athome bin will not heat up enough to degrade those properly. “Our industrial facility’s huge open-air windrows, which are large, elongated, prismshaped ‘piles’ of food waste and other organic matter, can handle these items because the internal temperature is maintained over 130 degrees even in the winter,” Cedillos says.
How does one maintain the pile?
Soil has four components: water, air, minerals and organic matter. Cedillos says maintenance includes turning the pile (a tumbler style bin makes it a cinch to rotate) at least once per week to allow it to get oxygen and break up any clumps, as well as keeping it moist with water so its beneficial microorganisms don’t die. “When done correctly, the compost should smell earthy, not like rotten eggs,” Cedillos says. (If it gets stinky, aerate it more frequently and add carbon-rich material.)
When is it ready?
Compost is ready to become organic fertilizer when it is dark brown or black like potting soil; worms are burrowing through it; and you can’t recognize the original ingredients. It can take anywhere from three months to a year— hopefully just in time to support your seasonal plantings. “Finished compost carries organic matter back to our soil system to keep it healthy,” Cedillos says.
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