Learn How to Compost this Earth Day!
Happy Earth Day! What’s an easy way to do your part to help the environment from home?
•COMPOSTING•
Organic waste in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. By composting wasted food & other organics, methane emissions are significantly reduced while the need for chemical fertilizers is reduced (in some cases eliminated).
Now that you’re sold on composting, how do you do begin?!
1. Select food scraps 🥑 🥚
Start with fruits and veggie scraps. Also tea bags, coffee grounds, eggshells, old flowers, etc. Meat and dairy products are asking for trouble. They attract pests, so 𝐧𝐨 cooked food, oily/buttery things or bones.
2. Store scraps 🪣
When you're composting, your kitchen scraps should be part of a deliberate layering process to speed up decomposition. You'll need to store them in a container so you can add them bit by bit. You can also store the food scraps in your freezer or fridge to avoid odors/pests.
3. Choose a place to make your compost
If you don't have a backyard and still want the composting experience, you can take your scraps to a community garden. There are even a few Denver orgs that do drop-off and pickups! If you do have outdoor space, know your compost bin doesn't have to be fancy.
4. Make compost mix 🧤
When composting you need the right mix of "greens & browns".
🟢 Greens - typically food scraps, like fruit/vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, grass clippings. These add 𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 — a crucial element for microbial growth.
🟤 Browns - 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 rich —egg cartons, newspapers, dried leaves, pine needles. Shred up the paper products before adding to pile. Browns are key because they allow 𝐚𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - water & air flow.
Tip: green materials are more wet, brown more dry. Mix w/o it being too wet.
5. Wait & Aerate ⏱
Decomposition takes anywhere from 2 months to a year depending on temperature. To keep things moving, turn/rotate the pile once every 7-10 days.
Typically the more compost you have, the faster it will go. If it smells bad, it probably means it's not decomposing & your pile may be too wet & need to readjust your ratios of greens/browns. 🧮
Finished compost smells woody, earthy, but also sweet or sour. When you've got that fluffy, earthy compost, put it in your garden, a plant on your windowsill or donate to your local community garden!
Source Articles:
Reducing the Impact of Wasted Food by Feeding the Soil and Composting - https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/reducing-impact-wasted-food-feeding-soil-and-composting
How To Compost At Home - https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828918397/how-to-compost-at-home