Beyond Light Bulbs I: Composting

No. Well, yes...sometimes. Like almost all things in life, composting cannot be easily defined. And yet, for some, a definition might be in order. So at the risk of contradicting myself in the first three lines of my post, here you go:

Compost (v) cŏm-pōst : To put all (or most, or some of) your food waste into the same container such that it starts to rot and break down into a nutritious delight, perfect when added to soil, making for new, lovely vegetables and fruits to replace the ones from whence the compost came (side note: Merriam Webster's definition sucked).

Obviously there are side effects to rotting food, and one of these is a most disagreeable odor. Or so you'd think! In fact, there are certain foods that make a compost stink, while others can be quite neutral indeed. A couple of friends of mine run a farm in Oregon. They need all the compost they can get, with all the nutrients it could possibly offer. Their doors are open almost year-round, and they produce enough food waste between eating and farming that they fill up a large bucket in their kitchen roughly every two days. Consequently, they compost just about everything. My mother, on the other hand, has a modest but beautiful garden, about 20'x7', I'd say. It's in an allotment-type setting, such that she has to make her way about a mile and a half to get there from home. She also uses worms (vermiculture...another post entirely, but not unrelated!), and has to meet their finicky dieting requirements. As such, she leaves out citrus rinds, garlic and onion peels, and won't used cooked food or meat of any kind. She keeps a tiny pot (one of those really big plastic coffee tubs) in the house, and then transfers her compost daily, depending on how full it gets, into her bigger vermicompost outside. Et voila. No smell to speak of.

1. What if I don't have a garden?

Do you want one? Does your neighbor? Is it possible there's a scheme in your neighborhood that collects compost at no charge to you? Hate to answer a question with a question, but...

2. So I start a compost...then what?

This isn't complicated, but there are some important points...

• Make sure it can breathe - add some holes to the lid, as if you were housing an insect.
• Compost is made up of two parts: green and brown. Green should comprise 25-30 parts, while brown should comprise 1. Green waste is all your food waste; brown can be anything from cardboard strips to dried leaves to egg crates to old newspapers. Adding a bit of soil from time to time is also really helpful.
• You can compost in a bin, or you can build a pile if you have a space outside big enough to do so. There are big benefits to the latter option, although the reality is that it's not always an option. But the fact is that your compost wants to get hot, and to do so, it needs oxygen. If you're lucky enough to have an outdoor compost, layering your pile with green and then brown waste is the best route to take.
• This is important: You have to turn your compost. If you've found a scheme that picks up a bucket from you on a weekly basis and you wash your hands of it from there, this doesn't apply to you. But if you're composting for your own garden, leaving it to sit will invite pests. And it won't create compost. Well, it will eventually, but we're talking way longer. You should turn your compost every 10-14 days, depending on the climate in which you live (less often in hotter climates; more often in colder climates, to encourage oxygenation and heat production).
• Your compost needs to be moist - if you notice it drying out, water it like a plant.
• How soon your compost is ready is dependent upon the climate where you live. In the heat of summer, or in a hot and humid climate, it would take 3 or 4 turnings (one-two months). If you start your pile in the dead of winter, it'll take a bit longer. It's safe to say that a pile started in a cold winter could take until spring to be ready. And while you want your compost to be wet, you don't want it sopping. Make sure it's in a place protected from heavy rainfall.

3. So Why Should I Compost?

We make a lot of waste, and it's all got to go somewhere. Lots of the waste produced by European and North American countries is dumped in developing countries where it is scavenged by the very poorest, simply because A. we don't want to deal with it, and B. we're actually running out of places to put it. When you see how much your garbage production decreases, you'll be amazed...and you might find, as I did, that you're moved to eat more fruits and vegetables, just to see your compost grow!

4. Don't take my word for it.

Check out these sites for more info:

• http://www.london.ca/d.aspx?s=/Recycling_and_Composting/Compost_at_home.htm
• http://www.epa.gov/osw/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm
• http://www.toronto.ca/compost/
• http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/lawn_garden/ (do a search on composting and you'll find resources for kids, too!)

And Happy Composting!

Beyond Light Bulbs is part of my Practical Activism Series, specific to offering practical advice in keeping as green as is practicable. For more tips on Practical Activism, see my other hubs!