Monday, February 16, 2009

Composting????

Composting is an odd concept. The idea that we scorn our trash pickup and dump stuff in a corner of our yard seems, well, survivalist. Soon I will be reloading my own machine gun ammo.

The idea behind composting is sound. But let me describe the highlights for you city folk.

You compost greens and browns in some ratio that I have forgotten. Basically it's your food waste plus garden or yard waste but does not include animal products (except egg shells for some reason). If you put out animal waste, global warming will force dislocated polar bears etc to come to feed on your pile.

So why compost? The answer is it depends on your religion. Are you worried about global warming? Land fills? Artificial fertilizers? or just being wasteful?

Given all that, I decided (at the urging of a neighbor who doesn't really compost???) that I should at least try it...I have a good spot, I do care about the landfill etc...but it took more than that to get me going.

First, I have been enjoying our Dallas recycling program. It's been fun to fill up the recycling can and see how little is in the garbage can. And what's in that can, much of it can be composted. Sweet. I did note however that I was putting out huge amounts of yard waste in the garbage can, or for bulk pickup. More on that later.

When you send your scraps and trimmings to the landfill it is dumped and covered. This means it rots without sufficient oxygen (anaerobic). This produces methane, a greenhouse gas 20 time more potent than CO2. It also interrupts nature's cycle. These "waste" things are tomorrow's fertilizer and nutrients. But we immediately remove them from the cycle so we can buy some soil amendment and chemical fertilizer at Home Depot in the spring???

Bottom Line #1- There are some compelling reasons to compost.

As I started my composting project the first stumbling block I had was how to handle the indoor compostable waste? Did I need a new can? How much is there really? Well for us, a family of two, it's really very small. We keep a gallon sized container on the counter and just throw stuff in. We take it to the pile every couple days (it doesn't smell).

That container gets filled with unused food more than anything. Tomatoes gone soft etc etc. Its just a part of busy lifestyles and having only two people, stuff goes bad. Your mileage may vary.

I read all the literature about how composting works, microbes, a correct mix of greens and browns, moisture, turning etc etc. Whatever. I wouldn't compost if I had to do all that. Sure that makes perfect and faster compost but...I don't need another hobby.

Bottom Line #2- Basically you throw the stuff you have as waste on a pile and mix it every once and a while if you're bored. It rots aerobically, doesn't smell, and is kinda fun.

There are composting bins sold. The idea is you enclose the compost, add the microbes via a "starter kit" and usually they are easy to "turn". This will make compost faster. (Great, another outlet for my type A personality and life!) These "bins" are expensive, they usually are made from unrecycled plastic and potentially end up in the landfill themselves. None of which seems very "natural" and I want nature to work for me, not vice-versa.

Bottom Line #3 - Don't buy a bin unless you have zero space for a "pile". What is it with us, how commercial have we become that we must market some gear to compost? Stuff rots on its own, count on it.

It's important to discuss the size of pile needed. I had a giant space allocated behind my garage. But it's a funny thing about decomposition...it's hard to make the pile grow very fast. We throw stuff in but the pile seems about the same size. After five months its about the size of your trunk, if you have a small car.

That said, I doubt I am extending the life of our landfill much. I am removing my Methane producing material from the mix, and the carbon and pollutants from the trucks to haul it. It isn't spring yet but I do have plans for the finished compost...we are planning a garden! (My wife has an Okra Jones.)

Bottom Line #4 - Composting my way is fun, easy and rewarding. It adds almost zero complexity to my life and does a lot for the planet when measured in individual family terms. It doesn't smell, attract critters or require much of anything. Mother Nature has it handled, she works for me...

There is a part of this story that involves my voluminous yard and tree waste that is a whole "nother" post.

2 comments:

  1. I don't understand how a pile of composting material does not "attract critters". I live in a major metropolitan area, and my neighbors who are serious recyclers have a large compost pile in their yard. Meanwhile, I am being over run by opossoms and racoons. My yard is full of wild animal poop because of this attraction! It's not a pleasant situation! I'm at a loss about what to do. I have considered setting up a closed composting process with worms, which I understand is quite efficient, as an example to them and hope that I can convince them to do likewise.

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  2. It's a good question. We have lots of urban critters here too...I saw an opossum a couple nights ago.

    Not putting any animal products into the pile is key. That smell will attract possums, racoons, and rats. Your veggies and fruits arent really high up on their diet.

    Having said all that I am sure they come and nose around in there. If I could get them to actually turn the pile then I would really have something. Maybe if I put worms in and turned an armadillo loose...

    I am sure you could get some hardware cloth or any kind of wire fencing, put it in a circle and you would deter everything but rats. (They can't be deterred, they can only be challenged.)

    But in the end its all nature.

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