Recycling & Conservation

More and more states are encouraging and even requiring citizens to start composting their organic waste in an effort to reduce the burden on landfills. The state of California seems to be the most progressive. In fact, San Francisco leads the country in recycling its waste. San Franciscans recycle approximately 72 of their waste, which is one of the highest in the country.

San Francisco issued a mandate in August that requires residents and businesses to separate their trash from potentially compostable materials as well as separating all recyclable materials. This new laws also carries fines for failure to comply. Citizens can be fined up to $100.00 per violation and businesses up to $500.00 per violation if they fail to properly separate recyclable and compostable material from their trash.

Citizens can also be fined if garbage collectors do not see them submitting at least a cubic yard of refuse for composting on a weekly basis.

This bold move by states such as California come at a time when our landfills are reaching capacity at an alarming rate. Over 2/3 of our garbage is compostable, which means it is time for us to do our part in learning to compost at home. We can easily compost our organic materials in our very own backyards.

There are many manufacturers that have started making very functional composters and compost bins that blend well with the landscape and help reduce odors and rodents as well as produce finished compost in as little as 3-4 weeks. These include compost bins, compost tumblers and worm composting bins. Prices range from approximatley $90.00 – $400.00 depending on the style of composter.

Isn’t it time we all did our part and started composting? Don’t throw it away, compost it! For more information on composting you may want to read “How to Compost.” Also, be sure and check out our Store for a great selection of composters, compost bins and compost tumblers.

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Fall is coming and so are those wonderful leaves.  Yes, I said  wonderful leaves!  Did you know that those leaves falling outside  your window are a great source of organic material for making  compost?

It’s true–leaves are an excellent organic material for making compost for a couple of reasons:

1. Since trees usually have extensive root systems, leaves end up being the recipient of all those nutrients gathered from the soil.
2. Leaves are highly fibrous improving the aeration and composition of the soil.

Now, I can hear you saying, “I tried to compost my leaves, but it  didn’t work.”  Probably most people have had some negative experience trying to compost leaves.  Actually, leaves can take several years to break down if you fail to compost them properly.  Don’t worry, learning how to compost leaves is not nearly as difficult as you may think. We are going to show you the easy way to compost leaves.

The first question many people ask is “What kind of leaves work best for composting?”  Just about any typical leaf works great.   Here are some of the most common leaf types:

• White Ash
• American Beech
• Balsam Fir
• Eastern Hemlock
• Red Maple
• Sugar Maple
• White Oak

We should mention that if oak or beech leaves are used exclusively the resulting compost will be a bit more acidic making it quite suitable for plants such as rhododendrons and blueberries.  You  can tone down the acidity by adding some limestone to the leaves as you fill your compost bin or compost pile.

There are two important things that you must do when you compost leaves to ensure that your leaves will compost properly.  The first thing is to make sure your leaves are shredded when adding them to your composter, compost tumbler or compost pile.

Shredding your leaves is quite easy.  You can mow over them several times before you rake them up.  Also, there are a number of  manufacturers who make shredder / chippers that work great for  leaves.  I even had a gasoline powered blower that had a vacuum attachment for picking up leaves, which left the leaves in a nice shredded state.

The second important thing you must do when you compost leaves is to make sure that you add nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile.   Leaves contain very little nitrogen.  It is this lack of nitrogen that causes the leaves to decay slowly.  Adding nitrogen to your compost bin or compost pile will help to speed up the decomposition process of the leaves.   Adding nitrogen can be as simple as adding grass clippings with the leaves as you fill your compost tumbler or compost bin.

Other sources of nitrogen include manure, dried blood, alfalfa  meal, and bone meal.  If you are using manure, use 1 part manure to five parts leaves.  If you are using a natural source of nitrogen such as dried blood, use two cups per wheelbarrow load of leaves.

Once you have shredded your leaves and found an additional nitrogen source, you simply add your leaves and nitrogen source to your compost tumbler, compost bin or compost pile and keep the leaves moist but not wet and allow nature to do its thing.  You will of course want to keep your leaves turned on a fairly regular basis if you are using a compost bin or compost pile.

If you want to make the composting process even quicker and easier, a compost  tumbler works the best.  With a compost tumbler you are able to easily turn your compost on a weekly basis keeping the organic material well-mixed thereby speeding up the decomposition process.  With a compost  tumbler you can have compost in as little as 3 or 4 weeks.

A great compost tumbler for composting leaves is the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler.

If you are looking for a very simplistic compost bin to use to compost your leaves, the Wishing Well Compost Bin fits the bill just fine.

Hopefully, at this point you will look on those falling leaves a little more favorably.  Taking some time to compost leaves in the fall will result in great compost to use in your garden in the spring.  So go outside, rake some leaves and make some compost!

Both of the composters mentioned above are available in our Store and they include FREE SHIPPING.

For additional information on composting you may want to read  “What Can You Compost?” You can also check out our website www.goodcompost.com for more information on composting and a great selection of composting products.  Happy raking and composting!

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Something to think about…what could we really live without?

Don’t throw it away, compost it!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Healthy-People-Healthy-Planet/Disposable-Products.aspx

Posted via email from goodcompost’s posterous

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The incredible “shrinking” plastic bag!

http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/21/unveiling-a-platic-bag-ban-in-mexico-city/

Posted via email from goodcompost’s posterous

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It is estimated that the average person throws away around 4 pounds of garbage per day. Around 75 percent of that garbage is comprised of organic matter, which means it is compostable. Isn’t it time we started doing our part to reduce the amount of garbage ending up in landfills and learned how to compost?

Composting is a way to speed up the natural, biological process through which organic wastes are reduced to humus, which is dark, earth like organic matter that has reached the point where it will not break down any further. This finished compost or humus greatly improves soil texture and better enables the soil to retain nutrients, moisture and air for the support of healthy flowers and vegetables. Composting is something we can all do to help the environment, and it is rather easy to learn how to compost. continue

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Worm composting—I am sure you have heard of it, but what the heck is it?  Worm composting is a wonderfully efficient way to convert kitchen scraps, cardboard and junk mail into nutrient-rich compost for your garden.  Did you know that these wiggly composters can eat their body weight in garbage in a day?  That’s a lot of composting going on.

Earthworms are very efficient little composters leaving behind some of the richest and most productive compost known.  These worm castings or worm compost contain 5 to 11 times the amount of available of N-P-K as the soil the worms ate to produce those castings.  So how do these wiggly composters do their magical work?  The worm’s intestinal tract secretions act to chemically liberate plant nutrients with the aid of the microorganisms present in the soil.  These wonderful earthworms tunnel through your soil day and night liberating plant nutrients wherever they go!

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Found a great article extolling the benefit of worm composting.  Those little wiggly guys can help us get rid of our garbage and make wonderful compost for our garden all at the same time!

Take a moment and check out this article:  Wiggly composters help with trash woes – Nova Scotia News – TheChronicleHerald.ca.

http://www.goodcompost.com

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I found a great article that talks about the efforts of three families who greatly reduced their water consumption by using, among other things, rain barrels and composting toilets.

We can all learn much from their ingenuity and determination.  Be sure and check out the article…The water savers – The Boston Globe.

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