Introduction
To me, composting is a lot like parenting. It’s something I started doing more out of necessity than by choice. My daughter was learning about composting in school and bringing home all these pamphlets about how to do it. In the beginning, I was skeptical—what could I possibly put in there besides food scraps?—but now that my family has been composting for a few years, I’m more than sold on the process.
The first thing you need to know about composting is that it doesn’t have to be expensive or high-tech. You can start with a small bin and add ingredients as you go along—just make sure you’re putting in the right things!
You can also learn from others who know what they’re doing or are just starting out like yourself: ask your neighbor if she does any composting and sign up for our blog at DontPaveThePlanet to get information from seasoned pros (like me!).
Bamboo is not always sustainable.
While bamboo is a fast-growing grass, it’s not always sustainable. Bamboo plants are harvested at the end of their natural lifespan and replanted, but that means they can only be harvested every five years or so. That’s not enough to meet the demand for our favorite eco-friendly material!
Luckily for those who want to support sustainable bamboo products, there are plenty of companies out there that use their own plantations. There are also some awesome eco-friendly substitutes like coconut palm leaves (which can be turned into rugs), cork (which makes great flooring) and eucalyptus trees (great for furniture).
Don’t dump your water softener on your lawn.
Remember when you had to get up early to ensure that your clothes were as white as possible? Nowadays, it’s easy to toss your laundry in the washer and go about your day. But how did we get here?
The answer lies in a little box called a water softener. The average home water softener uses up to 30 pounds of salt each month—and that’s not counting what homeowners dump on their lawns or wash off down the drain when they clean their cars. Salt is bad for the environment because it causes soil erosion and can kill plants and animals if too much gets into nearby bodies of water (which will then become polluted).
Always separate paper from plastic and aluminum from glass when you recycle.
The process of recycling is a bit complex, but the basics are fairly simple. After you throw your items into your bin, they will be sorted by color and material. Paper, plastic and aluminum are sent off to different locations where they’re recycled into new paper, new plastic and new aluminum respectively. Glass is sorted from these materials and can be recycled into new glass products as well!
You can compost coffee grounds, tea bags, and coffee filters.
Coffee grounds, tea bags and coffee filters have become a part of the modern American routine. And while they may not be good for the environment when they are thrown away in a landfill, these items can provide nutrients to your garden soil if you compost them.
Composting is a natural process that breaks down organic matter like food scraps and yard waste by using microorganisms that eat it up and turn it into nutrient-rich soil. You can compost all sorts of things—including coffee grounds!—but there are some common composting myths out there that don’t hold much water (pun intended). For example:
- Coffee grounds are not compostable! While this might seem like common sense, some people buy special biodegradable filters with holes in them thinking their old filters will be reused once filled with used grounds. However…
- Tea bags are not compostable either! They’re made from paper so they’ll break down eventually but only if you let them sit undisturbed for several months or even years depending on the type of bag material used (check out our article about how fast different materials break down here).
Be careful which paper products you compost.
While you’re buying paper products that are made from recycled materials, be sure to avoid picking up any of the following:
- Paper towels, tissues, and napkins. These are too much like toilet paper for a compost pile to handle.
- Coffee cups, plates and cups (including the waxed kind). These are too much like plates for a compost pile to handle.
- Waxed or foil-coated papers (like candy wrappers) that have been treated with waxes or other chemicals not friendly to your soil. You can use them in your kitchen garbage bin instead of your compost bin if you want… but they’ll just end up being buried in landfill somewhere else if they go there instead of into your home’s compost pile!
You can also toss out glossy magazines and catalogs—and any paper with lots of printing on it—as well as colored cardboard boxes such as those used by cereal manufacturers (these often contain chemicals that can contaminate soil).
Composting doesn’t have to be expensive or high-tech.
Composting doesn’t have to be expensive or high-tech. You can compost without a fancy bin, without a fancy composting system and without a fancy composting kit. If you have access to yard waste, it’s even easier—all you need is a place to set down your scraps and let them go!
Start with a small compost bin.
If you’re interested in composting but haven’t done it before, I recommend starting with a small compost bin. Smaller bins are easier to maintain, cheaper and more portable than larger ones. They can also be placed inside or outside the house depending on your needs. The smaller size means they’re better insulated and aerated so they heat up faster than larger bins–which is important if you live in a cold climate and want your compost to break down quickly!
Learn about what you can and can’t compost.
Composting is a great way to recycle your food scraps. Just make sure you know what can and can’t be composted.
Can be composted:
Vegetable matter, including fruit and vegetable peels, stems, leaves and roots from plants that were organically grown (no pesticides or herbicides)
Uncooked pasta, breads and grains (such as rice)
Tea bags (be sure not to include metal staples)
Coffee grounds
Egg shells (crushed up into small pieces)
Paper towels (as long as they don’t have any lotion on them) Can’t be composted: Meat bones
Fish heads or tails
Grains/flours from non-organic sources
Coffee filters with paper labels on them
Don’t be afraid to try it out!
- Don’t be afraid to try it out.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
- Don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
- Don’t be afraid to fail, because you’re going to make mistakes along the way and that’s just part of learning (and I’m sure there will also be many things you do well). You’re going to have setbacks and challenges along the way, but if you can take them in stride as learning opportunities instead of problems, then that’s great!
If there’s anything else we can do for you or anyone else who is interested in trying out green living for themselves or their families, please let us know!
Composting doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, and the more people who do it the better off our planet will be!
So you’ve decided to start composting. Good for you! Composting is a cost-effective way to reduce your waste, and it’s good for the earth too.
What exactly is composting? Well, it’s basically when you take food scraps and other organic matter, mix them together with dirt (or some other material) and let it sit for a few weeks or months. This process breaks down the organic materials into “compost”—a nutrient rich substance that can be used as fertilizer in gardens and potted plants.
Conclusion
There are so many ways to live a green lifestyle, and composting is just one of them. I’d love to know what you’re doing in your own life to be more sustainable. Leave me a comment below and let’s start the conversation!
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