Composting
Manage organic waste beneficially by encouraging biological processes to decompose material and return nutrients to soil, so you send less garbage to incinerate or landfill and flush less water to septic or sewer systems.
The practice of outdoor pile composting handles organic waste beneficially by encouraging biological decomposition to break down material and return nutrients to soil, so you send less garbage to incinerate or landfill and flush less water to septic or sewer systems. This composting 101 practice is suitable for pathogen-free plant-based material and requires at least a square meter of outdoor area for a compost pile. Outdoor pile composting can be a daily practice, but decomposition slows or stops during cold weather, so this practice may require months or several years to produce compost. Intermediate and expert composting practices can produce compost much faster than this practice.
This practice is a step along these pathways:
Organic waste includes paper, cardboard, wood, food scraps, weeds, leaves, grass clippings, dishwater, and other putrescible materials. If this waste is not composted on site, it must be transported off site using trucks for solids and septic or sewer systems for liquids. Environmental savings achieved by composting organic waste:
A backyard compost pile provides habitat for detritivores; soil amended with compost provides fertile habitat for a diversity of species below ground and above. Compost adds organic matter to soil, which improves the ability of many plants to grow in clay or sand and to tolerate infrequent watering.
Superb composting practice benefits all concerned, without creating a nuisance or hazard. Poor composting practice may create bad odors, attract vertebrate pests, grow weeds, and spread pathogens that sicken your family, guests or pets.
For pathogenic and animal-based material, practice other composting methods that reach higher temperatures and deter vertebrate pests. For decomposition to occur year round in cold climates, you'll need tens of cubic meters of material (to maintain warmth inside the pile) or practice indoor composting methods.
The practice of using a composting service handles organic waste beneficially by encouraging biological decomposition to break down material, so you send less garbage to incinerate or landfill and flush less water to septic and sewer. This basic composting 102 practice is suitable for disposing of the waste materials your composting service accepts. Collecting organic waste to send to a composting service can be a daily practice, but some services stop collections during cold weather. Intermediate and expert composting practices can compost all organic waste year round.
This practice is a step along these pathways:
Organic waste includes paper, cardboard, wood, food scraps, weeds, leaves, grass clippings, dishwater, and other putrescible materials. If this waste is not composted, it must be incinerated or landfilled. Environmental savings achieved by composting organic waste using a service:
Superb composting practice benefits all concerned, without creating a nuisance or hazard. Poor composting practice may create bad odors, attract vertebrate pests, grow weeds, and spread pathogens that sicken your family, guests or pets.
The practice of primitive outdoor composting handles organic waste beneficially by allowing biological decomposition to break down material and return nutrients to soil, so you send less garbage to incinerate or landfill and flush less water to septic or sewer systems. This primitive composting 103 practice is suitable for rural properties without close neighbors or composting ordinances. Primitive outdoor composting can be a daily practice, but decomposition slows or stops during cold weather, so this practice may require months or several years to produce compost. Intermediate and expert composting practices can produce compost much faster than this practice with less risk of nuisances or hazards.
This practice is a step along these pathways:
Organic waste includes paper, cardboard, wood, food scraps, weeds, leaves, grass clippings, dishwater, and other putrescible materials. If this waste is not composted on site, it must be transported off site using trucks for solids and septic or sewer systems for liquids. Environmental savings achieved by composting organic waste:
Decomposing organic waste provides habitat for detritivores; soil amended with compost provides fertile habitat for a diversity of species below ground and above. Compost adds organic matter to soil, which improves the ability of many plants to grow in clay or sand and to tolerate infrequent watering.
Superb composting practice benefits all concerned. Poor composting practice may create a nuisance or hazard. Bury pathogenic and animal-based material to mitigate the spread of diseases and discourage vertebrate pests.
We've set up old-fashioned, ad-free, invitation-only Google groups so you can easily provide feedback using regular email.
When you see the message, “You don't have permission to access this content” click on the link labeled, “For access try contacting the group's owners and managers.” Let us know who you are, and we'll reply with a personal invitation so you can share your experiences on the journey to sustainability, using plain old email to communicate.
The practice of tumbling bin outdoor composting handles organic waste beneficially by encouraging biological decomposition to break down material and return nutrients to soil, so you send less garbage to incinerate or landfill and flush less water to septic or sewer systems. This method can decompose most kinds of organic waste, and requires an outdoor area one square meter or more for a tumbling compost bin, which are available in many materials and styles:
Tumbling bin outdoor composting can be a daily practice, but decomposition slows or stops during cold weather, so this practice may require many months or a year to produce compost unless you have an insulated bin. Expert composting practices can produce compost much faster than this practice.
This practice is a step along these pathways:
Organic waste includes paper, cardboard, wood, food scraps, weeds, leaves, grass clippings, dishwater, and other putrescible materials. If this waste is not composted on site, it must be transported off site using trucks for solids and septic or sewer systems for liquids. Environmental savings achieved by composting organic waste:
A tumbling compost bin provides habitat for detritivores; soil amended with compost provides fertile habitat for a diversity of species below ground and above. Compost adds organic matter to soil, which improves the ability of many plants to grow in clay or sand and to tolerate infrequent watering.
Superb composting practice benefits all concerned, without creating a nuisance or hazard. Poor composting practice may create bad odors, attract vertebrate pests, grow weeds, and spread pathogens that sicken your family, guests or pets.
This practice deters vertebrate pests. For pathogenic and animal-based material, practice other composting methods that reach higher temperatures. For decomposition to occur year round in cold climates, you'll need tens of cubic meters of material (to maintain warmth inside the pile) or practice indoor composting methods.