Compost Bins: Composting Basics

Did you know that over 60 percent of garbage and waste produced by the average U.S. household could be recycled or composted? Unfortunately, only 8 percent of American waste is composted, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Did you also know that yard waste, such as grass trimmings, makes up almost 20 percent of all waste generated each year? When thrown into landfill sites, organic matter like food and grass trimmings consume a substantial amount of space and play a significant part in the formation of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that "remains in the atmosphere for approximately 9-15 years...and is over 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide" (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

Composting organic matter like food and grass trimmings is simple, especially when using a purchased compost bin. Building a compost bin on your own is certainly an option, but compost bins on the market come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and make the composting process relatively trouble-free. No matter how you choose to compost your organic wastes, the advantages of composting are undeniable. Composting helps the environment by decreasing greenhouse gases and other contaminants in the air that would be caused because of simply throwing organic wastes into the local landfill or incinerator. Composting also saves money by supplying you with no cost fertilizer for your garden. Finally, compost puts nutrients back into the soil, increasing the quality of the soil and improving the health of plants.

When making your own compost, the first thing is to select a compost bin. Compost bins can be found in all shapes and sizes, so the size of your garden or yard is not an issue. Large compost bins allow passionate gardeners with a considerable yard area the ability to make enough compost to last throughout the growing season. On the other hand, small compost bins can fit in the kitchen or on the balcony of a small apartment home and provide enough compost for house plants and a small herb garden. Knowing how much time you wish to spend tending to your compost pile and how much space you have to devote to a compost bin will assist you as you search for just the right compost bin.

Once you have selected your compost bin, it's time to begin filling it with organic matter. But can you put any kind of organic matter into a compost pile? Unfortunately, no. The common advice is to fill your compost bin with a mixture of 50 percent "browns," and 50 percent "greens." The "browns" add carbon to the mix and include some of these ingredients:

• Dried leaves


• Straw


• Chopped Cornstalks - must be shredded or chopped into very small pieces first


• Shredded Paper


• Shredded Cardboard


• Paper Towels

"Greens" add nitrogen to the mix and include some of these ingredients:

• Grass Clippings


• Garden Trimmings


• Most Kitchen Wastes


• Fresh Hay


• Manure from non-meat eating animals

It is not desirable to incorporate the following types of organic matter into your compost bin unless properly prepared first:

• Diseased plants


• Grass clippings with chemicals


• Hedge trimmings


• Nut shells


• Peat moss


• Pine Cones


• Pine needles


• Sawdust


• Sod


• Soil


• Weeds


• Wood ashes


• Wood chips

For information about how to prepare these types of organic matter for composting, visit the website of your local agricultural extension office.

Some organic matter is never appropriate to place in a compost bin. Avoid the following items:

• Bones


• Cat litter


• Charcoal and briquettes


• Cooked food waste


• Dairy products -- (butter, cheese, mayonnaise, salad dressing, milk, yogurt, sour cream)


• Dishwater


• Fatty, oily, greasy foods


• Fish scraps


• Meat


• Glossy, colored paper


• Peanut butter


• Pet wastes, human excrement


• Sludge (biosolids)

Keeping up with your compost pile depends on the type of compost bin you have selected. Some compost bins require that the pile be mixed every so often, but some compost bins require no mixing. Refer to the compost bin manufacturer's instructions for details.

By purchasing or making your own compost bin that works best for you, and by adhering to some basic principles, you can create your own money saving, eco-friendly, plant nourishing compost.


Source:
http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/homecompost/intro.html
University of Illinois Extension: Composting for the Homeowner