Composting

If you would like to lessen the amount of trash your household contributes to your local landfill, and you would like to return vital elements back to the soil and produce healthier fruits and vegetables, composting is a great way to accomplish each of these with minimal effort and little to no cost.

There is a large assortment of specially designed, covered composting bins available that you can purchase, which can be kept in your home. If you want to start right away -right now- any decent sized container with a lid will work until you have a chance to choose a composting bin that suits your household’s needs.

If you choose to keep your composting container outside, be sure to keep it tightly covered. You do not want any furry friends to be tempted by your compost. They may drag garbage across your yard or worse, they may eat the waste, which is unhealthy for them.

To begin composting, start by sorting trash as you prepare to dispose of it. Things like coffee grounds, orange peels, banana peels, potato peels, apple cores, and other such food wastes should be added to the compost bin rather than the trashcan.

You will be amazed how quickly your compost container will fill up. Next, just add a bit of water from time to time and stir the compost occasionally, and solid waste will quickly be transformed into rich material that makes an excellent fertilizer for your lawn or garden.

Home gardeners have been aware of this secret for ages, and have used this form of recycling, long before the term became popular. Rather than purchasing fertilizer, you too can create your own. Remember that there is the bonus of helping to limit the amount of solid waste that is added to landfills each day.

If you begin today and fill an average sized container within the week, then add a bit of water and mix the material regularly, you will have rich compost in less than one month. If you fill your container and do nothing to it at all, you will still benefit, but it will take longer.

Composting is a very simple way to nurture the environment and anyone can do it. Since it improves the environment in several different ways with a minimal amount of effort, composting is a great practice to teach children at an early age. It is very simple to toss a banana peel into the compost bin instead of the garbage can, and this is a good habit to teach young children so they will continue it for a lifetime.

Children can add water or help stir the compost too. Explain the process to them in simple terms and let them see the results of their efforts. Let them help spread the fertilizer when it is ready and remind them when flowers, fruits, or vegetables begin to grow, that they helped feed those plants –in a healthy way– through the simple process of composting.