It’s estimated that almost 20 per cent of food produced in Canada ends up in landfills. That’s a lot of wasted food — but it doesn’t have to end up there.
Composting is the perfect way to reduce the amount of waste that ends up in the landfill. By turning your discarded organic material into a nutrient-rich soil additive, you not only help save space in the landfill but make it easier for you to grow your own food.
You don’t need to be an experienced composter to get started. In fact, many people choose to start out by collecting compost in a simple container like a plastic bin or an old milk jug.
What is composting?
Composting is the process of turning organic material, like food waste, into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. It reduces your household’s waste input by repurposing what you might traditionally throw in the garbage into something useful.
This biological process requires moisture, temperature, and oxygen to decompose organic waste. The end product can be added to your garden or plant soil and used to produce more nutrient-rich growing material. Bonus – you won’t have to buy those expensive soil fertilizers that can be full of chemicals.
Benefits of composting
There are several benefits of composting, including:
- Reduces methane emissions in landfills
- Add nutrients back to the soil
- Save space in the landfills
- Reduces the need for chemical fertilizers
If you aren’t prepared to start composting yourself, it’s possible that your city collects compost material. You can set aside this material so it will end up in the right place.
Since composting practices vary by city, you can use GarbageDay’s WhichBin tool to find out if and how your city composts. You’ll also want to check in and see if they collect yard waste and kitchen scrap material separately.
What can you compost?
To build a proper compost bin, you need two types of organic material.
“Brown” material, which includes yard waste items such as:
- Dry grass
- Dry leaves
- Weeds
- Plants
- Small twigs
Household scraps, which includes food scraps and various types of household paper such as:
- Crushed egg shells
- Vegetable trimmings
- Fruit scraps
- Tea bags
- Coffee grounds and their filters
- Paper scraps
- Paper napkins
- Towels
- Tissues
You want to make sure that none of the materials that you add into the compost bin aren’t soiled with chemicals or cleaners (particularly in the area of paper products).
But be careful, there are some materials that you might think can be composted that cannot, including:
- Aluminum foil
- Hair
- Gum
- Packaging
- Cigarettes
If you’re not sure about something, check the WhichBin tool to find out whether or not you can compost it before you add it to your pile.
How to start
Composting is another great step towards more sustainable living, and you can start today! Or, more accurately, you can start collecting scraps and setting them aside to compost now. While composting takes time (you don’t get nutrient rich material just like that), it’s not particularly hard to get started.
You’ll want to:
- Choose the right composting material
- Lay twigs and other browns in the bottom of your pile
- Compost in layers
- Keep the pile moist
- Turn your compost pile regularly
From the start of your composting adventure to the finished nutrient-rich material that you can add to your garden should be around five weeks.
You can compost at home two different ways: backyard composting and indoor composting.
Backyard composting
You can start a backyard composting pile by finding a bin or space in your yard, and collecting food scraps, paper, cardboard and other organic material from your kitchen and yard. You’ll want to work with a two-to-one ratio of two parts brown material (leaves, straw, small twigs), and one part kitchen scraps.
If you’re composting in your backyard without a lid, you’ll want to make sure that you regularly cover your pile with dirt. You don’t want scraps out in plain view, or you’ll end up attracting pests, like cockroaches, squirrels, and even rats.
A properly managed bin shouldn’t attract pests or rodents, nor should it smell bad. However, you might want to consider storing unused organic waste in your freezer until you’re ready to add it to the bin, especially in the summer.
Indoor composting
Not everyone has the space for an outdoor compost pile, luckily you can compost indoors. To start composting indoors, you’ll need:
- Compost bin
- Gardening supplies
- Water
- Yard scraps (leaves, twigs, etc.)
Choose a dark and dry space to place the bin. As mentioned, this shouldn’t smell bad. If it does, this might be because there is too much moisture, too much food in the bin or a lack of oxygen. Monitoring the compost regularly can help you find the right balance sooner and get you a nutrient rich product faster!
Composting is a great win-win solution.
You save space in the landfills, and you get a chance to save money by creating a garden that produces delicious food. Even if you’re not composting, making sure your food scraps end up in the right place can ensure that someone gets a chance to get the nutrients back in the right place.
But not everything can be composted, and that’s where the GarbageDay app comes into play. With WhichBin you can find out where that material goes – this way it ends up in the right place!