Our Trash Is The Earth's Treasure; Composting 101

Go Green Composting

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By Justin Cooper
Published: April 25, 2009

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Would you believe a pile of food scraps and leaves in your yard can help save the earth? If you have ever started a compost pile, then you know why. In this week's Go Green/ Save Green segment, we go through the trash to help save the earth.

It's probably not something we want to think about, but your trash can be the earth's treasure. We recently told you about recycling and separating your trash. Now, it's time to go one step further and make a compost pile.

One of the main benefits of composting is to keep organic material out of landfills and leave it in your yards. Did you know that over two thirds of the country's waste is compostable? However, each year we send 30 million tons of leaves and grass clippings to our nation's landfills.

The key to keep your compost pile from stinking up the yard is oxygen. If you do it right, you will have some great home made fertilizer in no time at all. Fermentation occurs when material is tightly packed in landfills with no oxygen to breathe. That's what causes 40 percent of all man made methane in the U.S. to pollute the air.

It’s all about the greens and browns. You will need three parts brown, such as leaves, bark, vacuum dust or lint...to one part green...grass, fruits and veggies and their peels and eggshells. Find a place near your kitchen outside. When you place discarded food in the pile, place it in the middle and then bury it to keep the pests away. Make sure to also mix up your pile to let the oxygen in. There are several companies that sell compost bins which makes it easy to maintain your pile.