Compost
Composting is an easy and inexpensive way to reduce your trash in landfills. Up to 30% of our waste is organic material that can be composted. And, you can create beautiful, rich fertilizer for your garden!
Your Impact
Action Steps & Tips
Introduction
Why is composting important? When you send food and other organic waste to the landfill it ends up creating a powerful greenhouse gas called methane. However, when you compost the same organic material, it goes through a different chemical process that doesn’t produce methane. Composting still creates some climate emissions, in the form of CO2, but since methane is a much more powerful climate emission (30 times more powerful), the impact is far less.
Composting has other benefits as well, it can often lower your monthly garbage bill by reducing the amount of waste in your garbage can! And, it creates a rich natural fertilizer often called “black gold” that can improve your soil and reduce water use in the garden. Composting is getting easier with new curbside service in many communities. If you don’t have curbside service, (or prefer to compost and home and use that beautiful soil) there are many composting options available from small indoor containers or large outdoor setups. There is an option for every home and lifestyle!
1Learn about composting options
Composting requires a few things:
- A small bucket for kitchen collection and a larger container or large outdoor space for composting
- Greens - organic materials like grass clippings, vegetable waste and coffee grounds (full list in Step 3)
- Browns - organic materials like dead leaves, branches and paper
- Air
- Water
To compost you simply layer the browns and greens in a bucket or other enclosure, add water, and flip regularly to provide oxygen to the mix (more details in following steps). The rest is up to the microorganisms.
This can be done on a small or large scale, indoors or outdoors. So whether you have a large backyard, a small patio, or live in a Manhattan-sized apartment—there is a composting option that can fit your lifestyle. A properly managed compost bin will not attract pests or rodents and will not smell bad. Here are a few options:
Indoor Composting. If you don’t have a space for an outdoor compost pile, you can compost materials indoors using a special type of bin which you can buy at a local hardware store or gardening supply store, or make yourself.
Outdoor Composting. If you have a yard, consider outdoor composting. All you need is a dry shady spot near a water source for your pile or bin. If you have space, a bin is not required, you can create a pile. A typical size is 3 ft x 3 ft.
Curbside pick up. Check in the resource section or with your local waste hauler to see if your city has any public or private programs that pick up food scrap or other organic material. These services may be offered for free by participating cities, or for a fee by private companies. If your community does not have curbside composting yet, consider encouraging your city to add it!
Drop off compostable materials. Check resources in your area, you may be able to drop off kitchen scraps and other compostable materials at a local garden center, farmer’s market or community co-op.
2Build or buy your compost bin
First step - buy or build your bin or clear a place for a pile and get started! You can generally buy what you need to get started at a local hardware store or gardening supply store, or even make one yourself. Plastic, metal containers, or wooden crates are common.
Indoors: Buy or build a bin for indoor composting. Often a 10-15 gallon container is ideal (around 12-15 inches deep, 15-20 inches wide and 12-15 inches tall). Pick a spot in your house for your compost bin. Under your kitchen sink or outside on a patio or landing are options. If you want to build your own, check out this how to guide from the US EPA.
Outdoors: For outdoor composting you can either buy an enclosure, build your own or start a pile. If you decide to start an outdoor compost pile, first check your city ordinances. Some cities require a compost enclosure, while others permit you to simply make a freestanding pile. Outdoor enclosures should be around 3ft x 3ft in size. Ideally, your compost will be near a water source and receive moderate sunlight (mostly shady) to keep the pile warm and aid in decomposition. You may want to keep a smaller container on your kitchen counter to collect food scraps throughout the day, which you can later empty into the larger compost bucket.
Curbside pickup or dropoff: For curbside pickup or drop off, purchase or reuse a small container to keep in the kitchen to collect food waste to put in the outdoor container (or to deliver to the drop off location). If you have a curbside program, they will often provide a kitchen collection bin! Check with your hauler for more information on how the program works and what materials you can include in the bin.
3Collect your compostables and start your compost!
Not all foods or organic material are ok to add to your compost bin. Check the list below to see what to put in. Items on the No list should be put in the garbage.
Green
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Fruits and vegetables
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Fresh yard clippings, leaves
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Grass clippings
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Houseplants
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Coffee grounds
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Tea bags
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Rice, pasta and bread
Brown (dry/carbon)
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Dried leaves/grass clippings
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Egg Shells
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Coffee filters
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Paper (paper, paper towels, napkins, paper cups, etc.)
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Cardboard with food or small cardboard (pizza boxes, paper towel rolls, etc.)
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Paper egg cartons
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Shredded newspaper
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Wood chips
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Cotton and wool rags
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Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
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Hair and fur
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Straw, sawdust, woodchips, hay
The following items should NOT go in your compost bin.
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Eggs
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Fats, grease, lard or oils
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Greasy foods
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Meat or fish bones or scraps
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Dairy (butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt)
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Pet waste (dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter)
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Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
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Diseased or insect ridden plants
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Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
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Coal or ash
4Maintain your compost bin & fertilize your garden
Now that you have your bin set up and you are adding in your compostable materials, here are some tips for success.
Turn that pile. For faster and better compost, turn the contents of your bucket, enclosure or pile with a trowel or compost fork once a week. This will ensure adequate oxygen for the microbes.
Troubleshooting. If your pile smells bad, your compost could have too little air, too much moisture or too much food waste (too much green and not enough brown). Turn the pile to add air, or add dry materials if it is too moist. Also, don’t add too much water.
If your pile attracts rodents or pests, it may contain meat, bones or other unacceptable materials. Remove these from your pile. If your pile attracts flies, bury any food scraps under dry materials (such as newspaper) or a layer of garden soil.
Use your new soil in your garden! On average it takes about 2 - 4 months to make finished soil. When finished, the compost will be a dark, uniform material with an earthy smell. Remove the finished soil and use it in your garden, sprinkle it over your lawn, or mix with potting soil for potted plants.
Congrats! You have turned your waste into “black gold” and helped reduce methane emissions in the landfill!