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WHY COMPOST?
Yard waste makes up 20-30% of the solid waste of most municipalities throughout the United States, while food waste makes up another 8-9%. The cost of collecting, hauling and handling yard waste is often a large part of the budget associated with municipal solid waste management, averaging 20% of the budget and increasing to as much as 50% when grass clippings and leaves are handled.
In 1993, New Hampshire passed a law that prohibits the landfilling or incineration of leaf and yard waste materials.
What are the benefits of composting?
Is a waste prevention measure. It reduces, at its source, the amount of organic material that needs to be collected, managed and transported by the City.
Saves you money by reducing the need for lawn bags and commercial soil additives
Is a valuable soil conditioner that helps your garden and lawn by improving the fertility and health of your soil
Helps save water by helping the soil hold moisture and reduce water runoff
Benefits the environment by recycling valuable organic resources
Extends the life of landfills
BACKYARD COMPOSTING
What is compost?
Composting is nature’s way of recycling. Composting is a natural process of decomposition of organic material into a rich soil amendment.
What can I compost?
Use the following lists as a guide to composting. To produce the best quality compost, material thicker than one-quarter inch should be shredded or chopped.
YES
weeds
leaves
sawdust
hay, straw
wood ashes
pine needles
lawn clippings
animal manures
coffee grounds
crushed eggshells
shredded newspaper
fruits and vegetables
|
NO
oil
meats
bones
plywood
coal ashes
pet wastes
fatty foods
dairy products
colored newspaper
pressure treated wood
anything not biodegradable |
How can I use compost?
Compost can be applied to enrich the flower and vegetable garden, to top-dress the lawn, and as mulch around trees and shrubs. Houseplants and planter boxes will benefit from combining compost with the potting soil. Before using, it is best to sift the compost through a one-half inch mesh hardware cloth. The remaining coarse material may then be put back into a new compost pile.
Heavy clay or light sandy soil will benefit most from the addition of compost. Apply a two-inch layer on the soil surface and thoroughly work it into the upper six to eight inches of soil.
How does composting work?
Biology – Organic waste material is layered up and decomposes through the actions of soil microorganisms. They start the process of decaying matter by breaking down plant tissue. Soon, fungi and protozoans join in and later centipedes, millipedes, beetles and earthworms do their part. These microorganisms work best when sufficient oxygen, moisture and nitrogen are supplied.
Materials – Anything growing in the yard, leaves, weeds, grass clippings, kitchen waste (except meat, bones, dairy products, and fatty foods) are potential food for the tiny microorganisms working in the pile.
Surface area – Material decomposes faster if the microorganisms have more surfaces with which to work. Chopping garden waste with a shovel, running it through a shredding machine or lawnmower, speeds its composting.
Size – The ideal size for the pile is four feet wide and four feet high by any convenient length. Smaller piles have trouble holding heat and larger piles may have aeration difficulties.
Moisture and Aeration – The microbes work best when the pile is as moist as a wrung out sponge and has plenty of air passages. Too much sun will dry out the pile and too much water will make it soggy.
Time and Temperature – The hotter the pile, the faster the composting. Ideal composting temperatures range from 100o F – 140oF. With proper amounts of water, air, and materials, compost can be made in 2-3 months.
Carbon to Nitrogen (C/N) Ratio – All living organisms need relatively large amounts of the element carbon and smaller amounts of nitrogen. To speed composting, combine carbon-rich ‘brown” materials such as leaves with nitrogen-rich “green” materials such as grass clippings. The ideal compost combination is thirty parts carbon to one part nitrogen.
Composters You Can Build
Barrel Composter
Wire Mesh Composter
Wood and Wire Composter
| Symptoms |
Problems |
Solutions |
| Bad odor |
Not enough air, pile too wet |
Turn it, add coarse material such as straw, corn stalks, etc. |
| Center of pile is dry |
Not enough water, and too much woody material | Turn, moisten, add fresh green wastes, chop coarse waste |
Compost is damp and warm only in the middle | Pile is too small |
Add more material, mix old ingredients into new pile | Pile is damp and sweet-smelling, but won't heat up | Lack of nitrogen | Add fresh grass clippings, fresh manure, bloodmeal, or ammonium sulfate | Pest problems; birds, animals, rats, dogs, etc. | Undesirable food wastes | Remove any fish, meats, bones or dairy products. Cover or bury vegetable scraps. |
Information courtesy of the New Hampshire Governor’s Recycling Program (now the Northeast Resource Recovery Association) and the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
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