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The
Recycling Roundup Column, as published in the Northwest Herald February 7, 2008:
DON’T
THROW THOSE FOOD SCRAPS DOWN THE GARBAGE DISPOSAL!
COMPOST IS EVERY GARDENERS TREASURE
By
Alice Howenstine
Composting
fits easily into one of the 3 R’s categories with which this column, Recycling
Roundup, deals -- that of reuse. Composting
is not only the pile of leaves and corn husks you might have behind your
garage—it takes on many faces, some of which will be explained further on.
In
addition to being a great way to reuse, making compost will save you money in
fertilizers and will make your plants happy and health.
The most important part of composting is to be aware of what you can
compost. Here is a general list of
what is acceptable to use for your compost:
·
-Kitchen scraps—excluding
meat, bones, and grease
·
-Grass clippings
·
-Leaves
·
-Weeds
·
-Twigs and wood chips
·
-Wood ashes
·
-Garden residue
·
-Shredded newspaper
·
-Lint and sweepings
·
-Pet and human hair
Finished
compost is dark, crumbly, and earthy-smelling, and is a great addition to your
natural garden and shrub soil. Gardeners often refer to it as “black gold”!
Let’s
talk about kitchen food scrap composting,-- something that is with us each day. First, make a spot on your sink for the compost container.
It doesn’t have to be very big, -- a large coffee can will work. Instead
of the snap-on lid that comes with the can, use something like a salad plate to
cover it, so that one doesn’t have to use 2 hands to remove the lid before
depositing things inside. Scraps
from meal preparation and plate
scrapings go into the container.
Meat, bones and fatty foods should be kept out.
Once the compost container is full, it can head outside to one of many
spots, depending on the time of year.
All
year around you can toss the compostable material into your compost bin or onto
your compost pile. But to save
yourself some time, when the ground is able to be dug, you can bury the contents
directly into the garden area. In
the late spring, summer and well into the fall. just dig a hole in between rows
in the garden or under shrubs, pour in the can of food scraps, burying the
contents 6 to 8 inches below the surface. The
composting process takes care of itself from here on.
The microbes and worms in the soil change your scraps into dark and
crumbly food for the plants or shrubs and you don’t have to do another thing
with it. The composting process
works more quickly when the weather is warm, but even in cool or cold weather,
don’t despair, it does work! Late
one summer a friend of mine purchased one of the black dome-shaped composters
that the McHenry County Defenders sell
and began using it. When spring
arrived I received a call from him saying, “What do I do now, it’s full!” I suggested he give it a little time in the warmer
spring weather and see what happens. He
called back later on and said “You were right, I can almost see it settling
down in there, and the black stuff I’m taking out of the door at the bottom is
great!”
You
also can just put all your
compostables in a pile behind the garage. Vary the items that you put in. We usually keep a bag of leaves nearby and toss on a few
handfuls occasionally. Weeds that
are pulled from the vegetable
garden can go right onto the pile or into your bin, dirt and all.
People
often ask how to deal with coffee grounds.
They are quite versatile. Grounds
can also go onto your compost pile or directly onto your garden or under shrubs. Once
you become an avid composter you will no longer be using your garbage disposal a
great deal. You can put an
occasional batch of coffee grounds into your disposal to help clean out residue
but using your garbage disposal adds an unnecessary strain on your septic system
or the local sewage treatment plant.
When
you locate your composting site, the ground should be your bottom surface. Preferably put your bin on an area where you have spotted
earthworms. They are great
assistants in the compositing process . When
you find worms on the sidewalk after a heavy rain, pick them up and put them on
the top of the compost. They’ll
say “thanks” and quickly work their way down to start processing the food
scraps in their own way. Many
people have worm composting bins to keep in their homes year around.
Directions
for building worm bins, compost bins, or information about where they can be
purchased are available through the McHenry County Health Department, the
McHenry County Defenders, the Lou
Marchi Total Recycling Institute, and many of
township offices.
There
are other forms of composting and reducing waste.
When mowing your lawn, for example, let the grass clippings
lie. They will decompose and
feed the soil. Or use the grass
clippings as mulch around your shrubs. You
can also mow your leaves in the fall as you mow your lawn.
If you decide you’d like to rake up some of the mowed leaves, they too
can work as excellent mulch around trees. You
can also spread a 2 inch layer on your garden, where they will begin decomposing
over winter. By spring, they can be
tilled into the soil. Whatever
type of compositing you decide to do, enjoy the pleasures of working along with
nature to improve the environment!
-Alice
Howenstine is an avid composter, gardener and recycler.
She is known as the “Grandmother” of recycling and reusing in McHenry
County and is presently on the McHenry County Defenders Board of Directors.
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Environmental
Defenders of McHenry County 
