Compost Happens

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Whether you resided in a classic suburban development, a never sleeping city landscape or even the big sky country of Iowa, you have an effect on the earth. Now, don’t get the wrong idea, this is not going to divulge into a pro and con list of different lifestyles or the merits of carbon footprints and global warming. This will, however, divulge into a comprehensive list of a simple way to clear up your guilty conscious for all the times you littered as a teen or purchased non-free range meat out of convenience. You are probably asking yourself what could possibly be the godsend miracle that holds power to decontaminant the guilt from your 8th grade wild days. The answer is simple; compost.

A $798.99 Comopst Tumblr available on Ebay

You may be doubtful at this very point in time but that is probably because you don’t understand the complexity and miraculous concept that it is.  Sustainable America, whose name gives it all the credibility it needs in my book, explains how compost is a complex science that can be easily tackled by everyday americans like you. Math is hard and the idea of a ratio involved in composting may be off putting but keep an open mind. You need a 1:2 ratio of carbon-rich matter or browns, like dead leaves, with nitrogen-rich organics or greens like grass clippings and then just add all your food waste to the bin to create the compost of your dreams. Now to tackle the bin misconceptions. Yes it is true that you could spend upwards of $500 on a bin, through my extensive research I even found one that was on sale for $798.99, but you could also not. Simple plastic bins for $4.99 are available at your local hardware store or in the spirit of recycling, you could just reuse an old plastic container you have laying around. Their downside is the extended time it takes to kickstart the compost process but patience is the key of life. If you feel like splurging you could invest in a tumbler, a hamster ball but bigger, or even a worm-infused bin, but for beginners, just go with plastic and make your life easier.

Compost worms

Worms are a man’s best friend when it comes to composting. Specifically, red worms or Eisenia fetida can speed up the process if kept in a cool but not too cold environment. They are about 100% less maintenance that the traditional friend, a dog, but the emotional appreciation you will experience when you see your compost is just as strong as a welcome-home-greeting from your puppy. In layman's terms, the worms eat the food waste and then poop out the good stuff, it really is just that simple. If you live in an area blessed, or cursed, with the season of winter then composting ends as the first sign of frozen hair in the morning but if you use worm-composting, the end of the year flurries mean nothing. Worm bins can be placed under sinks or basements and have no odor unless you overburden the worms with too much food. Solutions are easy, candles and less food, so don’t let the possible odor deter you. In fact, as I was writing this post, I discovered that I have spent 44 minutes a day, 5 days a week since September in a room with these very worms. Not only did I never notice, or smell them, but I never appreciated how amazing the creatures a mere five feet away from me were.

A compost bin with food waste 

A common name associated with compost is black gold. Yes, gold, the block of solid yellow you probably saw as the most expensive and luxurious thing as a child. Composting really is on the same level of gold, and everyone should start seeing it as just that. Seattle, the land of starbucks and Meredith Gray, introduced a composting law that fines individuals and companies for throwing the gold-status food scraps in the trash instead of the composting bin. Mayor Ed Murray assured his citizens that the law is not meant to create revenue, it is meant to encourage people to be conscientious of their environment and of their actions. In fact, the city is spending upwards of $400,000 on educating their residents about the new trash law, but it is just that important. Seattle should be applauded for being a model of how every state should value the Earth, and hopefully one day, every city will follow in their footsteps.

Composting is your friend and your savior. Remember all the times you left your car idling for a minute too long or watched the napkins fly away from your picnic and didn’t chase them. Those things had a detrimental affect on our planet, even if you just did it once, we can all feel the effects. Take this post as a reason to go out and start creating your own black gold. You’ve taken a tremendous amount from the earth you live on and it’s time to go out and compost.