Learn About Composting Day
Written by Allie Willison, Staff writer at Blueland
May 21, 2021
May 29th is right around the corner, and it’s time to celebrate the eco-friendly, planet championing practice that is composting!
It’s amazing how many things we use each day that can be reused as compost after you give them a little time to decompose. Cooking odds and ends, garden trimmings, coffee grounds-- all this can be repurposed or you can let it break down naturally instead of sending it off to the landfill.
Composting Day is coming up and with our entire team being big compost supporters we want to give you all the facts, tools, and tips to celebrate fully!
What Is Composting?
Composting has been a human practice since the Stone Age, before the 20th century it was basic waste management in a world pre-landfill. Though the practice has fallen off a little, it’s still the best way to ensure you’re reusing what you can and reducing the waste from your home.
The Benefits Of Composting
The benefits of composting are numerous, here are a few of the main ones:
- Enriches soil, keeps pests away-- all without the chemicals
- Encourages production of fungi and bacteria that keep your garden healthy
- Reduces methane production from landfills-- aka. Lower carbon emissions
The reduction of methane is a big one. Organic waste produces methane, a very potent greenhouse gas. Composting cuts this down since the organic material naturally or goes through aerobic biodegradation to create an enriched dark soil called humas.
Even if you don’t have a garden, most cities have composting through Municipal Composting services. San Francisco has a mandatory composting program that picks up around 650 tons (g) of compost a day!
How to Celebrate Composting Day
The best way to celebrate is to participate! If you’re not already a composting connoisseur, then you can get started. Here are some ideas:
- Check to see if your city has a composting program
- Start a compost bin or pile in your backyard
- Visit a farmer’s market and ask about their composting practices
- Get your family and friends involved, kids especially!
How to Start Your Composting Journey
When you have the tools ready to go, you can get started composting easily! It’s mostly changing your habits while cooking, doing yard work, and even when unpacking your latest online retail therapy purchase so you toss things in your compost instead of in your trash bin.
All composting needs 3 key materials;
- Browns-- such as leaves, twigs, naked cardboard
- Greens-- fruit scraps, veggie waste, grass trimmings
- Water
The brown material provides carbon, the green nitrogen, and the water keeps everything in line as it naturally breaks down.
The EPA has a concise guide as to what you can and can’t compost, some of these materials are:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Eggshells
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Tea bags
- Nut shells
- Shredded newspaper
- Cardboard
- Grass clippings
- Houseplants
- Leaves
- Wood chips
- Hair and fur
- Fireplace ashes
It’s also important to avoid certain things in your compost, such as dairy, animal byproducts (can attract other animals, no thank you!), and chemically treated yard trimmings (messes with the natural bacteria and throws off the compost’s groove).
This May you can start a great composting habit that’s better for you, your community, and the planet. Celebrate Composting Day 2021 by spreading the word on composting or by getting started on your own composting journey.
