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Composting Kitchen and Yard

The Story of Composting

Our society recycles more and more each year.  This is a great achievement!  But unfortunately, our waste is still increasing due to rising personal consumption and overall population growth.

The Biodegradable Irony:

Food and paper decompose by themselves in nature.  They are, however, the two largest components in landfills, accounting for nearly 50% of all municipal solid waste.  There is more food and paper in landfills than diapers, styrofoam, and tires — combined.  According to the US EPA, food waste is the #1 least recycled material. 

Check out this video from Oprah on our What Happens to Our Garbage.


Landfills are layered deep and saturated with water.  No oxygen can penetrate.  As a result, even "biodegradable" waste will remain embalmed for centuries to come.   Landfills produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide (according to the US EPA), and leach toxic chemicals into our air and drinking water. 

On a more urgent note, we are running out of landfill space—that is, open space reasonably close to population centers.  Stories abound of trash barges with no place to dock, ocean dumping, and trash exported to poorer countries.  Landfill costs are skyrocketing, which means higher fees (or taxes) for everyone.  The organic nutrients present in food and paper waste are removed from the food chain, requiring gardeners and farmers to instead rely on chemical fertilizers to replenish their soil.  National and local governments around the world are enacting regulations to limit trash and increase recycling.

Please watch a Sierra Club Composting Video.

Some More Composting Tips

Compost should be well mixed, oxygenated, moist and have roughly the right carbon to nitrogen ratio. This sounds difficult, but it is surprisingly easy.

Keep the Compost Moist and Oxygenated

This means rotating the drum regularly to add oxygen to the pile, and adding moisture if you think the compost is looking a bit dry. The drum does the rest because by tumbling the waste the moisture is evenly distributed and every part of the mass is exposed to oxygen. In addition rotation mixes the new waste in with the old which serves to help to physically break up and mix the waste.

Keep the Compost Warm

This is not usually a concern because the compost in the drum and the drum’s insulating properties tend to keep the heat in. Even so, this won’t work in winter, when depending on the temperature composting can slow down or under 50F pretty well stop. Once the compost is frozen in the drum, it is not advisable to try and rotate the drum. The best course of action is just wait until spring comes. In the meantime by all means continue to put material in the drum.

Aim for the right Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio

Adding a mixture of kitchen and regular yard waste is effective, but for better , faster results, add carbon rich material (browns) like sawdust, straw, dry leaves, or wood chips (not cedar). These materials balance out the nitrogen rich green material and kitchen waste.

If you only add kitchen waste, you may need to add bulking material or pre-composted materials to help with oxygen penetration as the drum rotates.

Chop up the waste if possible: the smaller it is the faster the breakdown process.

Now available in the Greener Country store front in Jericho, N.Y.:
The Worm Factory® is an upward migrating composting worm bin system that uses worms to turn your kitchen scraps and junk mail into nutrient rich compost.

Out of all worm composters, the Worm Factory is the most efficient, producing the most compost in the least amount of space. This makes it perfect for anyone with indoor space limitations, especially apartments and condos! The stacking tray feature allows you to add up to seven trays to meet your growing compost needs.

The Worm Factory is also easier to manage. When full, each tray weighs only 12.5 pounds, making lifting and arranging trays effortless. The included 16-page instruction manual makes setup fast and easy and gives detailed tips on how to best manage your Worm Factory year-round.

The Worm Factory is the most effective way to eliminate the food and paper waste produced in your home every day. Go green one step at a time with The Worm Factory and Greener Country!

Click the video below to Learn How Nature Mill Automatic Kitchen Composters Work:

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