we all know that there is too much food waste today. there are lots of facts and figures out there about how much food we throw away. i used to think that all that wasted food decomposed at the landfill, but apparently it is all put into enormous plastic landfill liners to avoid soil contamination...and it is buried like that.
when food decomposes in a landfill it's sealed away from oxygen. this causes it to release methane rather than just carbon dioxide, which experts say is 20-25 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. ~grant gerlock via harvest public media
somehow we've never thrown much food away at our house. we don't have enough money to be buying excess food. we clean our plates with each meal, because yes, i am blessed with quite un-picky eaters... but i also try to make meals we all love... and not too much. leftovers are prized for next day lunches around here, but we don't often have them. making a weekly menu and a corresponding list is something i won't shop without doing first. even if i am dictating a list to someone writing it down in the car... we only go into the grocery store with a list.
when food decomposes in a landfill it's sealed away from oxygen. this causes it to release methane rather than just carbon dioxide, which experts say is 20-25 times stronger than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. ~grant gerlock via harvest public media
somehow we've never thrown much food away at our house. we don't have enough money to be buying excess food. we clean our plates with each meal, because yes, i am blessed with quite un-picky eaters... but i also try to make meals we all love... and not too much. leftovers are prized for next day lunches around here, but we don't often have them. making a weekly menu and a corresponding list is something i won't shop without doing first. even if i am dictating a list to someone writing it down in the car... we only go into the grocery store with a list.
anyway... what i really want to write about today is compost... because even though we are not wasting food, we do end up with some organic waste. when i began to focus on zero-waste and also to care about where our food came from, we became interested in composting as well.
of course there are a few different ways to compost. worm composting speeds the process, specially made bins keep the process contained, and simple burying of compost works too (i didn't know this, but my mom has been burying compost in her yard for years). some areas have curbside compost pick-up and many areas have some place that compost can be brought... like the farmer's market or a nearby farm.
we are blessed to live in a house with a yard... and we want that black gold for our own use. mr. tribe built our compost bin of discarded pallets and wire (pretty much like this, but ours has two sections). this was a simple method and almost free. ;) we add compost to one section until we decide to let that pile sit and really finish turning to dirt... at which point we start to use the other side. we also have a big round of chicken wire next to the compost that we put raked leaves and spent garden plants into (no weeds)... these are the "browns", which i'll get to shortly.
strangely, the only item left behind by the previous owners of our house was a round plastic lidded tub with 2 ventilation valves that can open and close. maybe someone will tell me what its real purpose is, but i thought it would make the perfect vessel for compost collection. it sits next to our sink (something my mom has commented on, "i've never seen compost sitting on the counter"). i'm not sure that is the most lovely spot for it, but it does encourage use... and i would have never known that my mom composts, if it hadn't been sitting there. that makes me think that it might be well-positioned for starting conversations. ;) a lot of people say that compost does not smell. ours does (not outside, but inside)... especially cantaloupe rinds and banana peels (yuck)... but as long as the lid stays on, it's not a problem at all.
of course there are a few different ways to compost. worm composting speeds the process, specially made bins keep the process contained, and simple burying of compost works too (i didn't know this, but my mom has been burying compost in her yard for years). some areas have curbside compost pick-up and many areas have some place that compost can be brought... like the farmer's market or a nearby farm.
we are blessed to live in a house with a yard... and we want that black gold for our own use. mr. tribe built our compost bin of discarded pallets and wire (pretty much like this, but ours has two sections). this was a simple method and almost free. ;) we add compost to one section until we decide to let that pile sit and really finish turning to dirt... at which point we start to use the other side. we also have a big round of chicken wire next to the compost that we put raked leaves and spent garden plants into (no weeds)... these are the "browns", which i'll get to shortly.
strangely, the only item left behind by the previous owners of our house was a round plastic lidded tub with 2 ventilation valves that can open and close. maybe someone will tell me what its real purpose is, but i thought it would make the perfect vessel for compost collection. it sits next to our sink (something my mom has commented on, "i've never seen compost sitting on the counter"). i'm not sure that is the most lovely spot for it, but it does encourage use... and i would have never known that my mom composts, if it hadn't been sitting there. that makes me think that it might be well-positioned for starting conversations. ;) a lot of people say that compost does not smell. ours does (not outside, but inside)... especially cantaloupe rinds and banana peels (yuck)... but as long as the lid stays on, it's not a problem at all.
the process of composting is quite simple. we only add non-meat/non-dairy items to our compost (that means no bones or dog poo either). i don't add cooked food waste (not that there ever is any), because we don't want to attract critters. (i save any unwanted compost items separately and bring them to the compost bin at whole foods. we were also able to compost this way on vacation.) we compost hair, dryer lint (because we only dry cotton in the dryer), food-soiled paper, peels, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea leaves, dead flowers, pits, seeds, finger nails, bits of yarn or twine, and a stray napkin or piece of toilet paper. once the tub is full, it gets dumped onto the heap outside. a scoop of "browns" from the leaf round gets added... and a black plastic garbage bag that acts as a cover weighed down by rocks gets replaced. this black plastic concentrates the suns heat... which is a good thing, because heat speeds decomposition. a periodic shovel "stir" happens too.
that's all it takes to turn organic waste into productive soil. when that black gold is ready (that is, all dirt), it gets added to our garden beds and grows the best vegetables! it amazes me every time to think about how that waste nourishes new life. what an amazing Creator! zero-waste by design!
For more on what to compost...right this way.
love,
jane
that's all it takes to turn organic waste into productive soil. when that black gold is ready (that is, all dirt), it gets added to our garden beds and grows the best vegetables! it amazes me every time to think about how that waste nourishes new life. what an amazing Creator! zero-waste by design!
For more on what to compost...right this way.
love,
jane
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