Composting
I've been composting this past year, and this Spring I was able to till it into the garden. A friend has been doing it the old fashion way with a compost pile in a back corner of the yard. In some respect
s, the old approach to the Tech works just fine.
Figure 1. Compost Pile - Photo Courtesy of Campaign Recycle Maui Inc./Compost Maui
This year I've purchased another type of tumbler, one that spins horizontally, with a tighter fit to the door, and this Winter I'll be bringing it into the garage.
With yard clippings and food waste making up 26 percent of the U.S. municipal solid-waste stream, it just makes sense to recycle and reuse: Nature's goodness out; nature's goodness back in.
So, this Saturday I was lucky enough to present some basic Composting information at the Nashua's Boys & Girls Club “The Touch Club Summit.”
Composting offers two major benefits:
We don't need a recycling company to make money off of our waste – We can do it ourselves.
Background
Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil addition or as a medium to grow plants.
It is created by:
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Combining organic wastes – yard trimmings, food wastes, manures – in proper ratios.
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Adding bulking agents – wood chips – to accelerate the breakdown of organic materials.
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Allowing the finished material to fully stabilize and mature through a curing process.
This is what the world has been doing for millions and millions of years. Biological decomposition began with the first plants on earth and has continued ever since.
As vegetation falls to the ground, it slowly decays and re-provides the minerals and nutrients taken up by the plants to be re-used by plants, animals, and microorganisms.
However, there is one difference: Natural decomposition does not destroy pathogens or weed seeds, but composting does because it produces high temperatures.
In fact, according to the EPA, composting can
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Suppress plant diseases and pests.
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Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.
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Promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
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Facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
And a whole lot more...
The Tech Of It
Understanding the Process
This is what I didn't do. I really didn't understand the process before I got into it.
Figure 2.
So, here's the five things you need to know:
- A Balance of Green & Brown.
– "Green" materials (grass clippings, food scraps, manure). These contain large amounts of nitrogen.
– "Brown" materials (dry leaves, wood chips, branches). These contain large amounts of carbon, but little nitrogen.
Balancing these two materials is the art and science of composting: Obtaining the right nutrient mix requires experimentation and patience.
Grinding, chipping, and shredding materials increases the surface area on which the microorganism can feed.
To get the best temperatures, you need smaller particles. But too small may prevent air from flowing freely through the pile.
Microorganisms living in a compost pile need the right amount of moisture to survive.
Water is key. It transports substances within the compost pile and makes the nutrients in organic material accessible to the microbes.
You need to aerate the pile.
This allows decomposition to occur at a faster rate than anaerobic conditions (without air). Warning: too much oxygen will dry out the pile and work against the composting process.
Microorganisms require a certain temperature range in order to work. Also, certain temperatures promote rapid composting and destroy pathogens and weed seeds.
Microbial activity can raise the temperature of the pile's core to at least 140 °F. If the temperature does not increase, rotting occurs.
Controlling the previous four factors can bring about the proper temperature.
Methods of Composting
Composting takes on many forms, from simple and inexpensive backyard composting to more expensive and high-tech methods, such as in-vessel composting.
Here's the most common composting methods:
– Conducted by residents and other small-quantity generators of organic waste on their own property
Figure 3.
– Red worms – not night crawlers or field worms – are placed in bins with organic matter in order to break it down into a high-value compost called castings.
Figure 4.
– Organic waste is formed into rows of long piles called "windrows" and aerated by turning the pile periodically by either manual or mechanical means. The ideal pile height is between 4 and 8 feet
Figure 5. Huge Compost Pile - Photo Courtesy of Campaign Recycle Maui Inc./Compost Maui
– Organic waste is mixed together in one large pile instead of rows
Figure 6.
– Organic materials are fed into a drum, silo, concrete-lined trench, or similar equipment where the environmental conditions – including temperature, moisture, and aeration – are closely controlled.
– Can accommodate virtually any type of organic waste (e.g., meat, animal manure, biosolids, food scraps).
Figure 7. Achla CMP-05 Spinning Horizontal Composter
What You Can Add to Your Compost
- Coffee grounds and filters
- Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
What You Should Not Add to Your Compost
And Why
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Dairy products (e.g., butter, milk, sour cream, yogurt) and eggs
NOTE Finished compost can be applied to lawns and gardens to help condition the soil and replenish nutrients. Compost, however, should not be used as potting soil for houseplants because of the presence of weed and grass seeds.
Terms
As with other meteorites, the unique composition of Canyon Diablo can teach us about minerals, structure, our solar system, and ultimately the world we live on.
Definition of Aeration
- Noun. The process of exposing to air (so as to purify). "The aeration of the soil"
http://www.gottahaveable.com/images/aeration.jpg
Definition of Anaerobic
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Lacking molecular oxygen.
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Growing, living or occurring in the absence of molecular oxygen, pertaining to an anaerobe. (18 Nov 1997)
Definition of Compost
- A mix of different types of organic matter, all of it decaying, such as fallen leaves, banana peels and/or manure, a mulch. It is used as a fertilizer or to rejuvenate soil. The word can be a noun or verb. (05 Jan 1998)
www.torfaen.gov.uk
Definition of Microbe
- A microscopic living organism, such as a bacteria, fungus, protozoa or virus. (09 Oct 1997)
http://i.livescience.com/images/h_microbe_acanthmod_02.jpg
Definition of Rotting
- Noun. (biology) the process of decay caused by bacterial or fungal action.
www.fungi4schools.org
Links
Here's a link to the City of Richmond, British Columbia, great Home Composting site:
http://www.richmond.ca/__shared/printpages/page1990.htm
Here's the EPS site:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/index.htm
Here's the excellent Lexicus site. Lexicus is an online web dictionary and thesaurus.
http://www.lexic.us/
Figures & Acknowledgments
Figures
Figure 1. Photo from www.epa.gov
Figure 2. Illustration from www.richmond.ca
Figure 3. Photo from www.epa.gov
Figure 4. Photo from www.epa.gov
Figure 5. Photo from www.epa.gov
Figure 6. Photo from www.epa.gov
Figure 7. Photo from www.eco-outfitter.com
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