Compost: What you need to know

Compost is a nutrient rich soil enhancer that is made of various organic materials. Compost is also an extremely efficient way to help with food waste and food scraps. All things traditionally thrown away such as eggshells, bread, coffee grounds, tea leaves, food waste, etc… can be used in compost. In addition to food scraps, you can also compost leaves, grass clippings, organic manure, etc… Additionally, compost can be used in gardens and help plants, trees and grass grow.

To make a compost bin, you want to take a bin and poke holes into it. Then you want to fill the bottom with newspaper scraps and shreds. After that, you want to fill up the rest of the bucket with food waste and scraps. After the food scraps have started to decompose, you can take it and use it in your gardens. Not only is a compost bin a fun idea to do when you’re home, it’s also very practical and positively impacts the environment. For example, organic waste in landfills generally generate methane, which is a greenhouse gas. However, by composting wasted food and other organics, methane emissions can be greatly reduced, helping with global warming.

Also, compost replaces chemical fertilizers, which seep into groundwater leading to possible contamination. Chemical fertilizers hold the potential to alter the balance of nature. Moreover, compost increases water retention in soil, which can lead to stronger plants. All in all, compost not only contributes to the environment in many ways, it also is very achievable and easy to make.