Composting Turns Garbage To Gold

The Sesame Street Dictionary—Smith's favorite book; we have two copies—defines garbage as "unused food that is thrown away." I take slight umbrage at this definition for a few reasons. First, we shouldn't waste so much food that it prompts the brains at Sesame Street to define it as "trash."

Second, we started a compost bin nearly a year ago, and food scraps—at least those that Atlas the dog can't grab when they fall from Smith's hands—are no longer garbage in our house.

We purchased a Lifetime 75-gallon compost tumbler and have found a great system by trial and error. (I don't follow directions, recipes, or trains of thought.) At first, we kept it on our sun patio, and it leaked viscous food juices all over the white tiles. Because I can't relax in the sun while smelling rotten food, we then haphazardly lowered it down off the sun patio with a few ropes and dragged it to the side yard to the amazement of our neighbors. I'm sure we reaffirm our neighbors' suspicions on a daily basis that we are eccentric.

I had read that I needed to put yard scraps in the compost bin for balance, but I was just so floored to have less food-related garbage that I didn't follow the specifics. (I can't tell you how many times I have uttered that statement.) So, our compost bin was a big pile of mushy food that I occasionally turned, expecting rich soil to magically appear one morning.

The only thing that appeared? A full compost bin, and no compost. We had to take a few months off, but we had people come by and "graciously" leave their compost in our bin, so we had full garbage bags again. Smith's discarded apple cores and peach pits once again were thrown into a plastic bag.

It felt so wrong.  

Finally, I started to add more yard waste to the bin after the food settled. It didn't happen overnight, but it did happen: our compost had turned into a dark, rich, soil-like substance that was ready to be used in our garden.

It really is magical to see what happens to leftovers when you compost. I was able to use a huge portion of the compost to plant my garden this spring. On occasion, I would find part of an eggshell, but overall the compost was easy to use, and it didn't smell. I was so afraid my yard would smell like a garbage dump, but mature compost smells just like dirt—and I would know.  I have a truffle pig's sense of smell.  

What have I learned about composting from our bin?

I learned that you have to keep a balance of yard waste (grass, leaves, clumps of dirt, weeds, etc.) and kitchen scraps.

You have to turn the compost every couple of days. Some people turn theirs every day, but every three or four days seems to work fine.

I've learned that it's helpful to add nitrate-rich materials to boost the quality of the composting soil. Coffee grounds are full of nitrates, and they are easy to add. Our friends and neighbors give us theirs, as we are mostly tea drinkers. If you live in the country, you can urinate freely onto your compost heap, as urine is also full of nitrates. My father in-law is a big fan of doing this, but I don't recommend urinating freely on your compost bin in your front yard. You could be arrested for that, and friendly composters shouldn't be put in handcuffs.  

We now have a countertop compost container that we purchased at Target that keeps our compost until it's ready to go to the bin. For a while, we just had a regular container. While some people are fine with that, we are not the kind of people who empty the compost container on an hourly basis, and it can smell and attract gnats. A proper compost container has a filter at the top that keeps your kitchen smelling fresh and the cursed gnats at bay.

Despite what the Sesame Street Dictionary says, Smith knows that garbage takes many forms. There is the garbage that we put in the recycling, the garbage that we put in the compactor, the garbage I occasionally put in my mouth (e.g. cheese puffs), and the garbage that we put in the compost keeper. Composting teaches a child that rubbish can be useful; it teaches your child to give back to the earth what we have taken away. Smith freely plucks the tomatoes out of our garden that are growing in soil that was created by his discarded apple cores, banana peels and eggshells.

Want to learn to compost? in Redondo Beach is hosting a in conjunction with the city. You don't need a yard, and you don't need a huge bin; you just need a little place for plants (a patio, a kitchen window, or a precarious ledge) to live. Plus, new city garbage collectors Athens Services encourage composting.

As caretakers of the earth, we should take steps towards creating less waste. Our children will learn from our actions and become considerate caretakers themselves. 

Sesame Street isn't always right, Redondo Beach.