Composting at Home, its easy!

by Natashia Fox, from Vegware South Africa, www.vegware.co.za,13 Jan 2013

Composting food waste at home is one of the most important aspects of home recycling.
Why? Because food scrap items such as vegetable and fruit waste, meal leftovers, coffee grounds, tea bags, stale bread, grains, and general refrigerator spoilage are an everyday occurrence in most households.

It’s earth-friendly: Food scraps make up 20-30% of the waste stream.
Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills, where they take up precious space and release methane, a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere.

It benefits your garden: Compost improves soil structure and texture, increases the soil’s ability to hold both water and air, improves soil fertility, and stimulates healthy root development in plants.

It’s easy: It really is!! You can start with just leaves and grass, then work your way towards composting your food scraps.

It saves money: Adding compost to your garden can reduce or eliminate the need to buy chemical fertilizers or compost. If you pay for the amount of trash hauled, composting can also cut down on your trash costs.

One of the "great waves" in municipal and home recycling is the concentration on what to do with the enormous amount of food waste generated in and out of the home, by businesses, or as a result of surplus farming. On the grand scale, it is estimated that about one-half of all food that is produced or consumed is discarded. The main culprits are spoilage and overproduction.

Up to 90 percent of waste thrown out by businesses like supermarkets and restaurants is food scraps in South Africa. In fact, food scraps are the third largest segment of the waste stream with million tons generated each year. Of the overall waste stream, about 12% is food-related, behind paper and plastic.

WHAT HOME FOOD WASTE CAN YOU COMPOST?
Not all food waste is created equal.  You should know this or else you may have problems popping up in your compost bin or pile. BIG PROBLEMS! Actually, once you look at the chart below, commonsense will be your guide.

Food waste you can Compost

•     Any Vegware Food Packaging Products       
•     All your vegetable and fruit wastes
•     Old bread, pizza anything made out of flour!
•     Grains (cooked or uncooked) rice, barley
•     Coffee grounds, tea bags, filters
•     Fruit or vegetable pulp from juicing
•     Old spices
•     Outdated boxed foods from the pantry
•     Egg shells (crush well)

   
Food waste that you can't Compost

•     Meat or meat waste, like bones, fat, skin, etc.
•     Fish or fish waste
•     Dairy products, such as cheese, butter, cottage cheese, yogurt, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.
•     Grease and oils of any kind

Why can't you compost these food wastes 
They inbalance the otherwise nutrient-rich structure of other food and vegetation waste and breakdown slowly . They attract rodents and other scavenging animals. Meat attracts maggots   

How to start Composting at home

Compost is organic material that can be added to soil to help plants grow. Food scraps and yard waste currently make up 20 to 30 percent of what we throw away, and should be composted instead.  Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

All composting requires three basic ingredients:

Browns - This includes materials such as dead leaves, branches, and twigs. 
Greens - This includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds. 
Water - Having the right amount of water, greens, and browns is important for compost development.


To Start
Visit your local hardware store and buy a 25 litre bin and lid bucket or container. Keep the bucket near your backdoor or compost bin.

TIP : A good way to keep fruit flies or gnats from sneaking into the bucket is to line the lid with newspaper. This also cuts down on odors seeping out. Replace the paper when it gets moist and deteriorates.

Pour the contents of your Kitchen Food Scraps in the bucket. Every time you add to the pile, turnover and fluff it with a pitchfork to provide aeration, unless your bin has a turner.
Simple as can be!

TIP : Here's a good trick to cut down on odors or potential fruit flies or gnats:
Have nearby a a bag of finished compost, sawdust, or humus (good soil).
Then, scoop a cup full of the material and sprinkle it on the top of the newly-added food scraps. This is a great way to help the food scraps to breakdown, because of the addition of browns added to the greens of the food scraps.
When material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, with no remnants of your food or yard waste, your compost is ready to use. There may be a few chunks of woody material left; these can be screened out and put back into a new pile. The resulting compost can be applied to lawns and gardens to help condition the soil and replenish nutrients.

 A properly managed compost bin will not attract pests or rodents and will not smell bad. Your compost should be ready in two to five weeks.


Good Luck and have fun composting!