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What is Compost?
What is Compost?
Composting is a natural aerobic (with oxygen) process. Microorganisms (like bacteria) found in the air and soil use enzymatic and metabolic processes to degrade organic matter into simple compounds. Compost converts your apple core, banana peel, pizza crust, etc. into a brown, odorless, soil-like material called humus (not to be confused with hummus). The composting process makes nutrients in organic matter more available for plants. The microbial metabolism also generates heat during composting, which kills pathogens and sanitizes compost.
Why compost food waste?
Why compost food waste?
The majority of the food waste we generate is currently sent to landfills where it breaks down anaerobically and produces methane gas! Landfill methane can be emitted to the atmosphere where it is a potent greenhouse gas. Household food waste can also be sent to the sewer via in-sink food disposals. However, at the wastewater treatment plant, treating this additional load from food waste consumes a large amount of energy. In both landfills and wastewater treatment plants, valuable nutrients in the food waste are lost. Composting diverts food waste from its current fate, while recovering these nutrients as a soil amendment.
Why is compost beneficial?
Why is compost beneficial?
Compost is a nutrient-rich, organic soil amendment. Organic matter is one of the most important components of healthy soil. It helps soil retain moisture, acts as a growth medium for beneficial microorganisms, loosens soil to aid in aeration, and provides essential nutrients for plant growth. A healthy garden begins with healthy soil.
❄︎ Frozen Food Waste Warning ❄︎
❄︎ Frozen Food Waste Warning ❄︎
Some members store their waste in a freezer to keeps smells and rots away. This is great if you, for example, make a trip to the Cooperative once a week. When you come to deliver your foodwaste, be sure your items are at or around room temperature. Frozen food waste will drop the temperature of our bins and disrupt the decomposers!
Browns and Greens
Browns and Greens
The microbes need the right kind of food in order to thrive and create a healthy compost pile. Compostable materials are generally divided into two groups: greens and browns.
Greens are fresher materials, such as food waste and grass clippings.
Browns are drier materials, such as dead leaves and paper.
These two materials have different ratios of carbon to nitrogen (C:N); i.e. Greens tend to have a higher nitrogen content than browns. For example, coffee grounds (a green, ironically) has a C:N of 20:1, while cardboard (a brown) has a C:N of 350:1. An ideal C:N ratio for composting is approximately 30:1. But, since it is impractical to measure this ratio at the SCC, a rule of thumb is to use equal parts greens to browns.
When you drop off foodwaste, make sure you have equal parts browns (carboard) and greens (food waste)
Without the heat generated by aerobic microbes, many pathogens, weeds, and seeds survive the decomposition process!
Aerobic ☺ vs Anaerobic ☹
Aerobic ☺ vs Anaerobic ☹
Compost is an aerobic process, and therefore, the microorganisms need oxygen. Without proper aeration, anaerobic pockets can form in the compost pile leading to odors and the emission of methane to the atmosphere. Aerating compost brings oxygen into the middle of the pile, and helps to prevent anaerobic pockets. Aeration is achieved by mixing the pile and by adding bulking agents. Bulking agents (brown material) are less degradable materials, such as twigs and cardboard, which hold their structure longer in the compost pile. This prevents the wetter, more degradable material from collapsing on itself and forming anaerobic pockets. Just another reason to bring equal parts greens and browns!
Summary
Summary
We turn our compost bins often to get enough airflow to keep the microrganisms activly decomposing. By contributing equal amounts of browns (paper) and greens (food waste) we balence the Carbon to Nitrogen Ratio that aerobic microbes love resulting in nutricious humus and a valuable soil amendment while helping reduce the global greenhouse impacts of methane gas.
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