T – Page 197 – Crazy About Compost

Composting Method Used to Combat the Cold

Today I was wondering about how waste is collected in different parts of the country, especially during this wintry time of year. The featured article below just came out showing support for a composting program taking place in Alaska. The composting process is conducted indoors ("in vessel") due to cold outside temperatures that make it tricky to maintain an active compost pile. As a result, it allows for quite a great deal of waste to avoid the landfill year round. This is some great news for the folks in Alaska. Although it's a wild guess, maybe the colder temperatures tend to keep most people from starting their own composting efforts. If this is the case, it's even more imperative to enhance in vessel composting programs. original source: http://www.wasterecyclingnews.com/article/20121217/NEWS01/121219930/composting-method-used-to-combat-the-cold Anchorage, Alaska…

Can I Put Cigarette Butts in my Compost?

This article was originally posted at: http://envirocycle.com/us/tips/can-i-put-cigarette-butts-in-my-compost . "There is a lot of controversy around whether it is better to put cigarette butts in the compost or to dispose of them by other means. We are here to clarify this. We do not recommend putting cigarette butts in the compost. Here are the reasons: Cigarette filters are made up almost entirely from a synthetic cellulose acetate polymer. This material does not degrade and only starts breaking down after about 10 years. Moreover, once it comes in contact with water, by leaching, cigarette butts will release dangerous chemicals that are harmful for animals or humans. Around 1350 different types of chemicals and additives can be found in one cigarette. Therefore, the leftover tobacco will only decompose after a few months but…

Winter Composting: Should I Just Scrap It? (article)

By Ginny Figlar Colon, originally found here. Nice … half-frozen veggie scraps molded together in a solid mass. Not exactly what I want to see in my compost bin. With at least five more months of cold weather before warmth and sunshine reappear, why do I even bother keeping the pile going? Well, I guess I do know why. Diverting even a handful of potato skins from the trash gives me an unexplainable sense of satisfaction. (If you aren’t yet a composter, you just can’t relate to this strange obsession with vegetable scraps.) So after filling my compost bin with a big batch of freshly raked leaves this weekend, I did a little online research to see what I could do to make it a wee bit more productive this…