T – Page 198 – Crazy About Compost

Hidden Costs Series: Starbucks (video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ppkVx0fRPY This is one part of a video series called “Hidden Costs”, which focuses on one particular thing and gives it a grade based on categories like Environment, Health and Economy. While I really like this video (and a few others in the series), I disagree with a few things. First, Starbucks does not deserve a B in the Environment category. According to this video, their products are 10% recyclable. All they need to do is implement composting programs at their stores, both for the employees and the customers. The majority of waste at a coffee shop is compostable. Time for a quick local blasting: Philadelphia has several composting services available that are very affordable, yet the majority of our coffee shops don’t utilize them. Hell, there’s even services provided…

Nice Compostable Cup… How About the Top?

Behold the Ecotainer, the compostable cup. Behold the lid, which will never compost...ever. Maybe I'm just being a jerk, but this is what I'd call a mixed message. Maybe they just ran out of their normal wax paper lid that day and had to default to crappy plastic. Maybe the preferred non-plastic lid cost more. Maybe the paper cup cost more than they wanted it to...which leads me to my first point: I hope the cost of the cup didn't break the bank. There's plenty of paperboard cups on the market that don't say anything about being compostable, even though they are by default. It reminds me of how aerosol cans are labeled "No CFCs"...although they have been banned since 1978. Unnecessary labeling. While I realize that paper isn't devoid…

How to Screen Worm Compost (video)

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtEIYdDmyZQ Here's a neat video on how to screen worm compost. Cassandra keeps it simple in this video and has some nice results. I do pretty much the same thing, except my screen is a repurposed basket with a piece of wire mesh placed in the bottom. She makes mention of running a fan over the top of the castings when you first harvest them...it's true- when you first remove your castings and put the worms back, the stuff is so gooey that a screen doesn't work so well. Drying them out just a bit will help, although I wouldn't want to dry them too much and risk losing some of their benefit.