T – Page 236 – Crazy About Compost

Introducing the Black and Decker Leaf Hog!

Every once in a while I get an urge to pick up a new toy, so recently I snagged the Black & Decker Leaf Hog. It was long overdue for me to acquire a tool to further shred up my leaves for the compost pile...what a difference! Before that, I was merely ripping up leaves by hand...definitely not feasible. While I would never consider to use its primary function as a leaf blower, its vacuuming/shredding ability is awesome. I was surprised how ergonomic and quiet this thing was during operation. The vacuum bag snaps on and off easily with one hand, and it can hold a fair bit of stuff. While one run over a leaf pile will tear them up nicely, I found that it works better to empty…

Compostable Plastic Cup?

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdlwmL3Dw6k Found this video today. Leads to the question...how many people interested in composting will be able to do the right thing here? I still stand firm that the average backyard composting efforts will not be able to degrade bioplastics, as they need extremely high temperatures for days on end in order to work. I can see a lot of people fresh to the idea of composting becoming discouraged rather quickly if they start with materials like this. In short, don't be upset if your Sun Chips bag is in your compost 6 months from now...or longer.

“Can I Compost This?” Series #4: Tea Bags?

Lately I've been having a lot of fun with contacting companies that I like (and don't like) and asking them how compostable their product is. The results have usually been pretty entertaining. I don't drink a lot of tea, but when I do, it's ginger Yogi Tea. They definitely carry a good rep, and they didn't disappoint here. I sent them an email asking about their tea bags... What are they made of? Are they compostable? It appears that tea bags normally are, but as of late have been moving over to nylon bags due to higher strength...not compostable. In fact, I wonder if I really want to be dipping nylon in near-boiling water. While heating and burning aren't the same thing, burning nylon is definitely toxic. Not trying to…