https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqzXkv-d5Yg Farmer Rishi goes through a few pile-free methods to keep your organics out of the landfill. Before I had a pile, I started by burying my food scraps, then I started using worms, now I use compost piles with worms added. All of these methods definitely work- try them out and see which one you like the best.
I just finished filling in the beds with 15 month finished compost, and the contamination wasn't as bad as I thought. Besides the produce labels and the blue strand of plastic from my old tarp, I think the rest of it was all swept up when collecting leaves off the street. I use my finished compost for horticultural purposes, and I double-screen the stuff I use for my cilantro and basil. Plastics are everywhere... it would be crazy to think I could remove 100% of it from my compost, but I'm definitely satisfied with what I have. Composting is always worth it :)
It's tricky to know when paper is compostable or not... is the ink non-toxic? Is there a plastic liner embedded in there somewhere? I'd like to focus on compostable takeout containers- I've noticed more restaurants using them lately. Sweetgreen makes a tasty (pricey) salad, and they've recently gone halfway and made the bowl compostable (lid is plastic). I'm nearly certain it doesn't contain a thin plastic lining, and I've been putting them in the compost. The key to make it work is to rip it up the best you can; and second, it makes excellent worm bedding while creating little air pockets in the pile. This stuff doesn't compost quickly, so expect it to be around a bit... rip it up! Ice cream cartons are very thick and have obvious…