httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlH9pO5V94
While I was on vacation in Bocas del Toro, Panama, I discovered a compost bin at the Palmer Tent Lodge on Red Frog Beach. It’s always nice to see a composting system in place when traveling, or anytime really. Of course I had to take a peek!
It looked like the majority of the bin’s contents were food scraps, with all of the cardboard laying on top in sheets. There was a good deal of bugs and the contents seemed a bit dry. I decided to help out by shredding up the cardboard into smaller pieces and mixing it in with the pile. This will help speed up the process a bit and get the pile in balance.
They also had a nifty finished compost bin next to it, with some truly nice stuff curing inside. I hope that other hostels and lodges can pick up on this and get composting. The problem is everywhere- we throw away tons of organic materials to the landfill that can be kept right in our backyards and mixed with fallen leaves and paper products to create some wonderful compost.
Bocas del Toro recently started a recycling program for their plastics/glass/aluminum- but it’s good to be reminded that the world’s oldest recycling program is right at our feet.