Envirocycle | Crazy About Compost

Envirocycle latch replacement

Recently I decided to bring the Envirocycle back into the mix, and I remembered why I stopped using it: the latch was warped. When the drum is approaching full, the contents can slam against the door, which causes the latch to bend. Eventually the door will pop open while you're spinning it. Not good. I asked for a replacement latch a long time ago, and it didn't take long to realize that it's not compatible with the older model. Although metal is obviously superior, it only fits the newer/smaller Envirocycles (stick with the large model if you want good results). The latch is off by just a few millimeters, but there's no room to drill it out to fit- not enough plastic on there. Back to the old style. Customer…

The Reluctant Composter (NYT article)

Originally found here (and my commentary is at the bottom): http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/03/garden/a-city-dweller-tests-four-composters.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1 WHEN my oldest son returned from a first-grade field trip last year insisting that our family start composting, my heart did not exactly soar. After six years of changing diapers, I wasn’t looking to take on additional waste-management responsibilities. I switched the subject, and our melon rinds and abandoned cheese sticks continued their steady march into the trash. Then my middle son started kindergarten. On the second day, he, too, arrived home to proclaim the need to compost, explaining that it was good for the earth. “The bugs eat the compost,” he noted, “then they poop it out and it makes better soil.” This got me thinking about how much of the school curriculum is devoted to composting, and…

A Better SunChips Bag? (article)

Consumer Reports Magazine: January 2012 Frito-Lay scrapped its SunChips Original bag last year (too noisy) but says that the newer bag, like the old, is “100% compostable.” We decided that a retest was in order. On the bag’s back are the words “designed to compost in about 14 weeks in a hot, active home or industrial compost pile.” In tiny type on the bag’s base: “This package is suitable for industrial composting.” Most people don’t have access to an industrial compost pile, so we put a SunChips bag in a typical home pile of grass clippings, wood chips, leaves, and starter dirt, and kept it there for 14 weeks, adding compost and watering as needed. We also measured noise while crinkling the newer bag, the older bag, and a Tostitos bag.…