Composting in the Work Place and at Home
by Allison G. S. Knox
My husband and I love gardening. We love being outside in the fresh air and enjoy the satisfaction of growing our own food to eat. Last spring we spent much of our weekends purchasing soil in which our plants would thrive. After purchasing many bags of soil, we decided the cheaper method would be to start our own compost pile. Thus, we began educating ourselves in composting so we could use our own materials to create a thriving vegetable garden.
Composting is a viable component of sustainability and an effective means of reducing one’s carbon footprint. It reduces garbage waste heading to a landfill, makes people more independent with their food options, and provides a great benefit to the environment. It also saves time and money for the individuals who choose to do it.
Composting refers to taking organic materials, (i.e. once living organisms), such as dead leaves from a plant, and table scraps, and placing them into a pile of dirt in which worms and other organisms work to decompose the material. Eventually, the material is transformed into a highly nutritious soil for plants to thrive. Because of its nutritious content, it is ideal for gardeners working on vegetable and flower gardens. Since material is going directly into a pile where it will be decomposed, decomposable garbage is saved from going to a land fill, further polluting our planet.
Composting at home is very simple. To create a compost pile, start with a pile of dirt composed of topsoil, then mix yard waste and table scraps into it on a regular basis. After about a year of doing this, individuals find that they have created nutritious soil. They also find they no longer have to go to the nursery to purchase fertilizer or soil to give their plants the nutrients they need.
In the office, composting is also relatively simple. Most organizations use a large plastic bin and fill it with soil and worms. Employees then dump their organic waste from lunches into it. After several months, nutritious soil will be created and can be used for the company’s garden, or an employee’s garden. CA Recycle, a website that lists many ideas for how to recycle in the workplace, provides ideas regarding how to start a compost bin at work.
Composting is a wonderful way to help the environment. It will save time and money through the waste it saves from the land fill.
Tags: CA Recycle, composting
March 4th, 2010 at 4:20 am
[...] Composting in the Work Place and at Home | APUS – Sustainability [...]
June 3rd, 2010 at 9:21 am
[...] the soil around trees and shrubs as a mulch. (For additional information on composting, see our blog article posted in March.) These clippings can also be used as soil additive for house plants and planter [...]
June 17th, 2010 at 4:14 pm
[...] The Kitchen Composting. Place fruits and vegetable scraps, as well as coffee grounds in a container or composter and add them to your garden. These items are food for your plants, they help to recycle valuable nutrients, and save space in the landfills. You can also save water by not running your garbage disposal, just by composting the items you would normally send down the drain. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that yard trimmings and food scraps constitute 26 percent of the United States municipal solid waste in the landfills. For additional information on composting please see the recent American Public University System (APUS) Sustainability blog article by Allison Knox on Composting in the Workplace and at Home. [...]
April 16th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Incredible writing on this forum. I’ve been looking for a gardening blog to follow. BTW, I found you on Bing.