My compost’s “first day of school”

We’ve had a compost pile (a collection of produce scraps, egg shells and coffee grinds) in our backyard for several years but recently we decided to sign our compost up for “school.”

Originally an open heap started by the previous owner, a few years ago our waste upgraded to a hand-me-down black bin from my parents. I love composting but am a terrible compost mom. If my compost pile was a child, it would definitely not be caught up on all its shots and it certainly wouldn’t know what a book is.

My composting parenting style

I don’t think any resource would suggest my composting method. I just dump my food waste in and occasionally throw in some leaves. I don’t turn it or water it or layer it. Last week a neighbor asked me if I get good soil from my compost and I had to tell her that honestly, I’ve never gotten that far. When we’re at a garden shop, I eagerly throw in bags of top soil while my husband asks “don’t we have soil from the compost?”

In the Winter, I basically abandon my compost completely since I live in upstate New York and don’t often want to bundle up through several feet of snow to pry a frozen lid off my compost and empty more scraps into it.

Why am I so neglectful? Honestly, it’s too many details for me to take care of. I realize how “first world” and petty this sounds, but at the end of the day I only have so much I can take care of, and the needs of my compost aren’t one of them.

If you are wondering how composting benefits the environment, join the club!

A few weeks ago my husband asked me for the scientific details on how composting helps with climate change. Since I’m not a scientist, I quickly checked with my bff (her name is Google).

According to RecycleNow, compostable materials in a landfill create more methane than they do when allowed to decompose naturally.
A quick visit to Garden Collage reminded me that methane is a green house gas causing global warming and that, according to the EPA, 20% of methane released in the USA is from food waste.

Outsourcing our parenting

After having it on our to-do list for several months, we signed up for a biweekly compost service. We pay $16/month and every other Tuesday morning, a 4 gallon bucket of food scraps is picked up off our porch and replaced with a clean bucket for us to start filling. Our picked-up food scraps go to a composting facility (aka school) where they eventually turn into soil. In the Spring, we’ll receive several containers of soil that have been made from ours (and others’ contributions).

Not only do I now not have to pry the frozen lid off the compost bin in the Winter, but I can also compost more things than I could in my hand-me-down bin at home. Check out everything our compost service says that can go into the 4 gallon bucket!

Like any first time mom, I eagerly wrote down all the pickup dates on the calendar, something I apparently didn’t need to do because yesterday I received this text:

So last night, I put our bucket on the porch and today was my compost’s first day of school – our first 4 gallon bucket was picked up and replaced with a clean one for us to start filling! I missed the pick up because I was busy with my, um, actual kids. Ah, you’ve gotta cut the cord at some point.

I want to do this! AKA not a to-do list

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can compost, here are some helpful links:
Step By Step Guide from RecycleNow about setting up a compost at home
Where to Compost listing of composting services throughout the country from Litterless.com

My kids are screaming, please give me the bullet points!
* Instead of throwing your food scraps, coffee grinds and egg shells into the trash can, you can compost them so they decompose naturally
* Composting reduces greenhouse gas emissions
* If you don’t have time to DIY compost, many communities have compost services available, which might allow you to compost more than you can at home