Last fall I took a Master Composter class sponsored by my fair city, and it has changed how I view the world. California requires all municipalities to remove 75% of organic matter from their landfills this decade, hence the funding of this program. Boy did it work with me. Did you know paper towels, Kleenex, q-tips, cotton balls, and the sticks from corn dogs are all compostable? A recent minor disappointment of buying unsalted pistachios turned into a plus in my mind because I could then compost the shells. Yes, I have gotten quite obsessed about it, and it feels good.
I now have three forms of composting going on out our place: Standard hot pile composting, in the fabulous bin (built by DH2U!),
and the Bokashi bins where I ferment our food scraps prior to putting them in a compost pile.
This is an excellent alternative if you don’t build piles very frequently as it can continue doing its thing for up to 6 months before it is either trench composted or put into a traditional compost pile. You can read more about it on the Solana Center’s (the wonderful organization that hosts the Master Composter class) website.
And of course there are my worms, which gladly accept food scraps in exchange for providing a fabulous soil amendment.
I was even a panelist for a worminar, getting to share my worm wrangling experience with people who wanted to hear my stories!
The Master Composter class also taught me that cardboard can be used as a “brown” in compost piles. Since I was lacking in browns for my last pile, I was able to make a dozen delivery boxes disappear and will be enriching our soil with them in a couple months.
I have always agreed with the idea that what is important to you is reflected through our actions, not our words. It makes my heart sing that my actions show that sustainability is important in my life.
Grown Up, Now What? 