Composting Brochure
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COMPOST IT! What is composting? USER’S GUIDE TO Fruit and vegetable scraps Houseplants Green plant trimmings Weeds that have not gone to seed BACKYARD Coffee grounds/filters or tea bags Bread, pasta, cereal COMPOSTING Hair Grass clippings Wilted flowers IN ARROWSIC Dry leaves Hay or straw Compost is a dark brown, earthy, crumbly Wood chips material made of decomposed organic matter. Sawdust (use sparingly) Dryer lint Benefits of Composted Material Dried grass clippings When added to soil, compost improves soil Shredded cardboard or paper (mix porosity and water retention, and provides well to prevent matting) plants with essential nutrients. Composting diverts organic materials from the waste stream and reduces our trash fees. KEEP IT OUT! Meat, fish, dairy products How Does Material Decompose? Fats, oils, peanut butter Millions of microorganisms work to break Mayonnaise, salad dressing down organic material. We can speed up Dog or cat waste composting by managing the process. Wood or charcoal ash For More Information Grass clippings from herbicide-treated lawns Arrowsic Solid Waste and Recycling Committee Glass, plastic, metal, or non-organic materials arrowsic.org/recycle.html Arrowsic Solid Waste and Maine Department of Environmental Protection Recycling Committee maine.gov/dep/sustainability/compost/ index.html How do I start Building the Pile a compost pile? Step 1 Step 2 Loosen the soil where you will Gather your materials. Have a Start by picking a location. shovel, pitchfork, and garden place your compost. You may Look for an area that is: also want to pile a 4” to 6” hose ready to mix materials and add moisture as you build. You layer of twigs on top of the Well-drained and close to level soil to encourage airflow at should have enough material ready to build a 3’ X 3’ X 3’ pile. Or fill a In partial shade, to help with water retention the bottom of the pile. 4’ tall by 4’ diameter At least 1-foot away from walls, fences, mesh cylinder. bushes, trees, etc. A convenient spot to place materials and to get the end product to its final location Step 3 Make a composting Browns sandwich. Starting with brown materials, alternate Greens layers of ‘greens’ and Browns ‘browns,’ mixing materials Greens and adding water as you go. Bury food scraps in the Browns center of the pile, and Twigs Image courtesy Kristy Hall, Flickr finish with a brown layer. Step 5 What tools will I need? Without adding new materials, your compost should be ready These tools may help get you started: to add to your garden in about a year. Watching your garden Compost bin flourish from the compost you Pitchfork (compost turner) Step 4 have created is worth all of the You can add to a well- work you put into it! Chipper/shredder maintained compost pile year- Wheelbarrow (for transport) round. Mixing the ingredients periodically with a shovel or Garden hose heavy pitchfork will help 4’ X 12’ sturdy, coated, wire mesh (to form speed up the composting cylinder to contain compost pile, if desired) process. Thank you from the Arrowsic Solid Waste and Recycling Committee .