The Art of Composting

By: Anikka Wattnem

I have always been interested in composting and I recently decided that there’s no time better then the present to start. So I started doing research on composting and felt immediately like I had hit a wall.

Problem(s): Composts need to be warm and so that is part of the reason you are suppose to turn them frequently. Unfortunately I live in the Midwest, hours away from the Canadian border and winters here are very cold. I don’t have a garage and I would be concerned about the smell of having a compost in my basement. Insulated containers probably wouldn’t be enough to withstand the coldest of days and I worry that it would render my work useless. Plus containers intended for composting are expensive and just like many young people I don’t have a lot of money for things that aren’t necessities.

Another worry of mine is that in our house we don’t have a lot of food waste so I am not sure there is enough to compost on our own. I also worried about separating what I could and could not compost. That seems like a tricky task especially if we have guests. While I like to teach people new things I don’t want to be scolding people or digging foods out of the wrong container. You are also supposed to add yard waste but we live on a small lot. Much to our dismay there aren’t any trees so we don’t have leaves to rake up and throw in.

My solution: The city I work in has a composting program. On their site they list what items you can compost. They give the names of stores where you can buy compostable bags. And when you drop off a bag they will give you a bag. They do all the work of maintaining the compost piles and then sell it for a reasonable amount. They have numerous locations for drop off – some are restraunts that participate and accept compost bags when they are open. So although I live miles away there’s bound to be a drop off site near where I am going.

Frankly, I see myself going this route out of mostly convenience. The only cost will be some compostable bags and maybe some sort of sealable container to keep the scraps in. The process is relatively simple and they accept pretty much all food scraps. Everything is straightforward and I know I can call them with questions. I am excited that I have found a way to do something sustainable with little impact on my daily life.