Composting: Something for Nothing
More info from the 04 Septemeber 2004 column
www.mass.gov/dep/consumer/compost.html
If you believe that nothing in life is free, you probably haven’t tried backyard composting. A little time and outdoor space can turn your kitchen scraps and yard waste into what Jim Crockett of WGBH’s incomparable "Crockett’s Victory Garden" used to call "the caviar of organic materials." Caviar from garbage—that really is something for nothing. And better—it’s easy and fun to do. And even better—it’s not only good for your pocketbook and your garden, it’s good for the community and the environment.
Backyard composting benefits the community and the environment by keeping solid waste out of the trash. Less trash hauled to the North Andover incinerator saves energy and reduces air pollution. According to Robert Beaudoin, Lexington’s Superintendent of Solid Waste and Recycling, more than 400 composting bins have been purchased by Lexington households since they’ve been offered for sale and each one is able to divert up to 750 pounds of waste from a family of four into rich humus. At a solid waste tipping fee of $140 per ton, that works out to savings for the town of over $21,000 a year. At those rates, if all 11,000 households in Lexington were to compost, the annual saving could amount to over half a million dollars.
Composting produces humus, the ultimate soil additive. According to Jim Crockett in his book, Crockett’s Victory Garden, "There’s just nothing like compost for plants; if there’s a magic elixir for the garden, compost is it." While returning essential nutrients to the garden, compost keeps the soil loose and workable and increases its capacity to hold water, thus reducing your watering needs.
Backyard composting is also educational by keeping you and your family in touch with the natural biological cycles. It’s a great family project and a course in nature’s miracles: this year’s spent flowers, tomato plants, and corn husks go into the compost pile this fall; biological activity turns it magically into dark, rich, crumbly humus; and, in spring, this "black gold" is spread onto the garden bed nourishing next summer’s crops.
This lesson, by the way, is being learned by the lucky students at Estabrook Elementary School through the school lunch waste composting pilot program started in the spring of 2003. Martha Slone, a parent volunteer, helped start this program and continues to lead it even though her kids have moved on to middle school. This past spring the students used the humus they had "made" to plant seedlings in the school’s greenhouse gardens. Martha explains how she benefits from the experience, too: "In the middle of winter, putting on my boots and going out to the compost pile reconnects me to the earth."
Ready to start a compost bin? Good news: it’s really easy—nature takes care of all the complicated parts. And right now near the end of summer is the perfect time to start. There are lots of online sources and books to get you started with more information than you’ll ever need on how and why composting works. You’ll find a few websites listed at the end of this article, but all you really need to know is summarized on a single handout entitled "Composting is Easy." You can pick this up at the DPW facility at 201 Bedford Street.
While you’re there be sure to ask Robert about the two types of composting bins the town sells at the below-market price of $30. But wait there’s more! While supplies last, when you buy a compost bin, he is throwing in, for free, a quart and a half kitchen container to collect table scraps destined for the compost pile. Robert can also provide you a pamphlet from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts called, "Turn spoils into soil–Home Composting," that explains why and how to compost, how to use the result, even how to do it without a yard! This pamphlet also shows various easy-to-make styles of compost bins.
So, how about it? Are you ready to improve your garden, get closer to nature, teach yourself and your kids a great lesson in sustainability, and help reduce wasted expenditure of tax money? We hope so. Happy composting and happier gardening next spring.
For more info see
www.mass.gov/dep/consumer/compost.html
Earth Day 2005
And while we have your attention, Sustainable Lexington is beginning planning for Earth Day 2005 events. If you or your organization would like to be involved or are planning events of your own for next spring, come and join us September 22, 7 to 9PM at the Town Office Building, room G-15.
For more information on Sustainable Lexington, or if you are interested in joining our group, please visit our website at www.geocities.com/SustainableLexington or email us at SustainableLexington@yahoo.com.