Sanders County recycling with Kathy Conlin
This is a subject many of us know very little about, but we can take advantage of learning opportunities! MSU Extension is offering a Lunch & Learn Home Composting Session by Master Gardener Charlotte Beaudry on Monday, July 30 from noon to 1 p.m.
They have an amazing website (msuextension.org), and if you type “composting” in the search bar, you will find excellent resources on the subject.
A typical household throws away an estimated 474 pounds of food waste each year. Put another way, that is about 1.5 pounds per person a day in the U.S. Food scraps generated by all households in the United States could be piled on a football field more than five miles (26,400 feet) high.
The Internet is a rich source of information on composting as well as our wonderful local libraries. (e.g. “Easy Composting” by Jeff Ball, and “Rodale Book of Composting” by Debra Martin)
WHY COMPOST?
Because food scrap items such as vegetable and fruit waste, meal leftovers, coffee grounds, tea bags, stale bread, grains and general refrigerator spoilage are an everyday occurrence in most households.
Composting breaks down rich, organic materials from our everyday food and yard waste, which when added to our home garden areas, can greatly improve the quality of soils.
Kitchen and yard composting also keeps large volumes of materials out of our local landfill, which means the county won’t have to pay to dump it in the refuse site in Missoula!
WHY DOESN”T THE COUNTY HAVE A COMPOST PILE?
Composting requires a careful balance of materials, organisms, moisture and oxygen.
The Transfer Site lacks the necessary moisture for a compost pile, and managing a compost pile takes time, especially when you are talking the volumes of materials that are dumped at the site.
It simply is not cost-effective. Residents can create and maintain their own home composting plan, which is easy, and can be very rewarding!
HOW TO START?
Check out a book at the library, research online, go to the lunch session at MSU Extension July 30 (call 827-6934 to register), or visit with a neighbor who has a compost pile.
You will learn the guidelines on just what items are preferable to compost, as well as the interesting and effective composting plans and tools that are out there.
Create a plan that suits your own lifestyle and household ... and just think of the rich soil conditioner you will be able to add to your garden areas.
Contributed by Kathy Conlin with Sanders County Recycling