Hi Hippie-
We’re two savvy, vegetarian, eco-loving ladies that share an apartment in the city (one of whom you know), and we’ve managed to fix most of our household ills in a sustainable way. With one exception: I throw out more food and food waste in a week than can possibly be okay. We cook at least 6x a week, everything from quick Gardenburgers to elaborate quinoa casseroles. We buy and use a lot of fruit and veg in particular, and as the resident cook, I leave a lot of scraps: green bean ends, pepper remnants, carrot ends, rinds, peels, etc. And I feel bad just trashing it. When I was younger and lived in West Philly, I had a neighborhood garden with a compost heap. Now I have…Broad Street.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg (lettuce?). The worst part is what comes out of my refrigerator every week: soggy squash, lonely yogurts, discomforted cucumbers, forgotten peppers, moldy wheat germ, and rancid tomatoes. I throw out a solid quarter of what we buy. And it’s not edible, so I can’t give it away. Further, I have tried really only buying exactly what I think we’ll need to the point where I run out of or low on some things, but still end up wasting others! I feel like every week is a hunt through a refrigerated jungle of disgraceful waste. It doesn’t seem eco-friendly, just, or financially sound. Please help, Hippie. We’re at a loss.
Jaime and Mimi
****************************
I’m so excited to get your e-lettre, Jaime and Mimi! You probably guessed I was going to talk to you about composting. But maybe I can help you with info you don’t already know. First thing is – composting is an incredibly gratifying practice to most people and talking about it is almost as good. Here are some suggestions for you two:
VERMICOMPOST!
The absolute most FUN option for you would be a worm farm. Yes, that’s what I said. You can make or buy one for under your sink. The question is, are you bold enough, brave enough, hippie enough to provide a home and nurture some of the most delightful creatures on our planet? Is there anything more sacred, important, gorgeous and hermaphroditically efficient than the glorious annelid? I say no. I urge you to worm [comp]host!
Make your own bin:
Make a wooden box (you can also use a plastic bin) box that will fit under your sink – keep it on the shallow side & rule of thumb is about 2 square feet per person in your home. A dresser drawer or wooden crate would work just fine. Place it on a rubber or plastic sheet of some sort in case it sweats or leaks. Drill or poke at least a dozen small holes in the top or the sides near the top – be sure there will be plenty of air. If you’re concerned about bug problems, duct tape cheesecloth or wire mesh inside the holes of the bin. Cut a board to fit the top and install clamps to tightly hold it on. Fill it about ¾ full with shredded newsprint or cardboard (1/2” to 1” strips, no color print or glossy paper). Spray with water to dampen well but don’t soak it too much. Toss in dead leaves and twigs that may come off any plants you may have around and a few handfuls of dirt or sawdust if you can. Add worms – from ¾ – a full pound of worms you can get from a bait store, online or dig ‘em up yourself. Red worms are best. Veggies, grains, breads, fruit, coffee grounds, tea bags, even unbleached paper towels are great to throw in. Avoid all meat and animal products unless it’s rinsed and crushed eggshells.
The worms will be able to handle about a quart or pound of scraps per week, maybe a little more but start with less to see how it goes & add it only a couple days at a time. Be sure to mix it in a little so that the bedding covers the scraps. If it starts to stink, you may need to tweak the ratios because it shouldn’t. In a couple months or so, you’ll have some great fertilizer. When it starts to break down, you’ll want to shift the old compost to one side and start a new batch on the other side. That way, you’ll be better able to access the usable compost. If there is liquid, “earth tea,” on the bottom, drain it out and use it as plant food, although a wooden bin should take care of excess moisture. At some point, you may need to remove some worms since they’re fantastic breeders. A community garden or hippie friends may appreciate the donation.
If you don’t want to make it yourself, there are plenty worm bins for sale to choose from, though most are plastic and plastic is plastic, if you know what I mean.
Maybe your place is too hot for an an indoor worm farm (they like cool, dark places) or maybe it just isn’t for you. If you or a friendly neighbor or landlord has a patio, rooftop or parking garage space for your use, you could get an outdoor worm bin or “earth tea” composter. I specify the worms because you don’t need as much ‘brown’ waste – dead leaves, twigs, straw and the like with a worm composter as with a non-worm composting system. There are several varieties available but I generally like to steer people toward wood or stainless steel bins rather than plastic, though that may require you actually making it yourself. Failing an outdoor composter, see about donating your scraps to a local community (or neighbor’s) garden. If you didn’t live in the city, I’d also suggest throwing it in with your or a neighbor’s yard waste on pick-up day.
If you can figure out a place for your scraps that happens to be further than your patio, you may want to get a countertop compost bin. You can find some great-looking odorless bins made of ceramic or stainless steel. Just try to get it at a local, independently owned store if you can. With one of these, you can go a few days before needing to empty it. If you have more freezer space than counter space or want to save $ and carbon, you can also keep scraps in your freezer.
Chic Composting
For those daunted by such earthy goings-on in the flat, there is an automatic kitchen composter made by NatureMill. These things don’t seem to require a lot of work and claim to safely compost animal products and even pet waste (!). I haven’t seen many reviews of it so I can’t speak to the dependability but it certainly sounds easy, so long as you are careful to keep the brown/green ratio in balance. It requires about as much electricity as a nightlight & has a slightly larger eco-footprint with the carbon and energy involved in manufacturing and shipping so it’s not the MOST eco-friendly option but it’s really not bad. Besides, if it’s going to get you to compost when other methods fail, Gaia would probably vote yes.
Then What?
Soak your hands in it, smear it on your naked body for a fertility dance, make a mud-mask, worship a jar on your sacred altar, whatever you like. But you can admire the ‘black gold’ for only so long before you need to find a place for it. If you can’t use it all for your own garden or potted plants, offer it to family and friends. Check to see if there’s a garden nearby that would be interested in taking it or just guerrilla-compost whatever city foliage you can find. You could also post a ‘free’ ad on your local freecycle.org or craigslist.org to give it away. Philadelphia has the Philly Compost Map – an online map of sharing composting sites – you could add yours!
Speaking of Philadelphia, there are a couple really great projects in the works. For only $10/month, Bennett Composting offers weekly residential compost pick-up in some locations. PhillyCompost.Com also offers residential pick-up in the Northwest section and is a great resource for all things compost. For those living in West Philly, the Pedal Co-Op charges $2.50 to carry away a bag o’ scraps via bicycle. Several places offer composting workshops, like The City of Philadelphia . If you’re really geeked-up about composting, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance is hosting an upcoming Compost Matters Conference in April featuring Will Allen.
You’ll have to keep me posted on what you end up doing & how it works out so I can share it with my readers…
Good Luck,
Your Hippie with the Backyard Bamboo Compost Bin, Host to Baby Snakes and Other Such Awesome Critters
**
**
Readers who don’t live in the Philadelphia area can do a quick online search for their region’s composting information. Many cities, like San Francisco, New York and Seattle, are now implementing composting programs that are simply inspiring. If there are no local composting projects, take the lead and figure out a solution or at least a good start.
Some other general online sources of great info include The Compost Guide and HowToCompost.Org.
BackTalk