Composting Materials  
Be green! Recycle! And that means everything, seriously. Many different things from around the home can be used as compost materials. Here's a list some common items you can use to make compost.

Brown paper bags Burnt Matches Clean paper Paper towels Coffee grounds and filters Cotton and wool rags Crushed eggshells

Fireplace ashes Fruits and vegetables Grass clippings & Yard Waste Hair & Fur Hay & Straw Houseplants Leaves

Nut shells Sawdust Seaweed (rinse off saltwater) Shredded newspaper Tea and tea bags Toothpicks Wood chips

Why compost? Why not? Here are a few reasons why you should consider your own composting set-up.

Composting Is Easy - How much time and effort do you spend putting things in the garbage can? A few seconds each week. That's how simple composting is -- it's basically a matter of opening a lid with one hand, and letting go of what you're holding in the other.

Composting Is Dirt Cheap - It costs next to nothing to compost, aside from a tiny initial investment in a compost pail or bin. In fact, if you're a gardener or have any landscaping at all, your compost pile can save you money by reducing what you spend on fertilizer or yard waste removal. It will also greatly reduce what you throw in the garbage each week, so you might be able to save on municipal trash removal costs.

Compost Makes for a Healthy, Thriving Garden - You really can't find a better soil amendment than compost. It loosens clay soils and helps sandy soils retain water. And not only does compost contain no petroleum-based compounds (like most commercial fertilizers do), it can suppress plant diseases and pests. Gardens that are composted produce higher yields of healthier fruits, vegetables and flowers.

Composting Is Good for the Planet - Landfills everywhere are running out of room, and the EPA estimates that roughly 25% of the garbage in the U.S. is made up of yard trimmings and food scraps. That's over 60 million tons each year! Instead of watching your local landfill get bigger and more expensive to maintain each month, try composting.

No Smell, No Pests - The rumor that compost attracts bugs, mice or other pests is a dirty, stinking lie. Only compost done wrong smells, or attracts vermin. To do it right, just keep dairy products and meats out of your compost pile.

It's a good family activity - With composting, children can do more than just sending newspapers off for recycling, and they can see the entire cycle, from food scraps or other organic wastes to a rich, renewable fertilizer source. This can help instill the concept of reduce, reuse, and recycle in kids and give them a true sense of environmental stewardship.

There are some great options to get yourself set up with a composting system in order to make your own rich fertilizer and replenish your soil. You can try a composting bin or a tumbler. A tumbler is more ideal if you don't have a lot of room and it's also portable so you can wheel it (or roll it, depending on the model) right to where you want to spread your compost. A compost bin isn't portable, but will allow you to compost more material. If you're impatient, there are several types of compost activators. An activator will jump start any compost pile to accelerate the natural process of material breakdown.

Another option is a different type of compost bin known as a worm factory. Powered by red worms, a clever thermo siphon flow design increases the composting speed, allowing you to make compost much quicker. You can keep this composter outside or indoors. Additionally, this is type of composting results in one of the richest forms of fertilizers available.

Compost Accelerators Compost Bins & Systems

Composting Pails for the Kitchen Composting Tools