What is Composting: A Detailed Guide to the Natural Recycling Process

What is Composting?

Composting is a process where naturally occurring microorganisms, bacteria, and insects break down organic materials such as leaves, home scraps, and flowers, into a soil-like product called compost.

In today’s world, where environmental concerns are increasing, the need for composting has become the need of an hour. 

Do you ever wonder what happens to plants and animals when they die? 

Well, their nutrients break down and are recycled into the earth by decomposing. This can be better done with the help of composting. It is the process that offers a sustainable solution to the world’s increasing waste management challenges. 

You can recycle organic waste and convert it into nutrient-rich soil, known as compost. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that around 3.3 million wasted food was composted by food retail, food service, and residential sectors.  

Let us now understand this topic in detail.

Why Should You Compost? 

To dispose of the materials, composting the kitchen scraps at home is the best option to save landfill space. This helps reduce air emissions from the plants and burn garbage. If this practice continues on a regular basis, the waste generated will reduce to 25%. 

Composting is practical, convenient, and more accessible than delivering it to landfills. It helps to improve the health of your soil by adding organic matter. The soil retains moisture and nutrients that attract the organisms to the soil and reduce the need for fertilizers. However, it also reduces the potential for soil erosion.

How to Compost Waste: 5-step Process to Follow

Compost in your yard or home composting can save leaves and grass clippings. Also, kitchen and vegetable scraps should be prepared and placed in the compost pile for successfully finished compost. Follow the below steps for a healthy compost pile. 

Step 1: Choose the right materials

Anything that was once alive will compost, but this does not mean it belongs to the compost pile. There are different materials that you can compost and a few that you cannot compost. However, yard trimming like leaves, prunings, garden debris, and kitchen scraps make the best compost.

Do Compost	Do Not Compost
Fruit and vegetable peels	Meat and fat
Egg and peanuts	Fish and bones
Stalk and vines	Poultry
Coffee grounds and tea bags	Dairy products
Wood ashes	Plastic and synthetic fibers
Garden clippings	Diseased plants
Apple cores and citrus rinds	Vegetable oil
Leaves and grass clippings	Invasive weeds
Horse, chicken, and rabbit manure	Dog and cat feces

Step 2: Select and prepare the landfill

Choose a suitable location for your compost bin or create a designated area for your compost pile. Ensure that it is easily accessible and has good drainage. You can use a ready-made compost bin or build one using wire mesh or wooden pallets. There are many different ways to prepare a compost pile, as discussed below. 

• Simply pile materials and keep them in a dense compost heap. 
• Build your own compost bin with a neat appearance. 
• Keep out the pest and hold in moisture.
• Assemble the wood chips out of the old pallets.
• Place cinder blocks on top leaving the front open. 
• Drill the bottom and sides of the compost bin. 

Step 3: Prepare compost materials 

Prepare the materials by cutting and shredding the ingredients into pieces. This will help to decompose quickly. Food scraps for composting at home will shorten the time it takes to compost. 

Build a pile by covering the bottom with small twigs and leaves. Create a layer 2 to 6 inches thick and add greens such as grass clippings, and manure. Then, add browns like straw, and wood chips, to maintain the balance ratio of carbon and nitrogen. The ideal size of the pile should be three feet high, three feet wide, and three feet long. Keep it damp and moist. 

Provide air, as it is essential to the organisms breaking down the materials. Fluff the pile with a pitchfork whenever you add new material. You can easily get finished compost in a year if the pile is turned down frequently. 

Step 4: Check whether the compost pile is ready

Decomposition will complete from two weeks to two years depending on the materials used and how the pile is prepared. Cold composting turns into rich brown color than hot composting and decomposes into small particles. 

Step 5: Use the finished compost 

About one month before planting, apply the finished compost and work more than four inches of soil. Use the compost in the garden as a top dressing during summer. This also helps in potting soil with equal parts of soil, sand, and loam. Lawns can benefit from compost which further helps in biological activities. 

What are the Adaptive Methods for Composting?  

If you are not following the practices of waste management, it’s now time to start with it on the road to building a healthy environment. There are plenty of benefits as mentioned in the above section, but to get the full picture of how to compost, you need to check the small and large-scale methods. 

1. Small-scale composting

For the individual, small-scale composting is what they will interact with. This is a green alternative to simply throwing everything out and growing your own plants to keep cheap fertilizer. 

But, is it best to keep compost at home? That actually depends on the environment of the house and the type of composting. Read the below small-scale composting methods to understand which is best suitable for you. 

• Onsite composting

  Companies that compost small amounts of food waste can compost onsite. It will reduce the number of food scraps. Yard trimmings and small quantities of food straps should be composited onsite. Animal products and large quantities of waste are not the appropriate way for the onsite composting process.

  Pros

  • Easy setup and maintenance
  • Flexible in any location and climate
  • Highly effective for small composting

  Cons

  • Takes a long time to create the compost
  • Compost has limited users as it uses potting soil
  • Has limited capacity for scraps

• Vermicomposting

  Red worms in bins feed on food waste, and other organic matter to create compost. These worms break down this material into high-quality compost and are easy to construct. The bins can be sized according to the volume of food scrap turns for castings. 

  It typically takes 3-4 months to produce castings that can be used as soil. Worm tea is the other byproduct of vermicomposting used as liquid fertilizer for gardens. 

  Note: Nightcrawlers and field worms found in gardens are not suitable for vermiculture. 

  Pros

  • Creates versatile compost suitable for potted plants
  • Produces high-quality liquid fertilizer
  • Faster than compost piles, making it easy for casting in 3-4 months
  • It is ideal for small offices and apartments without a yard

  Cons

  • Liquid byproduct can leak, so it needs to be managed indoor
  • Extreme temperatures can kill the worms and remove them from the container

2. Large-scale composting

Individual composting is a good practice, but community composting is more efficient. This process requires higher overhead costs and management skills. However, the system falls in place and is streamlined. Check the below methods that are best suitable for large-scale composting. 

• Aerated static pile composting

  Static piles are utilized for both digestion and are often useful to break down waste much faster. If the compost pile is not maintained properly, the air is not infused and the pile will turn anaerobic. This will make the pile produce a bad smell and methane as rotting food cannot be composed. 

  Pros

  • Static pile composting is good for large generators of waste, and organic materials
  • No need for physical turning
  • It can withstand the cold and retains its warmth
  • Makes usable compost faster within 3-6 months
  • With the proper airflow, compost piles can be built on a large-scale saving more land

  Cons

  • Without turning, a static pile requires detailed layering to ensure the pile is heated
  • Pipe installation to circulate airflow is expensive and requires technical knowledge
  • Animal byproducts from food do not compost well in this method

• Windrow composting

  This method of composting involves forming organic waste into long piles called as windrows. These are aerated periodically manually or mechanically. Turned composting is suitable for large volumes of compost generated by local government and food processing businesses like catering, restaurants, etc.

  Pros

  • Can handle a wide variety of waste from grease, liquids, and even animal byproducts
  • Can work in cold temperatures
  • Relatively easy and cheap

  Cons

  • Requires large tracts of land, equipment, and consistent labor work
  • Creates a liquid byproduct that contaminates the local water if treated improperly

Whether you choose any of the methods, the most important approach is to collect the waste for composting. And for that reason, you need to follow the optimized collection process in your business plan to save time and money. 

You got an idea of which method to choose, right? Let us study in detail the benefits of composting materials. 

Key Benefits of Composting to Create Organic Materials

Environmental benefits

Composting offers a range of environmental benefits that signifies how crucial is the role of composting in waste management.

• Improves soil and fertility 

  Natural proteins in compost help dirt bind together and that helps the soil retain moisture. Compost is like a superfood for the soil which is essential for plant growth. Additionally, compost piles improve soil structure, allowing for better water retention. This helps to reduce the need for chemical fertilizers, minimizing the risk of water pollution. 

  Did you know?
  

  Soil can retain 16,500 gallons of water per acre for every 1% of organic material. Adding compost to soil amendment can reduce the water needed for crops. 

• Conserving water to reduce soil erosion

  Healthy soil with food organic materials has increased water holding capacity. Composting improves soil’s ability to retain moisture and reduces the need for irrigation. So, by conversing with water, composting helps water scarcity. 

• Keeps our planet healthy

  Throwing organic materials into the trash is harmful to the environment. This organic matter makes up to ⅓ of our waste, removing organics from trash reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills for recycling organic materials. 

Economic benefits

Composting offers a range of economic benefits that make a positive impact on waste management. 

• Reduces Methane

  When organic waste ends up in landfills, it decomposes and releases methane gas. This contributes to the weather change. On the other hand, promotes aerobic decomposition, reducing methane emissions. By diverting organic waste from landfills and recycling, you can make a difference in mitigating climate change. 

• Cost-efficient waste disposal

  Landfills are becoming limited and costly, and so waste disposal fees continue to rise. By transforming food scraps, fresh grass clippings, and garden waste into composting, businesses can lower waste management costs. 

• Revenue generation through the compost pile

  By producing high-quality compost, businesses can generate revenue by selling it to farmers, landscapers, and other potential buyers. Composting not only helps save on waste disposal costs but it is an opportunity to create a revenue stream.

Conclusion

Composting is a crucial practice for sustainable waste management, offering a multitude of benefits. As you embark on composting waste, remember that efficient waste pickup plays a pivotal role in the composting process. 

As you can see, composting is an incredibly easy activity, you can help enrich your soil and reduce the environmental impact and carbon footprint. There is always a possibility that your compost could become contaminated. Know the right process for composting and save the planet.