A down to earth guide to composting
Easy waste reduction in 10 minutes a week
edmonton.ca/compost
What is composting?
Composting is a natural Composting turns organic Finished compost improves
process that breaks materials into a dark, earthy soil and makes your plants,
down organic kitchen material called compost. garden and lawn healthier.
and yard materials.
Composting:
• Reduces waste – almost half of your Contents
garbage is compostable.
3 How do I choose a compost bin?
• Improves soil quality by adding nutrients
4 What can I compost?
and keeping soil moist.
5 How to compost
• Saves energy – less material is processed
6 Maintaining my compost bin
through the waste system.
6 Harvesting my compost
6 Using my compost
7 What’s going on?
A troubleshooting guide
2
How do I choose a compost bin?
Composting can be done with an open pile or
in a compost bin. A bin keeps your compost
pile neat, provides weather protection, and
keeps animals out.
Composters in all shapes, sizes, and materials
are available from your local hardware store
or garden centre.
When choosing a bin, consider:
• Airflow – Fresh air kills odours.
• Accessibility – Make it easy to turn
the compost by choosing a bin with
a removable front.
• Size – One cubic metre is a good size for Location, Location, Location! A compost bin has
beginners (about the size of a dishwasher). to be convenient to use, or it may get ignored.
Where to put your bin:
• Choose a convenient, level, well-drained,
and sunny area.
• Place your bin on concrete or soil, not on
wood or vinyl.
• Leave some space around the bin to store
extra leaves, soil, and other materials.
Vents for
airflow • Shelter the bin from wind to reduce
maintenance.
• In the winter, find a sunny, sheltered spot
Door for close to your kitchen door.
accessibility
A black plastic composting bin
TIP placed in a sunny spot is easier
to maintain. Sunshine speeds
up composting.
3
What can I compost?
To compost successfully you need
a mixture of roughly equal amounts
of greens and browns.
Greens (nitrogen rich) Yuck. Don’t compost this
From the yard: From the yard:
• Green garden waste • Weeds with seed heads
• Weeds before they go to seed or with aggressive roots
• Flowers • Diseased plants
• Green grass clippings • Pet waste
From the kitchen: From the kitchen:
• Vegetable/fruit peels and scraps • Meat, fish or bones
• Green leaves • Fat, oil or grease
• Coffee grounds • Dairy products
• Tea bags
If you’re a beginner, add a few more
Browns (carbon rich) TIP browns at first. It will take longer
to finish, but will be worry-free.
From the yard:
• Dried leaves
• Dried brown grass clippings
• Evergreen needles
• Straw
• Prunings and cuttings
• Sawdust (mix it in)
From the home:
• Dryer and vacuum lint
• Paper/cardboard (mix it in)
• Dead houseplants
Composting is a fun way to teach your kids about
the environment.
4
How to compost
You have your site, your bin is set up, Putting waste in your composter
and you are ready to go! What’s next? (Layer, layer, layer!)
1. Put any prunings, wood chips or twigs in the
Collecting materials in the kitchen bin first to let air into the bottom of the bin.
and garden 2. Layer greens and browns.
The simplest way to collect kitchen materials 3. Add water to brown layers when dry.
is to use a plastic container stored either on
4. Add dirt to green layers as you go.
the counter or under the sink. When it’s full,
take it out and add to the compost bin.
Collect and add yard and garden material
to the compost as it is produced throughout
the year.
garden soil
Chop materials into smaller
green materials
TIP pieces before you put them
in the composter. This helps brown materials
them break down faster.
garden soil
green materials
brown materials
twigs or other coarse material
If you have only a few kitchen
TIP scraps, fill your bin one-third
full with browns, and bury your
greens in the bin as they collect.
Composting in Winter
Winter weather will stop or drastically slow
Composting is easy. Find the method that works down the process. To continue composting
best for you at Edmonton.ca/compost. year-round, use a black plastic bin and place
it in a sunny area sheltered from wind. If your
compost bin is overflowing, put kitchen waste
in a lined container, leave it outside to freeze,
and add it to the pile in spring.
5
Maintaining my compost bin
Natural organisms turn organic waste into When is my compost ready?
compost. They need fresh air and a bit
If you add material as it is generated, fluff your
of moisture to break down the material,
compost, and keep it moist, you will have
so check on your compost every week.
finished compost within four to six months.
To help your organics turn into compost, Finished compost is dark (like soil), crumbly
remember to: (unlike original material), and smells like earth.
• Add fresh materials as they accumulate.
Mix them in with the layer below the top.
Using my compost
• Keep your compost moist. Add drier
materials or water as needed to maintain Compost improves soil and makes your lawn
the proper moisture level. The pile should and garden healthier. Also, since compost is
be as wet as a wrung-out sponge. natural, it’s almost impossible to over-use it
• Fluff the compost once a week. This adds like you can with chemical fertilizers.
air, which encourages microbial activity
Three ways to use your finished compost:
and kills odours.
1. Sprinkle one centimetre on your lawn a few
times a year and watch your grass turn green.
Harvesting my compost 2. Work it into your soil for tastier
(and natural!) vegetables.
Finished compost will end up towards the
3. Use it on your flower beds to have a garden
bottom of the bin. To harvest your compost,
that will make the neighbours turn green.
remove the unfinished material from the top
of the bin and take the finished compost out.
Return any unfinished material back into
the bin.
To use it on your lawn or in a potting soil mix,
sift finished compost through a 7-21 millimetre
(1/2 inch) metal screen. Put materials that
aren’t done back into your bin.
Need help? Call the compost
TIP hotline at 780-496-5526.
Get dirty! Finished compost is dark (like soil),
crumbly (unlike original material), and smells like earth.
6
What’s going on? A troubleshooting guide
problem solution
Symptom: Compost has an unpleasant odour
Compost is too wet Add browns (see page 4).
Clumps of greens (like grass clippings) Turn the compost to allow air in.
are creating ammonia
Not enough air Mix in twigs and plant stems to create
air pockets.
Symptom: Compost pile will not heat up (heat isn’t necessary, but speeds up the process)
Compost lacks moisture or nitrogen Check the moisture level. It should be as moist
as a wrung-out sponge.
Add high nitrogen materials like fresh grass
clippings or vegetable scraps.
Compost pile or bin is too small It’s best if your bin or pile is one cubic metre.
Symptom: Compost process is too slow
The particles in the compost may be too big Cut waste materials into small pieces no larger
than 20-25 centimetres (7-8 inches).
The centre dried out or too much air Mix in small amounts of topsoil
is passing through with the materials.
Symptom: Compost bin attracts pests
(Note: worms and other decomposers are part of a healthy compost pile)
Flies are attracted to fruit waste Ensure that all freshly added kitchen scraps
are covered with soil or buried into the bin.
Mice, wasps, and ants nest in dry compost Don’t abandon your compost at the end
of gardening season.
Magpies, dogs and skunks are attracted Don’t add meat and dairy scraps to your
by animal products compost bin.
Consider your neighbours!
TIP • keep the area tidy
• deal with odours right away
• place your bin away from their eating or sitting area
7
For detailed information Composting Workshops
Visit edmonton.ca/compost Learn the basics of composting at
the John Janzen Nature Backyard
Need help? Compost Education Centre. Two-hour
workshops cover the basics of the
Call the compost hotline at 780-496-5526
composting process, what to expect
or order a personal visit from a compost doctor
from your ingredients and tricks to
at [email protected]
make it work – fast! Workshops run
May through October.
See working composters in action
Edmonton residents may purchase
Visit the Compost Education Centre at the
an Earth Machine compost bin or
John Janzen Nature Centre in Fort Edmonton Park
compost aerator at a reduced cost.
7000-143 Street
Whitemud Drive & Fox Drive Get workshop details at
edmonton.ca/compost
09/2012
