Composting There are as many different

ways to make compost as

How To Make a Compost Pile composting time. Save several
bags of leaves to add in the spring
Turn spoils into soil...
Bins there are people who do it. The
following guidelines will get you started, but soon your
and summer when "browns" are
scarce.
own experience will help you tailor a method that best
fits your needs. 4. Add water as you build the pile if the materials are
dry. Keep the composting material damp or it will not
1. Build or purchase a compost bin. Check to decompose.
New Age Composter see if your community has a composting bin
distribution program, or order from a garden catalogue, 5. As time goes on, keep oxygen available to the
The New Age Composter nursery or hardware store. Enclosed compost piles keep compost critters by fluffing the pile with a hoe or
(shown) and Earth out pests, hold heat and moisture in, and have a neat compost turning tool each time you add material. A
Machine Composter are appearance. Or, bins can be simply made of wire, complete turning of the pile — so the top becomes the
rodent-resistant bins wood, pallets, concrete blocks, even garbage cans with bottom — in spring and fall should result in finished
distributed through DEP's drainage holes drilled in them. In urban areas, rodent- compost within a year. More frequent turning will
recycling grant program. resistant compost bins — having a secure cover and shorten the composting time.
floor and openings no wider than one-half inch —
must be used.
High Nitrogen High Carbon A guide for
Turning Bins 2. Set up the bin in a convenient, shady area with
"Green" Ingredients "Brown" Ingredients composting
• grass clippings • autumn leaves yard and food
good drainage. A pile that is about three feet square and
• weeds • straw waste
three feet high will help maintain the heat generated by
• food wastes: fruit & • cornstalks
the composting organisms throughout the winter.
vegetables, coffee • paper/cardboard:
Although a smaller pile may not retain heat, it will
grounds, tea bags, egg paper towels,
compost.
shells napkins, bags, plates,
• manure (cow, horse, coffee filters, tissue
3. Start the pile with a layer of coarse material such
chicken, rabbit) and newspaper
A series of three or more bins allows you to as corn stalks to build in air passages. Add alternating
• seaweed • wood chips
make compost in a short time by turning the layers of "brown" and "green" materials and mix them
• alfalfa hay/meal • saw dust
materials on a regular schedule. together. Sprinkle with soil every 12 inches. Be sure to
• blood meal • pine needles
bury food scraps in the center of the pile. If you don't
have "brown" and "green" materials on hand at the
Barrel Bin same time, build your pile with "browns" and mix in
"greens" as they become available. Shred leaves or run Where to Get
These bins can easily be made over them with a lawn mower to shorten the More Information
from plastic garbage cans.
In cooperation with the Massachusetts DEP, the The Commonwealth of
Prepared by the Massachusetts Massachusetts
Wire Bin State of Connecticut has produced a video entitled
Department of Environmental
Protection, Public Affairs Office, Turning Your Spoils to Soils, which is available in
most local libraries in Massachusetts. DEP's Executive Office of
Wire bins can also One Winter Street, Boston, MA
02108, April 2000. Printed on Recycling Program also provides technical assistance Environmental Affairs
be made for
100% post-consumer recycled paper. and reference materials on composting, and can be
composting. Department of
reached at (617) 292-5834. Or, visit our website at
Graphics courtesy of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and Seattle
Solid Waste Utility. www.state.ma.us/dep Environmental Protection
What is Composting? What You Should Compost Composting Without a Yard
Composting is a controlled process of Yard wastes such as leaves, grass clippings and Composting can be done indoors using an
decomposition of organic material. Naturally weeds make excellent compost. All fruit and earthworm farm. Not only can you recycle your
occurring soil organisms recycle nitrogen, vegetable scraps, plus food wastes such as coffee food scraps, you can also have a steady supply of
potash, phosphorus, and other plant nutrients grounds, tea bags, and eggs shells can be fishing bait! For more information, call DEP's
as they convert the material into humus. composted. To keep animals and odors out of Recycling Program.
your pile, do not add meat, bones, fatty food
wastes (such as cheese, grease and oils), dog and
Benefits of Composting cat litter, and diseased plants. Do not add
invasive weeds and weeds that have gone to
seed.
Elements of a Good
Composting is a convenient, beneficial and
inexpensive way to handle your organic waste Compost Pile Use approximately three parts "brown" material
to one part "green" material to optimize the
and help the environment. Composting: How to Use Compost composting process and prevent odors from
developing. This recipe will yield finished
◆ reduces the volume of garbage requiring When the composted materials look like rich, With these principles in mind, you can convert compost in three to eight months. Leaves alone
disposal; brown soil, it is ready to use. Apply one-half to your organic wastes into resources by turning break down in six to 15 months. Grass clippings
three inches of finished compost and mix it in your spoils to soil. or food scraps composted alone result in
◆ saves money for you and your community with the top four inches of soil about one unpleasant odors because they contain more
in reduced soil purchases and reduced local month before planting. Compost can be applied The Biodegraders nitrogen than the compost organisms can use.
disposal costs; and as a top dressing in the garden throughout the Nature has provided an army of workers who Mix leaves, straw, or shredded newspaper with
summer. Compost is excellent for reseeding specialize in decomposing organic material. These green material, or let it dry until it turns brown
◆ enriches the soil. Using compost adds lawns, and it can be spread one-quarter inch “critters” — bacteria, fungi, molds, earthworms, before composting it alone.
essential nutrients, improves soil structure, deep over the entire lawn to rejuvenate the turf. insects and other soil organisms — eat all types of
To make potting soil, mix equal parts compost, organic material and in the process convert Air
which allows better root growth, and
nutrients into a form plants can utilize. Without The compost critters need oxygen, just as we do.
increases moisture and nutrient retention in sand and loam. You may put the compost
those compost critters, we would be surrounded Lack of oxygen will slow down the composting
the soil. Plants love compost! through a screen to remove large particles –
by mountains of leaves and the soil would be process and cause odors. Turn your pile, fluff it
these can go back into the pile. barren. The process of composting is simply a with a hoe or compost turning tool, or build air
matter of providing the soil organisms with food, passages into the pile with cornstalks to provide
Mulching water and oxygen. They do the rest. oxygen to the organisms.

Grass clippings, leaves and woody yard wastes Organic Material Moisture
can be used as mulch in gardens and around Organic material contains varying amounts of Compost organisms need a moist environment.
carbon and nitrogen which nourish the organisms The pile should be as damp as a wrung-out
shrubs to keep the soil moist, control weed
naturally present in your compost pile. (Billions sponge, but not dripping wet. Make sure leaves
growth and add nutrients. Woody materials
of bacteria inhabit the surface of every leaf and are damp when you add them to the compost
should be chipped or shredded. Use a mulch of blade of grass in your yard.) The critters need pile because they will not break down if they are
pine needles around acid-loving plants. Leaves both carbon and nitrogen. An easy way to provide dry. Since moisture evaporates as the pile heats
will work first as mulch, then as a soil enricher both of these is to remember that brown, woody up (a sign of active composting), let rain and
as they decompose. Grass clippings should be materials, such as autumn leaves, are high in snow replace it, or add water during dry spells. A
dried before using as mulch. Do not mulch with carbon while green, moist materials, such as grass cover helps retain moisture in hot weather.
grass clippings which have been treated with clippings, are high in nitrogen (refer to the table
herbicides; composting them first, however, will on the back of this brochure).
break down most herbicides.