Composting 101: May 2011

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Upcoming Free Home Composting Classes in the Santa Clara Area

All of this information can be found at reducewaste.org

Each class lasts about 2 hours and there is no charge to attend.

Pre-registration required at least 72 hours prior to class.

Adults only, please.

MAY

May 14, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

May 21, 2011

Mountain View Community Center

201 South Rengstorff Avenue

Mountain View 94040

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408 918-4640

JUNE

Weds. June 1, 2011 6-8PM

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens Visitor Center

438 Coleman Ave San Jose

June 11, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

JULY

Weds. July 6, 2011 6-8PM

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens Visitor Center

438 Coleman Ave San Jose

July 9, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

AUGUST

Weds. August 3, 2011 6-8PM

Guadalupe River Park and Gardens Visitor Center

438 Coleman Ave San Jose

August 13, 2011

Cupertino Community Hall

10300 Torre Avenue

Cupertino 95014

Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Free

To register call Recology 408-725-4020

August 13, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

SEPTEMBER

September 10, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

OCTOBER

October 8, 2011

Sunnyvale Compost Workshop

Sunnyvale Community Center Campus
550 East Remington Drive
Orchard Heritage Center

Saturday 10 a.m. - Noon, Free

To register call 408-730-7262 or visit City of Sunnyvale's website and see Events

October 22, 2011

Cupertino Community Hall

10300 Torre Avenue

Cupertino 95014

Saturday 9:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m., Free

To register call Recology 408-725-4020

Compost Lecture at the NUFS (Nutrition Food Sciences) Lab

Hello everyone, this is Lacey Benson. Amanda Soon and I gave a short presentation last Wednesday for the nutrition food sciences lab about preparing food scraps for composting. We wanted to explain how to prepare food scraps to the nutrition lab students because they take advantage of the compost bin by CCB on campus. We also wanted to tell them that the bin is brand new donated to G.R.O.W. (Growing Roots of Wellness) from Sarah Smith of the Santa Clara County Master Composter Program. The bin is an Earth Machine which usually costs $55 if you buy it subsidized from Santa Clara County. Below I have included some key points from our presentation about composting and preparing food scraps for a compost pile.

What is Compost?

The basic ingredients in a compost pile are carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and water
Food scraps are generally a nitrogen and water source that decompose quickly (w/in days)

Benefits of Composting

Composting diverts valuable organic materials from landfills (about 40% municipal solid waste is organic materials -EPA)
Composting recycles organic materials and replenishes lost soil nutrients that are taken out through plants that is naturally recycled by dropping leaves and debris but is instead collected by humans and turned into a simpler food source for soil organisms and plants.
Composting reduces methane emissions by diverting organic materials from landfills, where they would anaerobically decompose producing CH4 (methane) a greenhouse gas (GHG) 22-24 times more potent than CO2.
Composting also creates a closed loop system - it gives nutrients to soils which plants then take up, after which the remains are composted and recycled into a usable form for plants and organisms again and the cycle then continues; creating a closed loop system which ideally replicates natural systems.

Types of Food Not Acceptable for Composting

meats
dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk, butter, tofu, etc.)
bones
oils or fats (e.g. olive oil and butter)

Note: the above are not acceptable for composting because they attract rodents and other vectors that carry pathogens; also they smell really bad when they are broken down by microorganisms so avoid adding these into your compost bin/pile whenever possible!

bread (due to allergies)

Note: bread should not be added because the mold that grows on it produces penicillin spores which if you are allergic and you breath in can cause you to go into shock (not good). So to be on the safe side if you do not know if you are allergic to penicillin then you should not add bread to your pile.

plastic (even if it says compostable)
stickers and wire ties as well as rubber bands

Note: no matter what you've heard compostable plastic is a myth when it comes to backyard composting. Compostable plastics are designed for breakdown under large-scale commercial composting conditions.

corn cobs
stone fruits (avocado, peaches, apricots, etc.) unless the woody pit is removed first

Note: corn cobs and stone fruit pits are highly resistant to decay because they are woody materials, I do not usually add them to my pile because they take so long to decompose but feel free to there's nothing wrong with adding them they just stick around even after all of the materials in your pile have decomposed.

How to Prepare Food Scraps

Roughly chop materials so they have more surface area for micro- and macro-organisms to digest the food.
Make sure no food is whole or in too large or pieces or it may become anaerobic and begin to smell and take longer to decompose.
Also a very important step to always do is to cover the food scraps when adding them to the pile. Never allow them to stay out in the open, otherwise it will attract unwanted flies and guests. Food scraps are best placed as close to the center of the pile because it is the warmest and where decay is occurring the fastest.

Want to Learn More?

Attend a free Home Composting Class visit reducewaste.org to see upcoming dates and locations

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Earth Day at SJSU

Thank you everyone for visiting our table at the Earth Day fair! In case you weren't able to make it, here's a look at what you missed:

Our goal is to teach others about composting and encourage them to adopt sustainable practices. Through this blog, we will provide simple steps, ideas, and tips to make the process easier and more enjoyable. Stay tuned! We have lots of great info coming your way.