Presented by XXXXXXXXXX 1406 Biology HCC – West Campus Fall Semester 2010 The Basics

Compost is: a natural process of breaking down and recycling decomposed organic materials into Compost, which is a rich soil. Humans can harness this natural process of returning nutrients into soil by composting outdoors and indoors. WHAT IS COMPOST? 2

3 Compost is usually made by gathering plant material, such as leaves, grass clippings, and vegetable peels, into a pile or bin and letting it decompose as a result of the action of aerobic bacteria, fungi, and other organisms. MAKING COMPOST

Composting is applied microbiology. Literally thousands upon thousands of different species of microorganisms (2 million individuals per gram) in a highly complex ecosystem. 4

WHY COMPOST? Composting has been around for centuries. In fact, Historians have traced composting and the use of compost in Europe to the Roman Marcus Cato over 2000 years ago. 5 Compost is one of nature’s best mulches and soil amendments, and you can use it instead of commercial fertilizers. Other reasons include…

Soil conditioner. With compost, you are creating rich humus for lawn and garden. This adds nutrients to your plants and helps retain moisture in the soil. Recycles kitchen and yard waste. Composting can divert as much as 30% of household waste away from the garbage can. Introduces beneficial organisms to the soil. Microscopic organisms in compost help aerate the soil, break down organic material for plant use and ward off plant disease. 6

Good for the environment. Composting offers a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers. Reduces landfill waste. Most landfills in North America are quickly filling up; many have already closed down. One-third of landfill waste is made up of compostable materials. 7

GETTING STARTED OUTDOORS Choose a spot in your back yard or select a compost bin There are many types of bins used to hold the compost materials. There are commercially made square or cone shaped plastic bins, homemade square bins often made of wood, and rotating tumbler style bins just to name a few. 8

9 Each type of bin has its' own advantages and disadvantages but all types of bins can be used to make great compost.

Select a Location for Your Compost Bin Choose a site that is level and well drained Easily accessible year round Place the bin over bare soil rather than concrete or paving to ensure that worms and other beneficial organisms can make their way into the pile. It's a good idea to remove any grass or plants and turn the soil to a depth of about inches. 10

Add Good Composting Materials Generally, composting ingredients can be divided into two categories: Brown materials such as leaves, hay, straw and paper and Green materials such as grass clippings, fresh manure, vegetable trimmings and most green plant cuttings. 11

It's important to get the right mixture of ingredients in your compost to ensure that it heats up nicely and breaks down effectively. Getting the right mixture of brown (carbon) materials to green (nitrogeneous) materials will make a huge difference. Adding too much brown material will result in a compost pile that takes a long time to break down. 12 RIGHT MIXTURE IS KEY

13 Adding too much green material will result in a compost pile that is slimy and smelly that doesn't break down well.

BROWN COMPOSTING MATERIALS Brown materials such as leaves, straw, hay and sawdust are high in carbon and are a source of energy for the compost microbes. 14

GREEN COMPOSTING MATERIALS 15 Compared to brown materials, green compost materials are much higher in nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important element in amino acids and proteins, and is a vital protein source for the compost microbes, helping to speed up the process of decomposition.

16 Green materials that are very high in nitrogen should be used sparingly, especially fresh grass clippings. Green composting materials include: Vegetable peelings Grass clippings Coffee grounds Fresh manure Sea weed Plants and plant cuttings

17 WHAT NOT TO ADD TO YOUR COMPOST! Vegetable fats and dairy products slows down the composting process by excluding the oxygen that helpful organisms need to do their job. If you add these materials you will still have usable compost, it will just take much longer.

18 The microorganisms in your compost need both carbon and nitrogen to thrive; carbon for energy and nitrogen for protein synthesis. For every one unit of nitrogen used by the bacteria they also consume about 30 units of carbon. So in order to keep the bacteria working efficiently we need to supply them with a mixture that is about 30 parts carbon to 1 part nitrogen.

19 Needless to say, most materials don't have a ratio of 30:1. However, if we know the approximate C:N ratio of the materials we use in our compost, we can combine them so that the total mix will be close to 30:1.

20 Example dry autumn leaves (C:N of about 50:1) kitchen scraps (vegetable & fruit peelings, coffee grounds etc: about 12:1) grass clippings (about 20-30:1) sawdust (fresh: 500:1, rotted 200:1)

21 Using different combinations of materials we will try to get close to the magic 30:1 ratio. If we use 1 part dry leaves to 1 part kitchen scraps we would have the following: leaves 50/1 + kitchen scraps 12/1 = 62/2 = 31/1 or 31:1

22 TURNING THE COMPOST Adding fresh oxygen into your compost pile by turning it more frequently will help your compost break down faster. Many of the bacteria that break down in a compost need air to survive. A week or two after the pile is made, these bacteria will start to die off as they start to use up the available air in the pile.

23 This drop in the amount of bacteria will result in the compost pile cooling off a bit from it's peak temperature. When this happens it's time to turn the pile to get more air into it.

24 When turning your compost pile: -move the drier material from the outer edges of the pile into the center -break up any clumps -get as much air into the mixture as possible. TURNING TIPS Moisten any of the materials as you go if they seem dry.

25 It is best not to turn the pile while it is between these temperatures, but rather when the temperature is below 104 degrees F or above 131 degrees F. This keeps the pile operating at its peak. The more the pile is turned, the faster the compost will finish. TEMPERATURE Decomposition occurs most efficiently when the temperature inside the pile is between 104 degrees F and 131 degrees F.

26 If you're using a plastic compost bin, an aerator tool will make the job of turning much easier. A garden fork is often the best tool for turning compost in an open style bin.

27 CHECK THE MOISTURE LEVEL The key to getting the correct moisture in your compost is to moisten the pile without making it too wet and soggy. Many people recommend adding moisture until the material is as moist as a wrung out sponge. This is far too wet. If you can squeeze water out of it, it's definitely too wet. By adding some dry brown materials such as chopped leaves or hay will help dry it out.

28 If you're in a climate with a lot of rain or moisture in the air, like Houston, cover the top of the pile with a tarp or other covering to keep it from becoming too wet. A moisture content of between 50-60% is desirable in an active compost pile.

29 To judge the moisture content in your compost: Take a handful of compost from the center of your pile and squeeze it in your hand: If you can squeeze water out of it, the compost is too wet. If the compost does not release water but crumbles apart when released, it's too dry. If the compost does not release water but stays compacted, it's just right.

30 SHRED SOME OF THE INGREDIENTS If there is one secret to making compost faster, it is finely shredding the carbon rich ingredients such as leaves, hay, straw, paper and cardboard. Especially the Brown material

31 increases the surface area that the compost microbes have to work on and provides a more even distribution of air and moisture among the materials. Since it's the brown materials that take the longest amount of time to break down, shredding them significantly reduces the finishing time of compost.

32 If you don't have a chipper or shredder you can chop your materials into smaller pieces with pruning shears or strong scissors.

33 FINISHED PRODUCT Compost is finished when it's a dark, rich color, crumbles easily, and you can't pick out any of the original ingredients. It should have a sweet, earthy smell. If it's too stringy or lumpy, it may need more time.

34 Keep in mind that the amount of time can vary. It can take anywhere from three to four weeks to 12 months to produce compost.

35 SUMMARY Composting is a way to “go green” and cut back on the amount of waste going into landfills. Composting starts with scraps of food. The composting process involves the break-down of these scraps of food.

36 Decomposition depends on a number of things including: temperature type of organic matter type of compost bin used how fine the waste material is chopped how often it’s turned

37 Composting is an inexpensive way to create your own nutrient-enriched soil for plants. Compost can be used for: - House Plants - Soil amendment and fertilizer - Flower and Vegetable Beds - New planting areas - Established planting areas - Lawn top dressing - Compost Tea - Around trees

38 Composting is a form of recycling. Recycling Statistics The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world's people generate 40% of the world's waste. The average person throws away 4 pounds of garbage PER DAY. Each year Texans create enough waste to fill two lanes of I-10 from Beaumont to El Paso ten feet high.

39 In 2008, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled and composted 83 million tons of this material. In 2008, Americans recovered about 61 million tons (excluding composting) through recycling. Composting recovered 22.1 million tons of waste.

40 Nationally, we recycled and composted 83 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW). This provides an annual benefit of 182 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions reduced, comparable to the annual GHG (green house gas) emissions from more than 33 million passenger vehicles.

41 Recycling and composting 83 million tons of MSW saved 1.3 quadrillion Btu of energy, the equivalent of more than 10.2 billion gallons of gasoline.

42 Recycling 1 plastic bottle not only saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill, but it also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle.

43 Recycling is one of the most important actions one can take. Only 1/10 of garbage gets recycled, but over half of it could be.

44 The average person in our region creates 8 pounds of trash daily. That's 8.2 million tons of trash from our region in one year. Up to 70% of this trash is buried in landfills. Too Much Trouble?

45 How Long to Breakdown (Biodegrade) Items?

46 Recycling is Much Faster!

47 Nationally: approximately 8,660 curbside recycling programs exist, down from 8,875 in * * Source: For 2002 data: BioCycle For 2008 data: EPA, Supporting 2008 data tables and figures. Recycling and Composting Collection Programs

48 For 21 years, the city of Houston has collected over 205 million pounds of recyclables. There are several programs to recycle many different types of materials available throughout Houston.

49 Recycling and composting is not the total answer to the solid waste problem. Not everything can be reused. Some things will still have to be thrown away and buried in a landfill or burned in an incinerator.

50 But recycling can be cheaper than either burning trash or hauling it to landfills. The key is to remove as much as possible of the paper, plastic, glass, cans, and other reusable materials from our trash. If the amount of garbage can be reduced, it'll cost less to get rid of it.

51 What makes recycling programs work? It’s the people, not the programs. For years we have been throwing things out the same way. We have to change. If we all work together, recycling becomes more effective.

52 It's up to each of us to make the effort.

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54 REFERENCES