Composting

Why Compost?

• Lower tax burden from hauling and tipping fees.  You pay a lot of taxes to haul trash.  Don't throw it, don't pay it.

• Don't need to use Compost.  Just throw it in the woods.  Biological materials convert to new life without intervention.

• Don't need to have a garden, can apply finished product to shrubs, flowers, lawn, trees, or even just throw in the woods.

• If you have a garden, you will see amazingly noticeable growth difference vs most chemical alternatives.

• Helps reduce the need for new landfill in your area by up to 25%.  This also costs you far more tax money, and could significantly reduce your property value.  Landfills are a miracle of modern science, but designed to siphen the toxic sludge from your fast fashion and building materials, not your food waste.  NH is rapidly becoming the landfill for New England due to lax environmental policies.  I grew up in the White Mountains, am I to believe that this realtively untouched forest, is the best place to throw millions of tons of imported out of state landfill?  

• Reduces need to purchase fertilizers, and products that aerate like perlite and add water retention like cocoa core or vermiculite.

• It is an extremely powerful pound by pound penny by penny solution to many problems, but most of all Fertilizer for soil and plant growth.  The planet was built to repurpose biological materials into life itself.  A landfill was not.

• Significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions as there is no oxygen in packed down landfill and it breaks down anaerobically over a much longer period of time ( 100's of years vs up to3 months to 2 years ).  This releases methane as it very slowly breaks down instead of CO2.  Methane stores 30 times more heat than co2.

• The cost of soil additives translates almost entirely to fossil fuel use-age to haul it, and process it.  This emits a lot of emissions for no reason. 

• You can't mess it up.  All food: cooked, rotten, meat, bones any biological material at all breaks down to fertilizer.  The question is should you use the compost created to grow plants, and what items ( no meat and bones without a bin) minimize any pests, and how do you keep it from smelling ( adding 2 parts to 1 with leaves, wetting it down (moist but not soaked), and flipping or turning it), also should stack it as close to 3 ft tall as possible.

How to Compost?

• If you have a large yard, then throw it in the woods.  Do yourself a favor, however, and at least do step 2, and consider a minimal step 3

Composting with a Yard:  You don't need a bin or device.  Just throw it in the woods and mix 2 times as much leaves.  Bins are not needed in large yards, but can accelerate the process or make it more convenient.  3 ft chicken wire and metal chicken wire posts make a an inexpensive, and highly effective bin.  This should be 3ft high and 3 to 5 feet wide.  

Composting without a Yard:  You can still compost without a yard.  There are a number of community compost drop offs and services that will pick up your compost for a small fee.  Or you can purchase an indoor composting device, like a lomi.   The compost you produce is dry like dirt.  Your houseplants will go nuts for it, or just give it away or throw it out.  You can also donate it to a community garden or take advantage of free produce while learning an invaluable skill.

I don't want to or can't compost.  Does my NH town have drop off or pick up solutions.  Of course, see our list of compost free drop offs and  paid pick up services.  Let us know if our list is incomplete.