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 The Story of Composting
Our society recycles more and more each year. This is a great achievement! But unfortunately, our waste is still increasing due to rising personal consumption and overall population growth.
The Biodegradable Irony
Food and paper decompose by themselves in nature. They are, however, the two largest components in landfills, accounting for nearly 50% of all municipal solid waste. There is more food and paper in landfills than diapers, styrofoam, and tires - combined. According to the EPA, food waste is the #1 least recycled material.
Landfills are layered deep and saturated with water. No oxygen can penetrate. As a result, even "biodegradable" waste will remain embalmed for centuries to come. Landfills produce methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, and leach toxic chemicals into our air and drinking water.
On a more urgent note, we are running out of landfill space - that is, open space reasonably close to population centers. Stories abound of trash barges with no place to dock, ocean dumping, and trash exported to poorer countries. Landfill costs are skyrocketing, which means higher fees (or taxes) for everyone. The organic nutrients present in food and paper waste are removed from the food chain, requiring gardeners and farmers to instead rely on chemical fertilizers to replenish their soil. National and local governments around the world are enacting regulations to limit trash and increase recycling.
Cultures at work
Microscopic compost cultures, which are present everywhere in nature, eat away at organic waste material. Most of the material is converted into water vapor, which evaporates away. Roughly 25% of the material remains in a highly nutrient rich form which re-enters the food chain as a natural organic fertilizer called compost. Of particular value is nitrogen, which is difficult for plants to obtain in a usable form. Compost is also very useful for retaining moisture due to its spongy, fibrous texture. The most important requirement for compost cultures is oxygen - without it they can not survive.
Spread composting and grass-cycling
Left to itself out in the open with oxygen, compost cultures break down organic matter into fertile soil. In the most primitive form of composting, simply spread waste out and eventually it will go back to nature. In a process called "grass cycling," just leave grass clippings right there on the lawn rather than collecting them in a bag. They will dry out in a few days and will be hardly noticeable. The process takes a year or more, however, and some organic wastes will attract pets, children, rats, and raccoons. It's fine for grass clippings but not much else.
Backyard composting
You can accelerate and partially contain the compost process by building a heap. Compost cultures, already present in most foods or added from a starter pack, eat away at the waste material and produce heat as a by-product. If the material is piled high enough, heat is trapped inside and can raise temperatures significantly. The heat allows the cultures to work faster and reproduce faster to increase their population, which in turn reduces composting time to a few months or weeks. You can build a backyard composting heap with just a pitch fork, or use any one of a number of inexpensive or home made bins and tools to keep things organized. Many garden centers offer courses on how to compost in your backyard.
But backyard composting has drawbacks. The heap must be at least three feet (one meter) high to generate sufficient heat. If it is too big, oxygen will not penetrate. It must be turned periodically so the cold outer layer has a chance to get inside where it is warm. This is backbreaking and dirty work. Moisture level, acidity, and the carbon to nitrogen ratio must be carefully managed. In most climates, winter temperatures destroy the compost cultures. The heap itself is not attractive. Certain foods wastes such as meat, fish, and dairy products, have obvious health hazards and are not suitable for a backyard composting. You may be surprised to find seeds from a single discarded tomato or apple germinating all over your garden. Besides, not everyone has space for a compost heap.
Municipal Composting
Some towns and cities have begun large scale composting programs. Food, paper, and yard waste are collected from homes and restaurants, and hauled to a large field. The material is sorted, shredded, and arranged in long rows, called windrows. Each windrow is ten feet high and hundreds of feet long. Industrial fans and ducts blow air through the material to improve oxygen flow. In some cases, windrows are covered with a plastic sheet to contain moisture and reduce odors. Specialized tractors turn the material periodically.
A chemist monitors temperature, moisture level, and other indicators to ensure safe and effective composting. Temperatures inside are so hot that they actually sterilize the material and render even meat, fish, and dairy products safe for handling. The finished product is often very valuable, and can be sold to the agricultural industry to offset the cost of running the facility. Windrow composting is very cost effective when compared to landfills.
Windrow composting has drawbacks, namely storing, collecting, hauling, and processing of all that rotting material. Rats, raccoons, flies, fluid dripping, and odors can be hazardous at collection points as well as on route to the composting facility. In most cases, an additional fleet of diesel trucks, with all their dirty emissions, is required. The air ducts and plastic covers are usually discarded after just one or two uses, thus contributing to landfills. Initial startup expenses can be prohibitive.
In-vessel systems
For years, hotels, schools, food processing plants, prisons, and other large institutions have used industrial composting machines to reduce waste hauling fees. The machines are essentially big tanks with lots of heavy duty mixing and pumping equipment. The compost is fully contained, such that fluid drippings, flies, and odors are eliminated or otherwise disposed of. High temperatures can be reached quickly and reliably to render meat, fish, and dairy products safe for handling.
But there is a downside. The investment is typically tens of thousands of dollars, and requires a great deal of space with special sewer and electrical hookups. A dedicated, trained, and experienced staff must operate and maintain the equipment. Depending on location, odors can be a problem.
Worm composting
Another approach is to let worms eat your trash, in a process called "vermi-composting." Worms will eat almost anything, produce little odor, take up little space, and they work fast. A variety of inexpensive or home made bins contain the worms and wastes such that you can add more waste and remove the finished product in a convenient way.
The disadvantages of worm composting are many. The worms don't sterilize the material with high temperature, so meat, fish, and dairy products are not safe for worm composting, and germination of seeds may occur. Some people encounter smells and excessive fluid drippings, depending on the type of food waste used. And of course, there is always the fear of worms getting loose - whether from the quest for more food, or inadvertent encounters with children or pets. For some, the very idea of squirmy little critters is simply not acceptable.
NatureMill - a home solution
NatureMill brings composting to the home user. It is essentially a miniature in-vessel system. Waste is collected right where it is generated - in the kitchen. A computer controls the temperature, air flow, moisture, and mixing to accelerate the process and eliminate the backbreaking work. Everything is fully self contained in an modern, attractive container. Just a few square feet of floor space is required. No special plumbing or electrical connections are needed, other than a standard electrical outlet. There is no need to handle and transport the rotting material.
Best of all, NatureMill provides home gardeners with a source of rich, organic fertilizer. And there is something uniquely satisfying about witnessing the entire food chain: from the garden, to the dining table, and back to the garden again.
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