Composting has emerged as a key solution to combat climate change. The benefits of composting are manifold, with one of the most significant being the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by diverting waste from landfills which leads to a reduction in carbon footprint. While the United States currently boasts almost 5,000 industrial composting facilities (as per the U.S. Department of Agriculture as of 2021), composting at home remains the most effective way to minimize organic waste and enhance soil health.
On the journey towards achieving circularity, composting can play a critical role as self-serving machinery. It is, after all, nature’s way of recycling. But before you dive in, it's important to know that there are different types of composting methods that can be used at home, including cold composting, hot composting, and vermicomposting.
In this article, we'll focus on the three most effective and straightforward methods of composting at home.
1. Cold composting is a fairly straightforward process of collecting yard waste and organic waste like fruit and vegetable scraps and storing them in a bin. Over the course of a year or so, the material will decompose. As the process is mostly anaerobic, it does not need any special attention. For ingredients, you need to include waste such as - fruits or vegetables, eggshells, loose-leaf tea & coffee ground, cooked grain like pasta & rice, nuts & seeds
2. Hot composting requires active participation in comparison to cold composting but makes the process noticeably faster (just in 18 days). Hot composting destroys disease pathogens (such as powdery mildew on pumpkin leaves) but does require some special equipment, time, and diligence. For ingredients, you need to include the waste that is rich in nitrogen, carbon, air, and water. These are the materials that microorganisms love and speed up the process of compost formation.
Some examples of ingredients for hot composting are - carbon-rich ingredients such as straw, dry corn stalks, shredded paper, small twigs, dry fall leaves, etc; nitrogen-rich ingredients such as - grass clippings, fruit & vegetable scraps, weeds that haven't gone to seed, trimming from garden plants, coffee grounds & tea bags, farm animal manure, etc.
3. Vermicomposting is made up with the help of worms. These worms feed off organic waste material and release castings which is rich in nitrogen. You need red words or red wigglers for vermicomposting that can be purchased online or from various garden suppliers.
How to compost?
• To start your own backyard hot/cold composting heap you need to arrange for a bin that is at least 4 feet wide and 4 feet in height
• Include three parts of brown materials (carbon-rich) with one part of green materials (nitrogen-rich) and mix them well
• Sprinkle water over the compost pile regularly. But don't add too much water
• After a few weeks stir the compost pile with a garden fork and provide oxygen to the entire heap
• When the compost pile no longer gives off heat and becomes dry, brown, and crumbly, it means your compost is ready to be used
At Taruveda, we take pride in offering a diverse selection of plant-based eco-friendly tableware. We understand the significant role of the food packaging industry in contributing to the global plastic waste crisis, so we are committed to providing sustainable alternatives. Our plant-based products are compostable and versatile enough to suit any occasion, making them the perfect choice for conscious consumers looking to reduce their environmental footprint. We have partnered with Vistaraku, an enterprise that shares our passion for bringing sustainability into everyday life - both with our products and in practice. Together, we have been able to take leaf-based products globally with our joint efforts towards reducing waste and reviving soil health to sustain mother nature. Our partnership with Vistaraku is an important and strategic step towards expanding the usage of plant-based cutleries and making a meaningful impact on the environment.
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