Composting Tips for Composting at Home
Composting Tips for Composting at Home
Think composting is tricky? Unsure composting at home could really make that much of a difference in the scheme of things? We want to dispel some of these myths and shed some light on the subject of composting, its quantifiable benefits, and some tips for integrating the practice into your life in a practical way. It can be easier than you might think!
We love composting!
As a company, HarvesTime Foods is committed to caring for our neighborhoods, city, environment, and the planet that provides the food we eat. In order for these foods to continue to grow, we need to be good stewards of this life-giving, food-growing planet we call home. The fact that it’s possible to turn food waste into fresh soil that can then be used to grow more food-producing plants is pretty amazing. Plus, it helps support the natural cycles of our environment and protect our natural resources. If you’ve never composted before because you think you don’t have the space or knowledge to properly implement a composting system in your home or business, we can help!
Here are some fun facts about composting, as well as tips for composting at home!
Composting 101:
-Create a designated container for composting (wooden barrel, reclaimed container, or bin).
-It takes 5 days to 1 month for most vegetables to break down.
-It takes whole fruits and vegetables, including squash, carrots, potatoes, berries, and melons, about 2 weeks to a month to break down.
-Fruit and vegetable scraps like cores and peels take about 1 week to break down.
-Hard fruit pits like peach pits can take up to a year to breakdown.
-Citrus peels are thicker and usually take around 6 months to fully decompose.
-Nuts take only a few weeks to decompose, but their shells can take much longer—even up to three years.
-While lettuce can break down quite quickly in the fridge, it’s unique in that it can take years to decompose in nature, so it is typically best to leave it out of your compost.
-Coffee grounds and tea can take up to three months to decompose fully.
-Egg shells can take up to 3 years to break down, but will start adding nutrients into the soil after 1 year. They will also break down faster if they are fully dried out before being added to the compost.
-Organic matter from the yard can also be composted, not just food scraps.
-In general, you want your compost’s make-up to be 2 parts brown (soil) to 1 part green (plant matter).
-Grass clippings from the mower bag take only a few weeks to break down.
-Tree leaves take up to 6 months to break down.
-A whole tree can take over 50 years to break down fully.
-Organic matter that is chopped into small pieces will break down faster.
-Move, toss, and mix your compost on a routine basis. This will aid the chemicals causing the decomposition process.
-Introducing worms into your compost bin will speed up decomposition.
-To make the process even easier, work with a compost pick up company—like our behind-the-scenes partners Collective Resource!
Collective Resource Co-Op: A local composting partner
As a business that works with perishable items, operates an in-house kitchen, and makes prepared food, we deal with the issue of managing food waste daily. We are proud to say that we have partnered with Collective Resource in the mission to reduce our negative impact on the environment by handling our food waste in the most responsible and sustainable way possible.
We wanted to take a moment to highlight this amazing local company and the great work that they are doing. They are taking huge strides to help the Chicago area “combat climate change by making composting easy.” The company was started by Erlene Howard, an Evanston resident who couldn’t find a practical way to compost living in a condo complex. She started Collective Resource by picking up compost for her first three customers in her Toyota Camry, and her worker-and-consumer-owned co-op has now grown exponentially. They now pick up compost for more than 3,000 residential clients and over 300 commercial clients from more than 60 communities across the greater Chicago area! They collect an impressive 40+ tons of compostable waste each week and have diverted over 13,000 tons of compostable waste since they began their mission!
How does Collective Resource make composting easier?
-
They offer compost pickup programs with customizable size options so all you need to do is collect your compostable items. Then, they pick up your compost bucket and take care of the rest of the composting process for you!
-
You can compost a wider variety of organic items, including meat, bones, and other organic materials that are typically not suitable for composting.
-
They offer both commercial and residential pickups, meaning that you can get compost picked up from your home or office.
If you’re interested in getting started with a composting pickup program, Collective Resource can help you make the process easy, efficient, and consistent—regardless of the amount of space or food waste you have to work with! Here is the details about their business and the incredible composting services they offer.
