COMPOSTING PROCESS
As we are all encouraged to send less refuse to landfill, the following from a Tala resident on how she started the composting process might be useful. Note she does not use a special compost bin, nor any powders or fertilisers. Thank you to JG for sharing this information.
Take 2 large green plastic bags and place one inside the other. Place inside a large common dustbin with lid.
Start placing most of your uncooked kitchen waste inside the green bag every day. Crushed egg shells, all green waste as in vegetable peelings, tea bags and coffee remains. Do not add avocado stones or any really hard items that obviously will take longer to break down.
Orange and lemon peel are okay, but will take longer to decompose so it is best to cut them up. Try to avoid seeds such as those from melon and water melon as they may sprout and cause unwanted plants.
Grass cuttings are good but avoid weeds from the borders for obvious reasons. Crushed leaves and flowers heads are marvellous any leaves in fact, but avoid the hard stems -again they take longer to break down.
Each time you add some produce to your bag just gently tie the bag at the top. You may get fruit flies but nothing to panic about as your top is mainly tied.
Never add water as your compost will make its own liquid fertiliser in time!
Before your green bag (s) is getting too heavy to carry, tie the top firmly, and take to a place away from the house to break down in a dustbin with lid. This usually takes three months so I have three on the go at the same time. Surprisingly there is no smell and as the top is tied, and a lid is on the bin, there has been no problem with rodents.
In my case I built a square wooden structure near the bags to house the finished compost.
Every three months I cut the corner from a green bag and run off valuable liquid compost before the bag gets a good shake and is tipped into the wooden ‘box’. I then add one bag of purchased compost (not compulsory) and gently mix it up in the wooden ‘box’. No need to cover, as the fresh air is good. I often tread carefully on the green bag to crush the egg shells and waste etc. one last time, before its final resting place. Again this is up to you but it breaks down much faster. After three months, bag is emptied into compost pile.
This I hope, you will find is an inexpensive recycling project that works. I am amazed at how much in one month a household of just two of us can produce. My green and colourful garden proves this is a quality product costing very little! Happy composting!
Useful reading - Going zero waste - www.goingzerowaste.com - 125 household items you can compost
Some things you can compost that you might not think of:
- wine corks - not synthetic ones - grind them up before composting
- coffee grounds and filters
- hair and pet fur
- used napkins and paper towels - ensure no grease or chemicals on them
- old herbs and spices
- natural fabrics - cotton and wool - ensure 100% natural and don't contain synthetics
- yeast
- aquarium plants
And some items you cannot compost:
- certain teabags - some have plastic in them and shouldn't go to compost
-compostable plates and utensils - need very high temperature over a sustained period of time so not suited for domestic composting
- cat or dog waste - can harbour parasites/harmful pathogens
- meat, fish and bones - take too long to break down and attract animals/vermin
- chemically treated plant and lawn trimmings
- treated wood
- coal or charcoal ash - can make pH too high, so inhospitable for some plants
- oil and grease - smothers other materials, reduces oxygen and slows down composting
- bread - can attract vermin and create mould due to high starch content. Can compost in small amounts and bury in amongst everything else. Alternatively, create breadcrumbs, freeze them and use in cooking
- toxic plants should be avoided - may not break down and can harm animals/plants coming
into contact with the compost
