Canadians produce seven millions tonnes of organic waste each year, which accounts for a staggering one-third of the space taken up in landfills. Aside from the fact that our landfills are filling up, decomposing organic waste, such as our vegetable scraps and egg shells, give off methane gas - one of the dangerous greenhouse gases believed to contribute to climate change. The answer? Don't send organic waste to the landfill; compost it!

Whether you cultivate a family-sized garden in the country or your backyard, or you simply tend a few potted plants on your apartment balcony, composting can be incorporated into most any gardening situation with the many ready-to-use bins available today. Even if you don't garden at all, neighbours, friends or community gardens can benefit from your compost. It costs little, if nothing, and provides so many savings.

Adding compost to gardens will improve soil structure, texture, and aeration, increase water-holding capacity, decrease erosion, stabilize soil pH, and provide nutrients to plants. Enhanced soil also means more nutrients and increased health.

What is compost, anyway?
Compost is the end product of a complex system of decomposition of organic (carbon-containing) materials involving a multitude of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and worms and resulting in rich, dark, earthy humus.

Twenty-seven percent of Canadians are already composting. It's easier to get started than you might think. Many cities provide compost bins at a reasonable price. Private companies even have compost buckets that do not smell and can be kept indoors. Even easier, if you have space outside, is to build a simple wooden box. Simpler yet, is to just pile the compost on the ground in the corner of the yard.

A key to successful composting is to build a compost pile of 30:1 carbon ratio (dry or brown material) to nitrogen (fresh or green material). Some "brown" compostable materials include dried leaves, straw, hay, shredded newspaper or brown paper bags, chopped cornstalks and cobs, dryer lint, vacuum cleaner contents, and sawdust. Your "green" material can be made up of grass clippings, kitchen scraps, garden refuse, coffee grounds and filters, seaweed (wash off salt if using large amounts), hair, manure, grape wastes, and garden weeds (if they don't have persistent roots or ripe seeds). Do not put meat, fat, bones, cat and dog litter, or plants infected with diseases or severe insect infestation into the pile.

The ideal time to make compost is in the spring or fall when materials are abundant and biological activity is highest. Start with a layer of twigs or branches to allow for air flow from beneath. Follow with a 2-inch-or-so layer of brown material and top this with a 2-inch-or-so green layer of perhaps garden refuse mixed with kitchen scraps. Toss on a half-inch layer of garden soil on top (or another layer of brown matter) to provide an abundance of microorganisms, and water lightly so the pile is evenly moist.

Repeat the layering as you discard kitchen scraps. If you have a real use for compost and need it sooner than later, turning the heap once or twice a week will aerate it and speed up the decomposition. Your compost is ready, if all conditions are ideal, typically in two to three months, when it is dark, rich, and crumbly looking and original materials can no longer be recognized.

Composting, however, is an ideal way to divert organic wastes from landfills, saving landfill space, tax dollars and the environment.

Cathrine Gabriel has worked in the natural health field for more than three decades and is a dedicated composter.

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