What I’ve Learned After Two Years of Backyard Composting: Do’s and Don’ts
Why Compost?
Food waste makes up over 25% of Canada’s municipal solid waste (national study). While it is best to reduce the amount of waste we create in the first place, it makes a huge impact to compost food waste rather than send it to the dump.
Even if your municipality has a compost system, you may still want to have a backyard system. If you’re growing a vegetable garden then those veggies will LOVE the homemade soil… healthy soil = healthy food!
Do’s & Don’ts
Do… IT! It’s easier than you think.
I was intimidated to start composting because I didn’t have much experience with it. I was nervous about the usual issues… fruit flies, rats, smell, etc and wasn’t sure where/what to get for a compost bin.
BUT I found out that food doesn’t compost properly when it’s thrown in the trash. Trash dumps don’t have the proper composition of bugs to break things down PLUS they contain a lot of plastic, which inhibits the composting process. I did a waste challenge with Kelly Moir from Sarnia Sustainability Ambassadors (check out their blog!) where I collected my waste in a jar for a week. I didn’t want to collect food waste in my jar. So voila, I started composting.
Don’t… worry about the smell (it isn’t that bad, usually)
The smell has not been a big problem for me. It has definitely come up at times… but it doesn’t deter me from composting. I try to empty the kitchen unit twice per week, and wash it out with soap each time. This works well to keep the smell down in the kitchen unit. The outdoor unit does have a smell when open, but for the most part it doesn’t waft very far from the unit itself. There have been times when the smell does drift further than usual, like when it’s super hot, but for the most part it’s not an issue. I don’t use a compost bag, because it is not necessary and reduces my involvement in the production/consumption of items. If you really don’t like cleaning out your kitchen unit, then use a compost bag!
Do… check on your soil
Harvesting soil from the backyard unit was an intimidating step for me. In fact, I just attempted it for the first time in order to write this blog post! I have avoided it (until last week) because I was nervous to get dirty AND because weeds accumulated around the bottom of the compost. Shout out to my husband who did harvest soil this spring. He said it was good soil!
Last week I cleaned up the weeds around the bottom of the compost and took a look at the soil. The soil looked good but as I explored it with the spade I noticed it was quite dry and dusty. There was some “pure soil” but also some materials that were not yet decomposed (at least not fully). I decided to add some water via the hose. THEN I looked up whether or not you should add water to your compost (a little backwards). Thankfully it’s not a complete faux pas. You do need to be careful about adding too much water, though. A couple of articles suggest adding wet cardboard or newspaper rather than adding water.
Your compost needs a balance of moisture. It’s not good when the compost is soggy BUT the microbes and other life that help with decomposition die if it gets too dry.
Don’t… Worry About Fruit Flies
Fruit flies can be a problem, but there are solutions. While fruit flies are a fixture in our backyard unit (because it doesn’t bother me enough to address it) they are not a problem inside. At one point, I tried keeping the lid of the inside unit open to reduce the build up of smell and to make life easier but it created a fruit fly problem. SO I keep the lid shut aside from when I’m adding food. I also clean the unit each time I empty it. There are still a couple of flies around, but it’s not an issue. If you want to address fruit flies outside as well, I’ve heard that putting down a layer of wet newspaper helps.
Do.... keep an eye on the ratio of food waste to brush in your compost bin
There needs to be the right ratio of leaves and other brush to balance out the food waste. The ratio I’ve heard is 2/3 brush to 1/3 food waste. Having the right balance allows materials to compost at a good pace. This is super easy during the fall because leaves are plentiful. It’s not so easy during other times of the year. There are usually lots of weeds available, but you don’t want these in your compost because they’ll spread when you harvest the soil.
If anyone has more questions about this or suggestions for addressing it… contact me (contact page). If I get some interest in this then I’ll do a follow up post on how to balance your compost system.
Don’t... compost meat or dairy
You can’t compost meat or dairy in a backyard compost because they will attract animals and they can slow down decomposition.
Don’t… wait any longer!
I was held back from composting for too long. Why? I was intimidated by the whole process, like buying a suitable compost unit and managing our food waste in a new way. AND I heard rumours that we were getting a municipal compost system, which seemed like the easier path. We still don’t have a municipal compost system… two years later.
I’m so glad I made this change! Composting feels way better than throwing food in the trash. If you aren’t composting yet, just take the leap and learn as you go!!
Let me know about your experience composting, or why you’re waiting to get started via my contact page! You can also follow my social media and/or sign up for my monthly newsletter with links to new posts and a personal sustainability challenge.
References
Minister of Environment and Climate Change. (2020). National Waste Characterization Report: The Composition of Canadian Residual Municipal Solid Waste. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/eccc/en14/En14-405-2020-eng.pdf
