Composting Patty Haltom

COMPOSTING! What is it? It is a simple way of people using the natural process of decomposition to make fertile soil through food scraps and certain recyclables.

Did you know? Each day, the average person throws away one and a half pounds of waste that could be composted. That’s about this much (show bag of trash weighing 1.5 pounds). Can you imagine how much trash there would be if everyone in the lunch room threw this much away each day? That’s a lot! Instead of throwing your compostable lunch scraps in the garbage, you can recycle them by composting. This not only gives us healthy soil for our school garden, but also helps keep our earth clean.

5 Essentials We will now talk about the 5 essentials needed for composting! 1. Green materials - The lunch scraps we have been collecting are considered “green materials,” and are high in nitrogen. -Repeat after me—“Green—Nitrogen” 2. Brown materials - We also need to add “browns” which are high in carbon and include dry leaves, straw, and newspaper that have been shredded. -Repeat after me—“Brown—Carbon”

5 Essentials of Composting After we have added greens and browns, small living things called microorganisms eat the material to break it down. We will call these microorganisms “compost critters” -Can someone raise their hand and give an example of a “compost critter” that is found helps break down material in soil?

5 Essentials of composting Oxygen allows the decomposers or compost critters to survive and do their work. To make sure enough air reaches the center of the compost pile, it is important to turn the bin. Or if you are composting at home, you will need to use a rake or shovel and stir the pile so the decomposers get enough air. We have food and air, but the compost critters are living things, and they need one more thing to survive. -Can someone raise their hand and tell us what else these living things need?

5 Essentials of Composting Water Without enough water, the compost critters will not be able to survive, especially in the heat of the summer. But, too much water from heavy rain isn’t a good thing either! Each day, after we put your lunch scraps and leaves into the compost bin, we add a little bit of water to make it as wet as a wrung-out washcloth.

We’ve talked about 5 ingredients that we need in the compost bin. You can remember how many ingredients are needed by saying a rhyme. -Repeat after me—Without all 5, it won’t survive! Let’s list them again: -Greens (Fruits and vegetables) -Browns (leaves and newspaper) -Compost critters (worms and bugs) -Oxygen -Water