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Why Should I Compost?

Today is a new day! With renewed vigor I set out to try to find LOCAL beeswax. The first thing I am dying to make on my zero-waste journey is my own reusable saran wrap. Amazon prime is so tempting, so quick and simple to buy plastic-packaged beeswax...But in order to reduce waste I decided to try hard to find any kind of beeswax I wouldn't have to have shipped. After making a few phone calls to local farms nearby, I was directed to Bee Commerce in Newtown, which is close by. Unfortunately they don't open until Thursday, so I will just have to wait! Better to wait than to waste, right?

Something that has been weighing on my mind today is the word COMPOST. I happen to have chickens, and though adult chickens will devour most of the chicken-edible scraps I give them, most of mine are babies right now, and won't eat very much of it. I have been left with a lot of food waste going into my garbage can. Perfectly good scraps of food that could otherwise go to the soil or to a hungry pig somewhere.

 Perfectly good scraps! I'm just throwing away garden soil gold, aren't I?? Too bad I don't really have a vegetable garden....yet...One day! So why should I compost? Doesn't it just break down in the garbage back into soil? I didn't understand the point of saving my scraps if I had nowhere to put the soil. So I did a little bit of digging, and found this informational article I think will help all of us compost ignorants: WHY COMPOST?

Two big things from this article that stuck out the most for me: 

1: 1/3 of our garbage is made up of food waste that could have been composted and reused.
2: the food that goes into the garbage gets trapped in landfills with all the other junk and emits 20% of the nation's greenhouse gases!! 

That's not cool! Why would we do this when we can turn it all around and reuse our food into rich soil? Why do we buy potting soil or gardening soil, when our town could (if they wanted to), create a free spot to compost our food? Right now my town does have a compost pile, but you have to bring it and weigh it, and pay a price for disposing of your food into a compost pile. Yes, the cost is half of what you would pay for normal trash, and yes you get access to free compost in the spring, but I am annoyed I have to pay anything...

 (I am cheap...and perhaps I'm a bit broke too.)

A friend of mine told me that I can grind up my egg shells and put them into my chicken's feed for needed calcium, so I won't have to purchase the oyster shells for their calcium. And I can continue to feed my chickens things like my watermelon rinds and whatnot (small bits until they grow and have a heartier appetite). 

But what about the scraps my chickens can't or won't eat, like my onion bits or cucumber skins? I am not sure I'm quite ready to have a compost pile in my yard yet, since I don't have a garden to put the soil in. When I am ready for a garden, I would love to do something simple, like what this lovely lady does!


 Someone suggested to me that there is a local pig refuge farm that is looking for local scraps...PERFECT!! I've been trying to get a hold of the woman who runs the place, maybe I can drop it off to help the local piggies! I'll let you know how that goes. 

SUCCESS TODAY FOR EATING ON THE GO!
As I had said in my last post, one of my greatest weaknesses I have is planning food in advance. I am awful at it, but since I knew today was going to be a full afternoon with voting, an ice cream social, and a dentist appointment, I knew I needed to feed the villagers. I made them some cucumbers with hummus, watermelon, hard boiled some eggs, and I brought my cashews...


No, I haven't yet converted my plastic containers to all glass ones yet, and no I haven't begun my grocery shopping zero-waste yet so I'll have to deal with my plastic cashew bag. But doing this I DID save on my wallet and the earth from another fast food waste that would have gone in the trash....Remember I am still new and taking baby steps!

FREEBIES:

After I got a hold of SPANX to decline future catalogs clogging my mailbox (I never bought spanx and would like to pretend I don't need spanx for a bit longer!), I went to vote today with all three of my kids in tow. They handed four "I voted" stickers to us, and I accepted them without thinking...There's four more plastic pieces going in the trash later...
Up the hill was the PTA's free ice cream social, and while going up the hill I was talking to the kids about our zero waste commitments, and if they chose ice cream then the plastic wrappers will go into the garbage, and the wooden sticks might biodegrade...But...Guess what we did anyway?

Yep...I did...Looking back I should have asked if there was an ice cream choice where it has a paper wrap and a wooden stick, so at least I'll know it will biodegrade. I'll make note of that for next time...

On the way to the dentist's office I prepped my kids in advance to please pass on the plastic toothbrush and toothpaste, because I am going to buy biodegradable brushes and make our own toothpaste from now on. So when I declined at the doctor's office they inquired why, and I had to tell them my commitment. They were pleasantly surprised and supportive. I like to think most people have open minds if given the chance. :)

Let's not discuss the hairdye I bought today to correct my errorous witch-black -hair-monster I created, before I decided to make this zero waste commitment.

Cheers!
Laura

Comments

  1. Do you like to make soup? Start a soup bucket/bag in the freezer and fill with the off cuts (but nothing spoiled) of veggies such as onions, celery, chard, etc. Once full, dump the contents into a Crockpot or Dutch oven, top with water and bring to a gentle boil, before turning it down to simmer for a few hours (I prefer the CP method myself). Instant veggie stock made from what you would have tossed into the compost pile. Decant into ice cube trays, and once frozen, place the cubes of stock into their own container for the freezer. Use for soup, pasta, rice, to start a sauce/gravy, etc.

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    Replies
    1. I never thought of this!!! I have to try it! Thank you so much for the tip!!

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    2. Yes! I was going to suggest the same thing. Also, composting is super easy. You can just put it in a pile...And you don't have to use it for the veggie garden, you can use it for any plantings you have. Just turn it every so often and get the dirt from undertones the - spread it around your shrubs or look up how you make compost tea. Unless I add grass clippings to my compost, it doesn't ever get "hot" so we seem to always find surprises like random pumpkin plants that grow from the seeds in the compost. For the winter, I dug a hole for the compost and kept a pile of dirt on the side, which I covered with a tarp. When there was no snow cover, I would dump a layer of dirt over the compost, which helped it break down. faster. Don't let the lack of a garden stop you from composting - it's really worth it. Oh and I only put vegetable and plant waste in my compost to discourage animal interest.

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