Composting For Basic B's
Before you click on to the next post, rest assured, composting is not just for green-thumbed, linen-wearing hippies. Anyone and everyone can compost, and if we do, there will be undoubtable benefits to the earth.
We believe in a “better health, better earth” philosophy, where these two things fall into the same practices. This may be choosing brands that take an interest in reducing carbon emissions, or by simple daily practices like combating food waste, choosing locally grown and of course, composting!
It’s actually less complicated than you think! Trust us… There’s a reason we chose to wrap our gummies in a compostable film.
Composting is simply the process of breaking down organic waste (basically the scraps from your fruit and vegetables) into something that is used to help plants grow.
Food scraps and plant materials when dealt with correctly can decompose naturally and return nutrients to the soil. However when mixed with our normal rubbish (think non-recyclables like plastic containers, coffee cups and other materials) it ends up in landfill and can’t decompose properly - only adding our already overflowing amount of waste and producing methane gas which is harmful for the environment.
There are many different ways to compost.
In The Garden
Best for: Anyone with a large garden and a green thumb
Now if you have a big composting heap in your garden, chances are you don’t need us telling you how to compost. Major claps for you! In large gardens, compost piles can be simply just kept in a pile (as the name suggests) which involves layering the food waste with layers of carbon materials like straw, nitrogen like manure and a top layer of soil.
But don’t worry, if you are just composting at home, there are much easier ways to compost on a smaller scale… With no manure required. Win!
In a Compost Bin
Best for: Apartment living and plant mums
There are some small compost bins available out there on the internet that are designed for apartment living, this means they control smell and bugs and waste. But at the end you get the same effect of your natural food scraps being broken down into compost!
Surprisingly, it is compressed quite a lot so the amount of compost you end up with is a lot less than the original food matter that went into it.
You can use it on your pot plants, indoor or outdoor plants or any herbs you happen to be growing (you can grow things even in the smallest of spaces). And it will help with the health of the plant and the health of the soil!
Community composting
Best for: anyone who doesn’t grow anything, but still wants to make a difference.
Some communities offer community composting, either at farmers markets or in community gardens. This is the ultimate basic way to compost because you don’t even have to do anything. You literally just store your food scraps and every week you dump them in the community composting. Voila! It can’t get easier.
Some people even like to keep the scraps in a container in the freezer, to keep things cleaner, and you can dump the frozen scraps into the compost.
But it’s important to know that not everything can be composted, so here is a little guide:
What can be composted:
- Scraps of vegetables
- Scraps of fruit (excluding citrus)
- Egg shells
- Used coffee grounds
- Used tea leaves (not the bag)
Most other foods can’t be composted, things like meat and dairy, so of course the best thing to do here is to actually eat them to make sure you don’t need to chuck them out. And if you aren’t sure, just think a little harder before you shop. And look at what you have in the house before buying more, who knows you may come up with the next masterchef-worthy creation!
Looking for more eco tips? Check out our Lazy Girl’s Guide To Plastic-Free July.
