Green Living Ideas
EnergyThe Benefits of Composting and Which Materials to Use
Composting can be a central element to green living. Maintaining a compost pile is an eco-friendly way to eliminate some of your own waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill. Composting disposes of kitchen and yard waste without releasing any harmful chemicals in accordance with green living. And it allows individuals to take more charge of their own environmental impact.
In addition, composting furthers green living by creating humus, which can be used as natural mulch or fertilizer. The benefits of humus include improvements to the soil texture and oxygen level (through aeration). Humus, useful to green living, can also slow down soil erosion. Besides that, humus resulting from composting, when added to soil, serves as food for microorganisms and adds nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium to the soil. And as a green living bonus, it's all natural!
But what exactly can you compost? And what materials do you need to have in order to start a compost pile in support of green living? Composting requires three types of material: brown material, green material, and soil.
Brown Material
The brown materials needed for a compost pile, and one more step toward green living, include things like twigs, hay, small pieces or chips of wood, and dry leaves or dry grass clippings. If the leaves or grass are too wet, it's best to let them dry before adding them to the compost pile.
Green Material
The green materials to compost include things like coffee grounds, coffee filters, and tea bags, egg shells, fruit and vegetable peels and scraps, peanut shells, bread (with nothing on it), and pasta (with no sauce or oil on it). Corn cobs and husks can also be composted, but may take longer than other materials. You could also include inorganic materials such as clean cotton rags, string, hair (untreated!), dryer lint, or paper towels (as long as they have no oil or grease/sauce on them).
Materials to Avoid in the Compost Pile
When creating and adding to the compost pile, be sure to avoid oils, sauces, grease, meat, and dairy products, as well as pet waste. These will attract pests and cause the compost pile to smell. Follow these composting material guidelines toward even better green living.
To practice green living and start your compost pile, continue on.
