RRFB Resources - Guide To Composting

Composting Q&A

My municipality collects organics at the curbside and composts them at a central facility. Why should I bother to compost in my backyard?

Some municipalities are now collecting organics at curbside in order to comply with provincial environmental guidelines. Curbside programs are a cost-effective way to reduce waste while producing a high-quality compost for commercial distribution. This is good news! But it does not mean you shouldn't compost in your backyard. On the contrary -- when you compost at home you:

Save the municipality money (they don't need to collect as much material)

Help the environment (you save the energy and pollution involved in transporting the materials to the compost facility)

Help yourself (you get free compost)

And remember, if your municipality collects organics at the curb you can still compost lots of materials in your backyard while putting your meat, dairy, fat and grease, non-recyclable paper products and excess yard waste out for pick-up (contact your municipality if you are not sure about this list). In fact, backyard composting and curbside collection of organics go hand-in-hand. With recycling added, you can cut your solid waste by up to 75%!

Can I compost in the winter?

Yes you can! Although your compost heap may look as frozen as everything else in the winter, it will usually be working in the middle, although at a much slower rate than in the summer. Keep adding material to your pile throughout the winter... even if it freezes, it will start composting again with the start of Spring.

How long does it take to make compost?

Compost can be produced in as little as 3 months or it can take as long as 2 years. It depends on how you maintain your heap. If you use roughly equal amounts of greens and browns, keep the pile moist, and turn or mix the materials regularly, you can get compost in a few months. A less active maintenance program will result in the same product, but after a longer period of time.

What should I do if my composter smells bad?

There are two possible reasons why you are experiencing this problem. First, you may have too many Greens and not enough Browns. If you haven't added browns in a while, put some in. If you don't have and dried leaves handy, shred some newspaper and mix it in. Second (and more likely), your pile may be lacking oxygen. To fix this problem, simply turn the material over with a shovel or pitchfork. The odour will be gone in a day or two.

What is happening in that pile?

Your compost heap contains the nitrogen and carbon-rich materials you have put into it, as well as a number of different microorganisms, worms and beneficial insects that live on a diet of these materials. The microorganisms will generate a lot of heat as they do their work - a compost pile regularly heats up to 50 to 65 degrees Celsius after new material is put into it. During the process, the materials you put in are broken down into compost, or humus.

Will I get animals in my compost?

Not if you put the correct materials in your pile. No meat, bones, dairy products (including cheese), fatty materials, or oils should be put into your compost pile. These materials break down very slowly and will attract animals. All kitchen waste should be covered by browns (such as dried leaves) so that birds are not attracted. Animals are a very rare occurrence in a properly managed compost pile.

What is a backyard food digester and how is it different from a composter?

The composting process described on this web site needs air (oxygen) in order to take place. For this reason, it is called an "aerobic" process. Composting can also take place with no air at all - this is called an anaerobic process -- but the end result is somewhat different. Digesters are backyard composters that use this anaerobic process. They do not allow any air circulation and they do not take much leaf and yard waste. They will take all of your kitchen scraps, however, including meat and meat trimmings. Because they do not use oxygen, turning is not required. This makes them even more low-maintenance than aerobic composters. On the other hand, they produce very little compost.

Can I compost ashes?

Maybe. It depends on what the ashes were before. Untreated wood or paper ashes are OK. They won't help your composting but they won't hurt it either. Ashes from barbecues, plywood, treated wood or glossy paper can contain toxic materials that you don't want in your compost.