Composting Information
Composting transforms organic material into material that can improve the soil used in gardens, lawns, and houseplants.
Compost fuels plant growth and restores vitality to depleted soil. It is also free and easy to make. Composting recycles kitchen waste; it can divert as much as 30% of household waste from the landfill. It introduces beneficial microscopic organisms into the soil that help aerate the soil, break down organic material for plant use, and fend off plant disease. Compost is good for the environment, offering an alternative to chemical fertilizers.
The City of Ottumwa has a composting pilot program underway. The initial 150 applications are full at this time. Participants receive a specially designed composting bin and be asked to provide information to help track the success of the program. You can leam more about the composting program by calling the Ottumwa/Wapello Recycling Center at 683-0685 or by email. Presently there are no more composting bins available, but interested residents can call to get on the waiting list for future availablilites.
WHAT CAN YOU COMPOST?
Material Carbon/ Nitrogen Information
Table Scraps Nitrogen Add with dry carbon items
Fruits & Vegetable
Scraps Nitrogen Add with dry carbon items
Eggshells Neutral Best crushed
Leaves Carbon leaves break down faster if shredded
Grass Clippings Nitrogen Add in thin layers so they don’t mat into clumps
Garden Plants -- Use disease free plants only
Lawn & Garden
Weeds Nitrogen Use only weeds that have not gone to seed
Shrub Pruning’s Carbon Woody pruning’s are slow to break down
Straw or Hay Carbon straw is best; hay (with seeds) is less ideal
Green Comfrey Leaves Nitrogen Excellent compost “activator”
Pine Needles Carbon Acidic; use moderately
Flowers, Cuttings Nitrogen Chop any long woody stems
Wood Ash Carbon Only use ash from clean materials. Sprinkle lightly
Chicken Manure Nitrogen Excellent compost activator
Coffee Grounds Nitrogen Filters may also be included
Tea Leaves Nitrogen loose or in bags
Corn Cobs, Stalks Carbon Slow to decompose; best if chopped up
Dryer Lint Carbon Best if from natural fibers
Sawdust Carbon High carbon levels; add in layers to avoid clumping
Wood chips Carbon High carbon levels; use sparingly
You might want to remember banana peels, orange rinds, and peach peels may contain pesticides.
All compostable materials are either carbon or nitrogen based. Maintaining the proper balance between these two will help insure a healthy pile. Carbon-rich material such as branches, stems, dried leaves, peels, bits of wood, bark dust or sawdust, coffee filters, conifer needles, eggshells, hay, peat moss, wood ash makes compost light and keeps it loose.
Nitrogen rich material, such as manures, food scraps, and leafy materials like lawn clippings and green leaves. This provides raw materials for making enzymes. A healthy compost pile should have more carbon than nitrogen. Too much nitrogen will give you sluggish, smelly, oxygen deprived compost.
If you have any questions, call the Recycling Center at 641-683-0685 or email bainj@ci.ottumwa.ia.us.
The home composting program is funded with the support of the Iowa DNR’s Solid Waste Alternatives Program.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF COMPOSTING?
Composting and leave it lay programs (mulching the grass instead of bagging or raking) can eliminate the need for pesticides, herbicides, and burning. In 1991, approximately 70 million pounds of pesticides were applied to lawns. Out of the 40 pesticides that compromise over 95% of the chemicals used by commercial lawn care firms, 12 are suspected carcinogens, 21 have been shown to cause long-term health effect in lab animals and humans, and 20 have been shown to cause short-range damage to the central nervous system of humans.
The term “pesticide” refers to all chemical substances used to control insects, diseases, weeds, fungi, and other pests on vegetables, fruits, plants, animals, and buildings. According to Dr. June Irwin, a Quebec dermatologist, many people experience flu-like symptoms after nearby spraying of insecticides or herbicides on buildings and lawns. Common symptoms of acute pesticide poisoning, says Dr. Irwin, include coughing, a burning throat, dizziness, mental depression, skin rashes, diarrhea, vomiting, and headache. When pesticides are used, they also “run-off”, soak into the water table, and become part of our drinking water.
Leaf smoke can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat of healthy adults and it can be much more harmful to children, the elderly, and people with asthma or other lung or heart diseases. This is because the visible smoke from leaf fires is made up almost entirely of tiny particles that can reach deep into lung tissue and cause symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, chest pain, and shortness of breath. Sometimes symptoms may not occur until several days after exposure to large amounts of leaf smoke. Besides being an irritant, leaf smoke contains many hazardous chemicals, including carbon monoxide and benzo (a) pyrene which is known to cause cancer in animals and is believed to be a major factor in lung cancer caused by cigarette smoke, coal tar, and leaf smoke.
Leaf burning can also reduce visibility, create safety hazards, cause a nuisance, soil buildings, and other property, and create additional demands on police and fire protection.
This information reproduced with the permission of Eartheasy.
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