Give composting a try, to be environmentally friendly

Compost is an environmentally friendly way to create healthy soil for Wisconsin’s landscape. Compost made from yard materials and other organics, like food scraps, can replenish soil with micro-organisms and nutrients. Wisconsin law prohibits landfill disposal of yard materials (also called yard waste), including leaves, grass clippings, brush and pieces of wood (branches, sticks, etc.) under six inches in diameter. Composting is an easy, inexpensive alternative to landfills, that puts these resources to use, instead of simply throwing them away. What is compost? Compost is a soil-like material, rich in stabilized carbon, produced from the breakdown of organic materials. It is considered a “soil amendment,” rather than a fertilizer, because it usually contains smaller amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, than mineral-based commercial fertilizer products. Benefits of applying compost include restoring or enhancing the ability of sandy soil, to hold moisture and clay soils to drain; repairing or preventing damage caused by erosion; and aiding plant growth – i.e., in residential gardens, public landscapes, or after construction and mining projects are completed. Because not all food can be composted at home, preventing food waste is also an important step in reducing what goes to landfills. More than 200 state-licensed composting facilities, manage some 200,000 tons of yard materials each year, and hundreds of thousands more tons of yard materials are achieved through home composting and mulching in place. Wisconsin also generates an additional 500,000 tons of other compostable materials, including food scraps, each year, that could be composted and made into useful products. DNR staff is working with non-profits, local governments and businesses, to help them build and expand composting operations in Wisconsin. Composting can be done at home or on a large scale. More details about home composting are below. By composting yard materials and certain food scraps at home, residents can make their own compost for garden and landscape projects, while reducing costs for off-site composting or disposal. Composting is also a preferred alternative to burning yard materials and many communities ban burning. Home composters can make compost in bins or in a heap, though bins are generally a better way to manage the materials. There are a number of home composting containers available commercially and it is also fairly simple to create one’s own. There are no current state regulations on small-scale, home composting operations of fewer than 50 cubic yards, but all composting should be done in a nuisancefree and environmentally sound manner. This includes minimizing odors, not attracting excessive numbers of pests, and not placing compost piles in wetlands or other sensitive areas. Check with municipalities to find out if any local regulations apply. Along with yard materials, certain food scraps can also be easily composted at home. Be sure to follow recommendations on what types of food scraps can be composted at home, such as yard materials; vegetable and fruit scraps; coffee grounds and filters; teabags; nutshells; eggshells; clean, unwaxed paper, like newspaper and cardboard; and animal manure (not pet waste). What not to compost, includes meat or fish scraps, bones and packaging; dairy products (milk, cheese, egg yolks, etc.); fats and oils, or foods containing fats and oils; pet waste; diseased or insect-ridden plants; highly invasive plants, like garlic mustard, unless completely dry, and without flowers or seeds; and plastics labeled as “compostable” or “biodegradable” (these items should go to a composting facility). When backyard composting isn’t possible, other options may be available. There are several services that pick up compostable food waste or have food waste dropoff locations in Wisconsin. Some services can also pick up food waste generated from commercial customers and special events.