“The secret,” says Ruth “is in the natural pine pellets which I buy either as kitty litter or horse bedding. When I make my weekly collection run, I empty my neighbors’ filled scrap containers and add a fresh lining of pine pellets to the emptied container. That keeps everything sweet smelling and dry for the next pick-up.”
Containers are labeled to show Acceptable (produce scraps, coffee grounds, egg shells) and Unacceptable (meat, bones, oil, fat, dairy) items for easy reference.Dumping her neighbor’s weekly kitchen waste into the collection bin.
After dumping out scraps, container stays clean and dry.Emptied container is re-lined with fresh pine pellets.
Each participating household made an initial investment of $10, which paid for a kitchen scrap container lined with pine pellets. Once the collected materials have decomposed to create natural fertilizer, Ruth will share this with neighbors who have taken part in the program. So far, five families are participating in the project, and Ruth hopes that this will inspire others to see how simple and easy composting their kitchen scraps can be.
After dumping collected kitchen scraps into her compost, Ruth has a clean waste container for next week’s run.
If you are interested in starting composting, you can find some tips here. View the 9th District Community map to see if any of your neighbors are composting – maybe one of them can help you get started. If you have composted material that you would like to share, or if you would like to start a similar neighborhood composting program, post on the Green Triangle Forum.