I wanted to share with everyone a composting success story from one of our members, Veronica from plot 37B.
Veronica lives in a nearby high-rise, and composts on her balcony. **Ajax residents who live in apartment buildings still don’t have access to green bin pick-ups, and so composting can make a tremendous difference in how much food waste residents throw away.
Veronica uses a large plastic tote with holes in the sides for air circulation, and mixes the bin every week or two. She makes sure to layer the bin so that she has alternating levels of wet and dry materials; she adds water if the mixture gets too dry, and extra dry materials if the bin is too wet. Here’s a list of what she regularly puts into her compost bin:
- Fruit & vegetable cuttings, peels & cores
- Coffee grounds and eggshells
- Brown paper bags and cardboard egg cartons
Cutting your food waste up into smaller pieces creates more surface area; as the microorganisms that do the composting can only get to the outside surface, making the surface area larger means that they can decompose particles faster and more efficiently. Veronica also grinds up her eggshells before adding them to her bin, so that they will breakdown more quickly.
When the bin fills up, Veronica removes all of the composted material and brings it to her plot; just look at that rich colour!
