Composting Good for Landfills and Your Backyard

Reducing waste and giving back to the earth is a growing need. One of the easiest ways to do this is to start a compost pile in your backyard. Composting is the process of turning waste into rich soil amendment called humus. Compost improves soil structure and enriches the soil with nutrients. This makes compost soil great source for the garden.

Where to place your compost pile. Before anything else it is good to decide where you will place your compost pile. A compost pile should be kept above ground in a location where it drains well. Heat is needed to help in decomposition so you may want to place that's gets shade as well as sunshine.

You will want to place it near a water source such as a water-hose since a compost pile needs to be kept moist. For convenience, you may also want to place it near your garden, but if it is unappealing for the garden you may want to put it in a more remote area. Also remember, bugs will be attracted to this pile so don't keep it near your home or your neighbors. A small corner in your back yard will do fine.

On the ground or in a bin? Depending upon where you live and your need for convenience you can just place your compost pile on the ground and cover it with a plastic bag, but this can get kind of messy in strong winds or rains and is easier access to animals.

A compost bin can be bought or homemade instead. Homemade compost bins can be made of various materials: wood, wire mesh cement blocks. As long as it has a trap door near the bottom and is at least 3 feet by 3 feet and is 3 feet high in size to get it going. Anything smaller than this will be difficult to maintain with enough heat or enough airflow.

To start the compost pile it is important to add some garden soil to the compost because the microorganisms in the soil help the compost pile decompose. Shredding or cutting up material before adding it to the compost pile will also assists the decomposition process.