All About Compost
This month the Green Team is following the lead of Energize Framinghamto promote composting—whether in a backyard pile, in your kitchen with a worm bin, or in a curbside container picked up by Black Earth Compost, the private compost pick-up service available in Framingham and many neighboring communities.
In the US, we throw out roughly sixty millions tons of food each year, not only wasting valuable resources (food and organic fertilizer) but also contributing to methane, a gas with a warming potential twenty-one times that of carbon dioxide.
You could be part of the solution to all that waste—start composting! If you choose to use the pick-up service, Black Earth Compost will donate a raised garden bed to a Framingham community garden once they hit fifty new subscribers (and you save $5) using this link.
If you don’t want to pay for compost pick-up, and you have the yard space, composting at home is also a great option. Then you can add the nutrients directly into your own garden soil!
- You can purchase a composting bin, or you could build your own.
- For step-by-step instructions, check out this article and video to learn about starting your compost pile at home. Turn your kitchen scraps into “black-gold” for your garden!
- If you don’t have a yard, “vermicomposting,” or composting with a worm bin in your kitchen, is another great option. You can find out more about worm bin composting here.
June Compost Challenge – Can’t compost at home? Or just want to try it?
Join the June Compost Challenge!
Did you know that Edwards Church has a contract with Black Earth Compost for weekly pick-up? This month everyone is welcome to take home a compostable bag at each Sunday service, and bring it back the following Sunday with kitchen scraps that you’d like to compost. If you’re worried about odor from the bag on your kitchen counter, a good trick is to keep it in your freezer once it gets full until “collection day.” Not sure what can/can’t go in the compost bag? Check out this this handy list from Black Earth.
Everyone who brings in a bag of compostable scraps during the month of June will be entered into a raffle to win either a bag of Black Earth Compost for your garden, or a beautiful potted plant. After the challenge, based on interest/participation, we will continue to open the church bins for members who would like to bring food scraps for compost as space allows. Or maybe after you’ve tried collecting scraps for a few weeks you will be ready to sign up for Black Earth Compost yourself!
Mary Memmott for the Green Team