Relax, Compost Happens

I am currently working on a great backyard composting project with the wonderful people at the Township of Langley, BC (http://www NULL.tol NULL.ca). We are using Community-based Social Marketing to promote backyard composting. I have been involved in backyard composting for over 20 years, and I believe it to be a solid waste management solution and endorse it heartily.

“Relax. Don’t Worry. Compost Happens.”

Lately I have been hearing more interest in backyard composting than usual, and a lot of it includes concerns about how to backyard compost (http://www NULL.vancouversun NULL.com/life/would+like+start+compost+pile+backyard+sure+about+best/3338641/story NULL.html) and what problems there might be. Often people don’t start backyard composting because they don’t get answers to their questions. Others are put off by some very technical answers about building layers of browns and greens in certain depths and applying moisture to a specific level (usually described as a moist sponge.)

Thumbs Up! (http://www NULL.beyondattitude NULL.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/CompostKids NULL.jpg)Composting is a process that occurs in nature without anyone around to layer a blanket of greens over the falls leaves that fall to the forest floor, and to apply just the right amount of water. And no-one comes around to stir it up once a week with a special tool, or to start it off with some magic “compost accelerator.”

Partly to provide simple advice on backyard composting and partly to dispel some of the overly technical advice people were giving on how to compost properly, I wrote a small book for the County of Annapolis in Nova Scotia back in the early 1990’s. A second edition was paid for by the Resource Recovery Fund Board of Nova Scotia, with my colleague Glenn Munroe doing a great job of editing and re-writing sections.

The book is available as a free download (http://www NULL.rrfb NULL.com/pdfs/RRFB_BYC_booklet NULL.pdf) at the RRFB site. It has stood the test of time with its message of “Relax. Don’t Worry. Compost Happens.” If you are thinking of beginning to compost your organic waste in your yard, have a look, there is a lot of good advice in there.