Let It Rot!
Stu Campbell
Gardener’s Guide to Composting
For years, Americans have been
dumping millions of tons of household
garbage into overfl owing landfi lls with-
out blinking, but today we are facing
facts: The capacity of landfi lls is fi nite,
In addition to the variety of de-
and the costs of maintaining them
signer colors that the PRO comes
economic, social, and environmental ~
in, it offers advanced features for
are growing. Landfi lls are fi lling up at
families, gourmet cooks or small
an alarming rate; twenty-three now ban
offi ce environments.
yard trimmings and more are heading
in that direction. But when we look at
The same size as The Plus, The
ordinary household waste, we see that
PRO is able to handle the maxi-
about three-fourths of it is composed
mum capacity of food waste every-
of organic materials that can easily
day. The PRO Edition also includes
be compost instead. The volume of
a foot pedal for convenient hands-
yard waste we generate works out to
free operation, vacation mode for
about 230 pounds per person per year.
additional energy savings, and a
Food waste adds another 100 pounds
security locking feature.
per person per year. Multiply that by the number of people in your
household and you begin to realize that composting can make a big
The Naturemill recycles its weight
difference. It’s estimated that all residences could reduce their total
in waste every 10 days, diverting
annual volume of waste by 35 percent if they composted at home.
two tons of waste from landfi lls
over its life. Uses only 5 kwh per
As we begin to reevaluate our throw away society, composting is
month of energy. Costing just
looking increasingly attractive. Homeowners are disposing of their
$0.50 per month, less than a
kitchen garbage and yard wastes in backyard compost piles and mu-
garbage truck would burn in diesel
nicipal landfi lls are fi nding that large-scale composting is a cheaper,
fuel to haul the same waste. Made
space-saving alternative. Compost is one solution to our solid-waste
from recycled and recyclable mate-
woes, and what’s more, it offers gardeners and l
rials. 100% recyclable itself. Meets
awn keepers an invaluable source of soil nutrients.
effi ciency standards of Energy

Star (US Environmental Protection
All of this is good news. It means things are changing. Not only
Agency), and California
are we making something useful out of tons of materials we used to
Energy Effi ciency Level IV.
throw away, we are taking care of Mother Earth by nourishing the soil
415.233.4946 Naturemill.com
– one backyard and one community at a time. In the process, we are
beginning to appreciate nature’s cycles and the abundance of life in
our soil. We can almost hear the
munching of insects.
If it is not magnifying the importance of
composting too much to say it, making
compost enriches our lives almost as
much as it does our gardens. It seems
to harmonize our being here with the
way the world ought to be. Composting
can make you feel good about yourself.
If you don’t already know it, you’ll see.
Reprinted with permission from Let it Rot!
The Gardener’s Guide to Composting
by Stu Campbell Storey Publishing www.storey.com
organicshoppermag.com 45
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