Urban Composting in Madison

What I did

Before starting this project, I knew that composting was probably a good idea, but hadn’t yet started doing so myself and I only had a foggy notion of why it was so important. This was the first thing I did: researched why we should compost. Next, I researched how to go about doing so in general, then specifically in a city environment. (Thankfully, Madison is very open to people maintaining compost piles.) Next, I researched some of the different initiatives going on in the city and started mapping them out so that everyone, even apartment dwellers, will know how and where they can compost.

My next step is to expand this map and work with co-ops, student organizations, the university, and the city to start promoting composting and making sure everyone has access to do so. After that, I’d like to continue making composting easier so that people have few excuses not to do so. I’d also like to get businesses involved as much as possible.

 

Why compost?

So glad you asked—composting is important for several reasons. Many say composting is the next logical step in the green movement—we recycle plastic, glass, and metal—now we should start doing the same for organic materials. One of the biggest reasons to compost is that it reduces the amount of garbage sent to landfills. The EPA estimates around 25% of the garbage in the US is made up of organic materials—around 60 million tons of nutritious, usable waste every year.

Composting reduces the amount of air pollution. As biodegradable material decomposes in an anaerobic landfill environment, it releases methane, a global warming gas even more harmful than carbon dioxide.

Organic materials contain important nutrients that could replace or supplement artificial garden fertilizers, which is better for the environment and saves money. Using compost improves the soil, loosening soil with high clay content and helping sandy soil retain water. It provides nutrients for microorganisms and stimulates healthy root development in plants, helping keep the soil healthy and well-balanced.

            For more about compost, check out this UW-Madison resource: http://www.wastenot-organics.wisc.edu/05composting/publications/compostuseguidelines.pdf

 

How do I compost?

That depends. Are you interested in creating compost to use yourself, or simply with allowing others to use your biodegradable garbage to create compost?

If the second describes you, the process is a bit simpler.  You need:

1. A container. Pick a sealable container, such as an ice cream bucket, which can contain smell and prevent fruit flies.
2. Ingredients. Most likely, you already throw away many compostable items every day. For more detail on what can be composted, see next section.
3. A composter. This is the most challenging part. I recommend starting with your neighbors. Are any of them gardening or composting? Does your apartment building have a communal garden or compost bin?

If not, what about nearby co-ops? Many Madison co-ops and other sites gladly accept biodegradable waste for their gardens—for a list of participants, see map. There are also several DNR certified composting sites throughout Dane County: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/faclists/WisLic_SWCompost_byCnty_withWaste.pdf

F.H. King also has compost pickups during the summer. For more information, look here: http://www.fhkingstudentfarm.com/

 

For those urbanites who are gardening with their compost, you’ll need:  

1. A container. You’ll want to purchase a small composting unit, which costs little and doesn’t take up much space in an apartment. (There are countertop models available under $30.) A proper bin should contain smell, but if that’s a major concern some models have a filter built in.

You’ll also want to have another sealable container to hold scraps while your bin is full and processing. If you have a porch, garage, balcony, or even a little parking lot space, you may be able to compost outside.

1. Ingredients: Same as above. Check the next section for more details.
2. A composter. There are several types of composters. Use the resources below to figure out which one works best for you: http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/wm/publications/anewpub/wa182.pdf

Open-air composter: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/homecom1.htm

Closed composter: http://extension.missouri.edu/p/G6957, http://organicgardening.about.com/od/compost/a/cancomposter.htm

Rotating composter: http://www.howtocompost.org/motherearth.asp  

Worm composter: http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/Easywormbin.htm

For more information on composting in Madison, check out the city website: http://www.cityofmadison.com/streets/compost/howto.cfm

 

What can I compost?

It’s possible to compost more things that you might realize—almost anything you would normally throw in the garbage disposal can be composted. Anything organic can be put in the bin, just make sure whatever you use can be broken down.

What can be composted:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps: apple cores, orange rinds, potato peels
• Herbs, grass and flower clippings, coffee grounds, and other plant matter
• Bread products: pizza crusts, popcorn kernels, pasta, rice
• Certain proteins: Nuts, beans, eggshells, milk, cheese
• Paper products: matches, receipts, hamster cage sawdust
• Other ideas: hair, dead bugs, beer, soup, contents of your vacuum cleaner, etc.

What shouldn’t be composted:

• Organic material that would take too long to break down in a small container: t-shirts, magazines, glossy paper
• Material that won’t break down: plastic, metal, etc.
• Meat and other animal products (besides milk and cheese): fats like butter take a long time to break down. Meat attracts rodents and insects, so avoid fish, bones, skin, etc. Soup with meat broth is ok.
• Anything with toxic chemicals: hair dye, paint, detergent, colored inks  
• Diseased plants and perennial weeds

 

Where can I bring my compost if I don’t have a garden?

http://g.co/maps/sg3ex

This composting map is a work in progress. I’m still filling it out with co-ops, student organization pick-up sites, university initiatives, and city pick-up sites around Madison. I’m working on color-coding it by type of site: green for a garden, light blue for a seasonal pick up site, dark blue for a Madison city initiative, and red for a university initiative. I might add other labels and descriptions as I add to this map. I’ve been in touch with the major co-op organizations in Madison, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet. However, several people living in the co-ops assured me they would love to be a part of this project, they just need to get a consensus with all their members. While I originally intended this map to target students living in apartment buildings downtown, I’d like to expand it and work on mapping compost sites for the greater Madison area, and maybe even other cities throughout Wisconsin. It would be great to have one master resource for any city-dwelling Wisconsinites to turn to if they want to compost.

 

What I learned doing this project

             This project was incredibly helpful in several ways. First, I’ve felt rather burnt out this semester. I have a job that I love and I enjoyed my classes, but most of my closest friends moved away and I wasn’t involved in any student organizations that were really capturing my imagination.  A close group of friends that I really connected with—who were passionate about changing the world—are all moved away doing just that. I’m proud of them, but I missed their support here. Starting this project helped me get excited about creating change here in my own community again. This project seemed simple, but as I started working on it more, I began connecting with people who are interested in doing the same things. It’s hard to describe what a difference that makes, but knowing others are concerned with the same things and willing to take action with you makes a big difference. I’m going to keep pursuing this, and I hope to expand this project into something much greater.

One of the biggest problems I see is that there are many small initiatives, but no one really seems to know what anyone else is doing. We need to figure out a way to pool our resources to make composting easier for the general public, and to raise awareness about why it’s so important to do so. This is one of the biggest barriers I ran into: when I talked to people about this project, many didn’t think that composting is a very important thing to do. This project will help those who already want to take action do so, but the next step is convincing others of the importance. I’m going to try to connect all these disparate movements—city, university, student org, and co-ops—and help them work together to create awareness and support those who want to live sustainably. I’m thinking workshops, websites that link to each other’s resources, and some sort of ad campaign would be a good place to start. I really want to get this going before I leave Madison.

            This project also gave me a lot of practical knowledge. It gave me the opportunity to research a subject I’m very interested in; before this, I knew composting was good but never thought too much about why. It also sparked some ideas for stories or columns that I’m going to propose to my boss or just write on my own. Again, one of the biggest problems I found is lack of awareness, and bringing this issue into the public consciousness is absolutely necessary.

Another thing I was reminded of in lecture and through conversations is that people rarely change unless it’s more convenient than doing it the old way. But what could be easier than simply throwing out food scraps? The challenge is to make composting as easy as physically possible. We also need to help create a public consensus that composting is a good and worthwhile thing to do, and that those who don’t should be held in mild distain like those who don’t recycle. It might be helpful to read up on the history of the recycling movement to see if we can imitate some of its strategies. I’m excited to continue working on this! 

Making recycling easy and necessary

Every time I throw an apple core or eggshells in my garbage disposal, I feel a small tinge of guilt. Like many green-minded Madison college students, I know these scraps carry valuable nutrients and can be composted. And like many, I have no clear idea how to go about doing it, and I suspect it would take a great deal of effort and inconvenience. So I continue throwing them away.

When recycling was a new concept, it took awhile before it caught on and few did it at first. But now recycling bins are nearly as ubiquitous as garbage cans, and even my grandparents see the value of the practice. What I hope to achieve is to start make composting just as natural—and as easy—as recycling.

Today, it’s generally frowned upon to throw away something that is recyclable, since it’s just as easy to throw the can or bottle into the proper bin as into the garbage. But the same social consensus does not exist around composting—in part because many don’t realize the importance or how to go about doing it. Being conscientious simply isn’t as convenient in this area, although there are efforts in Union South and Grainger Hall to address this.

I want to attack this problem in several steps:

First, I want to research the effects of throwing away compostable material on the environment. Is it really a big deal if biodegradable things end up in the landfill? What impact does composting really have? If people clearly understand the benefits and consequences, they may be more likely to take action.

Next, I want to research the initiatives already in place at the UW and elsewhere in Madison. What is working, and what isn’t? What are the main challenges in getting people to compost? What drives people to do it or not do it? It’s important not to reinvent the wheel, and careful research will allow me to identify the practices that should be altered and those that should be built on.

Thirdly, I want to provide people with practical information on how to compost in Madison. I want to give instructions on how to go about composting if you live in an apartment or if you have a bit of land for a compost bin. I want to give a map of the places where you can bring biodegradable waste, as well as the businesses and UW buildings that are currently composting.

When I’m finished researching why we should compost, what composting initiatives are working well, and how Madisonians can go about doing it, I want to give my findings to various student groups, such as F.H. King and Slow Food, as well as any other local sites that address sustainability issues. The key here is empowering people with information, and working to build a social consensus that composting is valuable and should be emphasized.