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HOW TO COMPOST
An Overview
Getting Started
Making Decisions
Systems (Methods)
Making Compost
What a Good Pile Needs
What You Need
Extras & Additives
What to Use - or Not!
Building the Pile
Maintenance
When is it Finished?
Troubleshooting
Outdoor Digesters
Anaerobic
Aerobic
Indoor Methods
Vermicomposting (Worms)
Bokashi
Using Compost
Just Do It
Composting Science
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Soil Science
More Than Just Dirt
Garden Soil
Myth Busting
Environmental Issues
Garbage Gripes
Water & Soil Remediation
Nutrient Pollution
Harmful Chemicals
A Few Concerns
Pathogens
Pesticides
Heavy Metals
What You Can Do
Additional Resources

Environmental Benefits of Compost

Some composting benefits are well known: the practice keeps stuff out of landfills, which are rapidly reaching capacity across North America; it promotes healthy plants; and it reduces the use of pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers, many of which can be harmful to the environment (and to the fish, animals and humans that live in it.)

But compost can aid the environment in a number of less obvious ways. Fertilizers, a major source of water pollution, bind to compost in soil, preventing them from leaching into groundwater or waterways. Some of the micro-organisms in compost can also bind heavy metals in soil, again keeping them from leaching into water. Other micro-organisms can actually break down some pollutants into less toxic chemicals. Compost is now frequently used to help remediate (or decontaminate) polluted sites.

On a slightly bigger scale...

More and more cities, towns, universities, farms and schools are composting what used to be thrown away. These composting facilities often dwarf backyard operations. The photo below shows a worm bin at Southern Illinois University, where two million worms dine on cafeteria waste including milk cartons and napkins.

Hungry Redworms

Troughs of hungry redworms feast on university leftovers as part of SIUC's vermicomposting project. Source: "Vermicomposting Center" Southern Illinois University - Carbondale.