By Corrie Dean
Eco-friendly food and furniture were so last year. This year it's all about the eco-friendly activity of composting. Composting, once the activity of hardcore eco-nuts, is now considered a fun and effective way to help the environment. Purchase a compost bin, and you can throw in any sort of biodegradable organic waste, such as scrap food (be sure to get a rat proof bin) or leftover leaves and twigs from your yard. With proper aeration, the micro-organisms will break down into a sort of liquid fertilizer, which can be used as just that: fertilizer (or, if you prefer, soil conditioner).
Composters in the past had very little product choice, but with its newfound popularity, compost bins are being manufactured with a variety of options. There are the traditional compost bins, as described above, but there are also ones with hand-cranks, solar power, or stacking capabilities. I've even seen a compost tumbler designed like a kickball be advertised as a family-friendly activity because the rolling would aerate the compost.
If you want to take composting up a notch, you can always buy some worms and create a vermiculture system. Vermiculture is the making of compost, or vermicompost, by having worms (earthworms or redworms) break down the waste instead of the micro-organisms. Essentially, these worm live off of the waste and the end result is their waste, which can be used as fertilizer. This waste is called vermicompost, worm castings, worm manure, or worm humus; and can do wonders for your home garden.
Although it's often given a negative connotation, compost can be a beautiful way to take waste products to restore plant life and show us just how connected we our to the natural world.
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