Composting Resources in LA
I’ve been feeling the pressure to compost lately. Once the domain of country-dwellers, composting has come to the city in a big way. Recent news from Vancouver, Canada, reports that composting is way up, thanks to a strike by the city’s municipal workers that has stopped garbage pickup.
The benefits of composting are undeniable: reduced waste to landfills, and the result of compost is a nutrient-rich material called humus that makes the perfect fertilizer, eliminating the need for chemical alternatives.
I’ve thought about composting before but have had a few reservations, namely, the smell. I live in an apartment, and though we do have a deck that could house the bin, the air in LA is bad enough without the smell of rotting garbage. However, thanks to GO’s guide entry on composting, I’ve learned that if you don’t include oil, meat, or dairy products in the compost, it won’t smell. Ah ha! Problem solved.
I’ve also been concerned about using all of the resulting humus. I have a few plants, both indoor and out, that would certainly be happy with some additional nutrients, but what about the rest of it? Then I realized that the landscaping in the common areas of our building doesn’t always get the attention that it needs. Adding the fruits of my compost bin would be a community service!
OK, no more excuses. But where to begin? First, I need a bin. Fortunately, quite a selection of them are now available online, ranging broadly in price from around $40 to over $400 for a fancy-schmancy one. Another alternative for Los Angeles-area residents is the City of Santa Monica, which provides a bin and a reference book for $25 for residents of the city, or $35 for non-residents. What a deal!
Other options are also available. The City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Sanitation sponsors events to sells bins the second Friday of every month, and provides composting workshops the fourth Saturday of every month. Both types of events are held at the Griffith Park Composting Education Facility. Additional ad hoc events held in other locations are also listed on their website. Upcoming locations include Pacific Palisades and Culver City.
Armed with a bin and a little information, I’m looking forward to bringing a little bit of the country to my city life.
Photo credit: D&P Industries
Tags: Agriculture, compost+bins, composting, Food, Gardening, Home and Garden, Landscaping
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August 9th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
I had the same dilemma.. wanting to compost, but being stuck in an area (on a military base) where composting is difficult. I couldn’t have an outdoor composter because housing regulations forbid anything useful. I couldn’t vermicompost because my husband has banned worms from the house. So I sweet talked the hubby into spending the $400 for the NatureMill automatic indoor composter. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier with it. Sure, its another noise in the kitchen with a constant hum (like a fridge) and the periodic motor sound of the mixer.. and it does have a stong fresh earth smell when you open it to put more food in.. but it gives me someplace to put all the food that we would otherwise throw away and it makes my lawn green and the lawn inspectors happy!
August 17th, 2007 at 5:51 pm
I’m with you, Cassie. I miss my farm roots, too. I started a composting pot on my deck. No-cost alternative! It’s just the largest plastic planter I could find that I’ve dumped my old plant soil in. I bury my veggie and fruit waste in it daily. Within a few days it is absorbed into the soil. I just add some dry leaves and grass occasionally for that dry carbon material that’s suggested. Covering it with dirt removes any odor. Only problem is that my planned-unit-development told me this week I can’t have any empty pots on my deck. Must plant in them or remove them. Guess I’ll set a potted plant on top of the barrel
When will people get smart? Hmmm…
September 27th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
Visit http://www.composters.com for TONS of different composting supplies. The Customer Service there is super helpful and they have great ideas. They’re a sub-site of http://www.GREENCulture.com — an eco-friendly web-based retailer… you’ll find so many different things there! go check it out!
:)