Composting

Another great thing to do to reduce the amount of waste produced is to compost kitchen waste.  The double benefit is that you can make organic material for your garden at the same time.  Very large compost piles will do pretty much all food scraps, but for a normal household bin you would need to limit it to materials that decompose faster and don't attract unwanted critters.  For example, you wouldn't want to put meat scraps, dairy products, or sauces in your bin.  These will start to smell fairly quickly and attract all of your neighborhood raccoons.  I would recommend keeping it away from where you normally congregate in your yard, as it does attract fruit flies.

If you plan to use your compost for your garden or lawn, you want to make sure to keep out weeds that have gone to seed.  You'll just end up unintentionally planting weeds in your garden!

You can put in all kinds of surprising stuff, including napkins, paper towels, and newspapers.  One big trick is to keep leaves from the fall raking, as they are a very important ingredient in the composting process.  Put a handful in whenever you empty your kitchen bin into the larger bin.  It helps the process and helps keep bugs down.

Grass seems to compost fairly well, but I have found that it fills up the bin very quickly.  Also, it is actually better for your lawn to just leave it where it lies after you cut it.  Think of it as an easy way to fertilize the lawn later.

Reducing trash through composting and recycling (which we'll discuss later) may allow you to share a waste bin with a neighbor, reduce trash pickup frequency, or go to a smaller trash can.  Portland metro has compost bins that make composting very easy.   Unless you are trying to produce compost quickly, the mix of what goes into the bin does not need to be regulated.  See the May 20th post for information on where to get a bin.

Janell and I have been composting since February, and our normal waste is now less than one bag a week.  Sheila has also seen some fantastic results in her school's waste reduction project.  See her comments here.

Good luck!

Jason