How Not to Compost

Since I started my litter blog years ago, I've become more aware of the footprint I am leaving on my planet. I also have very poor soil in my yard because the developer removed all the top soil when the houses were built. I thought that I could improve my yard by composting my organic trash and applying it to the yard to enrich the soil.

I have harvested about two gallons of usable compost in three years. But it was quality stuff. I'm a regular composter now, although my compost pile freezes in the winter and rarely gets hot enough to cook in the summer.

The stuff in the photo is not compostable. The cardboard boxes could be added to a compost pile if the box was shredded. Again, someone dumped all this trash in my neighborhood. Again, our public works department, paid with our tax money, picked it up for me.

According to Earth911.com, Keep America Beautiful has calculated that litter costs the United States $11.5 billion dollars yearly. Remember that fact when you see a plastic bag gently surfing in the wind or come upon a pile of trash while you are hiking.