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My Compost Bin And I
John writes "There they were, staring at me with a last glimmer of hope. I tried to turn to avoid the cries of help they echoed, but they were too much for me to bare. Minutes later, with an insight of knowledge, I quickly devised a plan to rescue these dying souls. And out of the bitter remains I found around my place of refuge, I constructed a home for them - somewhere where they could be in peace - a compost bin. The vegetable scraps rejoiced! Their time of suffering was no longer, for my divine plan had taken effect. "
... really makes a case for moderation of articles, and not just comments.
zing
What is this I see?? An article on Slashdot that's *NOT* about Evil Microsoft or the Evil government? Be still my beatign heart! Is this an acknowledgement that there are geeks that don't just sit around and write angry letters to senator's junk mail boxes about the evils or Microsoft and the lack of privacy while waiting for the last hour's version of Mozilla to compile on a Gentoo box used to play Quake 3? Dear God! I am *so* impressed. As a part time biology geek, I was fucking thrilled to see this post. Keep it up. There's more to true geekiness than OSS and boring anti-privacy law garbage.
Despite all the "rubbish" jokes here, environmental protection and awareness is to be applauded. A little effort (switching lightbulbs off when leaving rooms, putting scrap paper in a separate bin) can make a tangible difference. Sorry for getting all philosophical, but I reckon that in general, we can (and should) argue for our rights; enforcing our responsibilities (in this case, to the environment) should be a matter for the conscience but is just as important. Well done to the guy.
wellllll....let's take a look at the old faq:
Slashdot is many things to many people. Some people think it's a Linux site. To others, it's a geek hangout. I've always worked very hard to make sure that Slashdot matches up with my interests and the interests of my authors. We think we're pretty typical Slashdot readers... but that does mean that occasionally one of us might post something that you think is inappropriate.
That's why.
Sent from your iPad.
While I'm sure it will eventually work out as a tiny compost pile, the small size of that bin is just calling out for it to be made into a worm bin. You just use typical red earthworms to eat all the garden and food waste, and end up with the most fantastic crumbly black fertilizer.
This is a good place to start.
A neighbor I once had composted all their kitchen scraps in our shared back yard and there I learned that not all things rot well. It stank, but that was the least of it's problems. The pile fed rats and scattered the mess all over. I was not happy to think of the backyard as a magnet for flea bearing pests and kept the cats inside. Cats that got out got fleas and had to be treated. Fleas are a serious health hazard. The raccoons I feed don't seem to give me the same problems.
Other nasties can flourish in your obstensibly friendly compost heap. Crop pests have been known to winter in compost heaps outside processing plants. Pests like potato weavils can decimate crops and require extensive use of pesticides if they are not all eliminated from a given region. While the chances of such pests wintering in your pile may be remote, you might not want to make that pile if you don't know how to recognize the pests. Molds and blights that might have slipped past customs can also take up residence in your given area if you simply throw your wastes out on the ground to rot. Whole regions of Florida have been ruined by citrus blight.
The landfill is a good place for food wastes. Sanitary landfills are called that because they get sealed up. Clay lined and capped, stuff goes in and does not come out. It's one place I don't mind food wastes becoming black gold.
According to the cited article, food wastes make up 10% of the waste stream on average but they can represent much less than that. I hate putting food wastes into the trash, so I try to eat everything. Carcases become stocks, leftovers are frozen in meal size portions, Jambalya, pasta and tacos eat all the spare meat. It's not that hard to do. Modern food processing assures that most food mass is used.
Want great soil? By all means, composte your lawn clippings, the leaves you rake and other stuff that naturally hits the ground. Oak leaves are some of the best and you can find wonderful soil in gutters where people are sloppy about raking their yards. If you must tread into the wild world of rotten food, please watch your pile and try not to obnox your neighbors.
I don't have much garbage either.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.