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Daily kitchen scraps, yard clippings (also know as greenwaste), coffee filters and tea bags. Egg shells can be composted, but since they do not decay easily, crush them as much as possible before putting them in your compost. This is true for any material: the smaller pieces will break down faster. Avoid putting meat, dairy, bones, or oils in the compost because they tend to smell bad and attract rats and other unwanted pests. Iif you are willing to take the risk of having unwanted visitors, they too will decompose over time. Beware of squash, tomato and papaya seeds! They will survive most composting processes and will sprout up from your finished compost. To avoid hours of labor and weeding, cook these seeds in a microwave oven for a minute or two before putting in your compost bin to sterilize seeds and inhibit sprouting. Grass composts very well and can really jump start the process, but it can also overfill your compost bin. Consider leaving the bag off the mower (especially if you have a mulching mower) and letting the clippings decay and enrich the lawn. If you mow the lawn often, you should not be able to see the clippings or notice a difference. If you have a large quantity of dry autumn leaves each season, add the grass back in the compost for a couple of months to create a carbon-nitrogen balance that will help the leaves decay. Although paper is compostable, it often contains chemicals or dyes and is better recycled. If you really want to reduce waste by composting paper towels and other non-recyclable paper, make sure that you buy unbleached products. You can compost food and greenwaste together, or just compost food scraps. If you live in an apartment or condo, you can use vermicomposting (worm composting) in small containers that will fit on a balcony or porch for just food scraps.
Composting is not only good for preventing greenwaste and food scraps from ending up in the landfill, but recycles the nutrients back into your sustainable garden. It reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, enhances the water holding capacity of soil, and nurtures strong plants that naturally resist disease. Vermicompost (worm castings) are gardener's gold and if used regularly, can build up plant resistance to whitefly and other pests. For a detailed explanation of benefits, see Composter Connection. If you have only one greenwaste recycling bin, it's smart to compost the softer materials such as leaves and grass and leave your bin for the woody items that take a very long time to decay. By composting rather than using the greenwaste bin, you are also reducing the amount of fossils fuels used and CO2 produced by transporting your greenwaste around the county.
Look at the catagories below to decide what type of composting suits your lifestyle and space availability, then consult the Backyard Composting Booklet to find out how to set up the system. f you live in an apartment, condo, have limited space, or really want top quality worm castings for your plants, If you have outdoor space, use your greenwaste bin for most yardwaste, and don't want to do much work, try anerobic (passive) composting. This method is not fast enough for those with a lot of greenwaste and works best for food and small amounts of soft leaves or grass. If you have outdoor space, a lot of yardwaste, and really want to produce a lot of good compost, try aerobic (active) composting. This is good for greenwaste, food scraps, and unbleached paper. You will have to water and turn the pile regularly in order for it to decompose fast enough to keep up with the quantity. Almost everything you need to know is in the Backyard Composting Booklet that covers worm composting, anerobic, and aerobic composting. If you have trouble reading it, you can obtain print copies by calling 882-3600. Basics of Composting In nature, all things are composted and recycled as they fall to the earth and undergo natural decay into the soil. Small animals, worms, soil organisms, bacteria, and fungus aid in the breakdown and decomposition of organic material. Branches, leaves, fruit and dead animals are turned into compost or humus. Sometimes it takes years. If you want it to happen faster, follow these tips: A highly successful and efficient compost pile will have a relatively balanced ratio of carbon to nitrogen and just the right amount of moisture and air circulation. Carbon material is all the dry woody stuff like paper, straw, and dry leaves. Nitrogen is all the soft and moist stuff like grass clippings, food scraps, manure, and fresh green leaves. When a compost pile has about 2/3 Carbon and 1/3 Nitrogen, is kept moist but not soggy, and is turned regularly for aeration, it will decompose quickly. For sucessful food scrap composting, get a kitchen pail that will be convenient to use while preparing food. Notes on Vermicomposting If you are using a wooden box, make sure that the compost is moist and add water when necessary. Moist compost is essential for worm reproduction.
The food we put in the trash doesn't seem like much, but look at the chart below. Food scraps and compostable paper used to serve or package food comprises the single largest catagory remaining in the waste stream by weight. Since food is wet and heavy, it weighs a lot even though it doesn't take up as much space in your trash can as paper or plastic. Please note that this chart includes only materials that are currently in the trash, and not the materials that are currently in the recycling and greenwaste containers. Many natural resources as well as petroleum based fertilizers are used to produce food. By home composting, we can recover some of these nutrients and use them to grow more food
Aerobic (active) Composting (lots of material or fast composting) The least expensive option is to simply have an open pile with no enclosure, or to build a three sided bin from old pallets (see Backyard Composting Booklet). This acutally works best if you have a lot of material, and plan to turn The second least expensive option is to buy one sheet of stucco wire (available at Home Depot for less than $10) and connect the ends to form a cylinder. If you have an open pile, this can also work well as a secondary storage bin once the active period is finished and you won't be turning often.
If you want a fully enclosed compost bin, the County of Santa Barbara has Earth Machines available for $40 at the Transfer Station 681-4345 (the former dump) at 4430 Calle Real between El Sueno and Turnpike offramps. You can purchase bins there, but Transfer Station staff will not be able to answer questions about composting.
Other fully enclosed compost bins are available locally at the Home Improvement Center 963-7825 in Santa Barbara. The internet offers many composting bins. Some good sites are composters.com, Compost Connection, and compostbins.com Anerobic (passive) Composting (food only or not much material) Since you will not be turning the compost, a fully enclosed bin with a tight fitting lid will be best. The least expensive option is to cut the bottom off of a trash can and bury it 6 inches so so in the soil. Be sure to use the lid to keep pests away. The Earth Machine in the section above will also work well for this. Other appropriate bins can be found at composters.com Sources for Worm Composting Bins & Supplies You can use just about anything for a bin. The easiest and cheapest is a large, non-transparent plastic storage tub (worms don't like any light). It dosen't need to be more than a foot deep. Make sure you put holes in the bottom so it won't fill up with liquid.
You can obtain worms locally from Island Seed and Feed, or mail order from many companies on the internet. Singles or couples can probably get by with one worm bin, but families that eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables will probably need two or more.
Sources for Indoor Food Scrap Kitchen Pails
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try vermicomposting for food scraps. Technically you can put in other soft, green material, but realistically you probably won't have enough space in the bin.
Many people think that since food scraps decompose in the landfill, they should not be a problem. Landfills are kept as dry and oxygen-free as possible to prevent decomposition. Samples taken from old landfills show that hotdogs buried 20 years ago are still largely intact. Methane from decomposition is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. 
and water every week. Enclosures just inhibit turning. If you have a vegetable garden and don't grow much during the winter, compost in a open pile directly on top of your garden plot.
Wooden boxes also make great worm bins. Try thrift stores, military surplus, or rummage sales. 
Anything with a lid can be a good food scrap pail. Buckets without lids will tend to attract fruit flies or smell, but may work if you empty them daily. Reuse plastic food tubs, tupperware-type containers, smaller white food service buckets, or any decorative container that will be able to withstand wet food scraps. Old cookie jars or flour and sugar containers can also serve as compost pails. Kitchen stores and