| Every year Americans put thousands of tons of | | | | You add your food waste to your container of |
| waste into landfills. Although government | | | | worms, cover the waste with damp shredded |
| standards have become more strict on the way | | | | newspaper so the smell of the food waste does |
| our trash gets placed into landfills, such as | | | | not seep out and you are done. In about 60 days |
| eliminating items that won't biodegrade within a | | | | the worms will have consumed all the waste, |
| reasonable amount of time, lining landfills so | | | | leaving behind their castings. It is these castings |
| harmful chemicals that did make it through do not | | | | that you add to your flower beds, and gardens as |
| end up in our water supply and so on, the fact is | | | | it is the best type of fertilizer you can give them. |
| we can do so much more. | | | | What you have just done is keep the food waste |
| Even though we can do more, when you present | | | | out of the landfill, feed worms and they in turn |
| most people with the question or the responsibility | | | | gave you great compost. It is a win-win for |
| of doing more to keep trash out of landfills, | | | | everybody (or everything). |
| almost invariably the first question they will ask is, | | | | Of course the managed way will required you to |
| "what's it going to cost me?" | | | | keep monitoring the container so the worms are |
| That is a fact of life and who can blame them. A | | | | never without food. You will need a container, you |
| lot of people are on tight budgets just to feed | | | | will need to keep it damp as worms like moist |
| their families or keep a roof over their heads, so | | | | environments, and of course it needs to stay |
| spending extra money on recycling is not an | | | | dark at all times. |
| option. | | | | However there is an easier way. If you have a |
| So to make it clear, the information that I am | | | | section of your yard that you use as a vegetable |
| about to give you, so you can help reduce the | | | | garden or flower bed, you can simply dig a hole |
| amount of waste that ends up in landfills, will not | | | | about a foot to 3 feet deep (depending on the |
| cost you a dime. The only thing it will cost you is | | | | amount of food waste you have), and bury your |
| a couple of minutes of your day. | | | | food scraps. The worms (and bacteria, fungi and |
| I am talking about recycling your food waste. You | | | | other helpful creatures in the ecosystem) will find |
| can do this in a couple of different ways. Although | | | | your food scraps, eat them and leave their |
| both ways are called vermicomposting, the first | | | | castings in the soil. Then all you have to do is turn |
| way is what deem as managed composting. This | | | | your soil over to mix the castings and whoala you |
| is where you build a box, or have some kind of | | | | are done! |
| container, and in that container you have worms | | | | You should pick the scenario that best fits your |
| known as red wigglers (commonly used for | | | | situation and of course budget. But as you can |
| fishing). These aren't some wild species of worms, | | | | see both options are very beneficial to the |
| you probably or should I say more than likely | | | | environment by adding much need nutrients to |
| have thousands in your ground right now, and | | | | your soil and keeping the food waste out of a |
| that is a good thing. | | | | landfill. |