Composting

The Town of Mansfield advocates composting as an efficient way to reduce waste. The Town Hall, elementary schools and middle school compost food waste. Usually in the spring a composting workshop is offered to residents wishing to start a backyard compost pile.

Compost happens. How? Insects, fungi, bacteria and worms make compost by digesting organic materials. By simply piling grass clippings and other yard trimmings, these critters create finished compost, but it might take them a year or two, unless you help.

How To Compost

There are some simple ways you can help micro organisms speed up the process.

• Make a pile at least 3 feet high by 3 feet wide by 3 feet long. You can use a commercial bin, chicken wire, wood pallets, or no enclosure at all.
• Start by making the pieces small. Ice will melt faster if you break it into small pieces; the same is true with decomposing materials.
• Feed your compost critters a "balanced diet" of roughly one part succulent "green" trimmings to three parts woodier "brown" materials in alternating layers.
• Maintain a balance of moisture and air. Compost critters need oxygen and water. Keep your compost moist but not dripping wet. Keep the pile well aerated by thoroughly mixing it, or by occasionally turning it.

Your finished compost will be dark, crumbly, earthy-smelling and resemble rich soil. Use it as a garden mulch, a soil amendment, or with potting mix.

Good Compost Material

• Browns (Carbon Rich)
  • Flowers & stalks
  • hedge prunings
  • twigs
  • autumn leaves
  • sawdust & shavings
  • shredded paper
  • cardboard
  • corn cobs
  • stalks
  • silage
  • straw
• Greens (Nitrogen Rich)
  • Grass clippings
  • fruit & vegetable peelings
  • pits
  • seeds
  • cores & rinds
  • bread & grains
  • non-animal kitchen scraps & plate scrapings
  • coffee grounds & filters
  • tea bags
  • barnyard manure
  • annual weeds
  • house plant leaves