PSA: I just realized my 'composting' was actually just throwing food in a bin

For like 2 years I've been tossing kitchen scraps into a little bin in the yard thinking I was helping the planet. Last week I dug into it to use the compost and it was just a slimy mess of half-rotten stuff with no soil at all. Turns out you need the right mix of greens and browns and actual turning to break it down. I live in Austin and our yard waste pickup doesn't take meat or oils either. Anyone else find out their lazy compost pile was basically just a trash can?

2 comments

2 Comments

james6721mo ago

Wait, you were supposed to TURN it?

nora101mo ago

I saw this thing on NPR a while back about how most home compost bins are basically just "cold piles" that take forever. One guy said you need like a 3:1 ratio of browns to greens or it just turns into a science experiment gone wrong.