Page 39 - AreaNewsletters "Mar2023" issue

Citations & Resources
1. EPA Facts for 2018
https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste- and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures-materials
2. Making Compost
https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/246.pdf
3. Using Compost in the Home Garden
https://cmg.extension.colostate.edu/Gardennotes/243.pdf
4. Landfill Data for United States
https://www.epa.gov/lmop/project-and-landfill-data-state
Composting Yard Waste and Bin Setup
https://extension.colostate.edu/docs/pubs/garden/07212.pdf
FINISHED COMPOST
RAW COMPOST
halting altogether, during the winter months; it will pick up when the temperatures rise. Some composting bins are at a sufficient capacity which allows the heat generated by the decomposition process to maintain the system well into the winter months. The naturally occurring microbes and fungi that consume the waste in your compost system work just the same in your bin as they do in the natural landscape. During this downtime you should continue to add waste to your system so that when the conditions do match what is needed by the micro-organisms, they will have plenty of work to complete.
There are some restrictions that need to be respected and researched before taking that first exciting dive into this natural and sustainable practice. Home Owner’s Associations, Property Management Companies and Landlords may have specific restrictions surrounding residential composting and they should be consulted. If you find out that it’s not allowed in your area, be encouraged to discover why the restriction is in place in order to work with them in understanding how it can be implemented
in a way that acknowledges their concerns.
A single area landfill in Sedalia was filled with 1.3 million tons of waste as of August 2022.4 Colorado has 15 candidate areas for new landfill creation.4 Having a compost system in your daily life can keep valuable nutrients from being wasted in a landfill and allow them to be recycled back into the soil. With the rising costs of what is needed to maintain our gardens and landscapes along with the amount of waste that is created on a daily basis, there is no better time to start residential composting. If you are interested in learning more about the composting process, system setup and how to use it once completed, then check out the resources listed. Lastly, you can always reach out to your Douglas County CSU Extension
Brought to you by Colorado State University Master GardenersSM. Contact the help desk: dcmgardenr@ gmail.com and visit extension.colostate.edu.
720-733-6935
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Castle Rock “AreaNewsletters” • March 2023