According to the City of Oklahoma City, each household in OKC generates approximately 4.5 pounds of waste per day. Whoa! That is quite a bit of trash. Thankfully, about a quarter of that tends to be things like leaves, yard trimmings and food scraps – all things that can be composted and later spread in your garden as a rich fertilizer.
Here are the City’s simple steps for outdoor composting:
- Select a dry, shady spot near a water source for your compost pile or bin. Add equal parts of three basic ingredients, chopped or shredded:
- Browns (dead leaves, branches and twigs) for carbon.
- Greens (grass clippings, vegetable waste, food scraps and coffee grounds) for nitrogen.
- Water, moistening dry materials as they are needed.
- Mix these items well, stirring frequently for about six months. Make sure you don’t let the mixture become too wet or too dry. You can even cover the top of the compost with a tarp if you’d like.
- When the materials on the bottom are dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to be used.
The City also provides a list of things that should be left out of your composting combination:
- Black walnut tree leaves or twigs
- Coal or charcoal ash
- Citrus rinds
- Dairy products (butter, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, yogurt, etc.)
- Fats, grease, lard or oils
- Meat or fish bones and scraps
- Diseased or insect-ridden plants
- Pet wastes
- Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides
If you’d like more information on the magic of composting and how you can get started, contact Utilities Customer Service at 405-297-2833 or [email protected] for a free guide!
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