You Can Compost!
U.S. landfills and trash incinerators receive approximately 167 million tons of garbage annually. Half of that garbage is made up of compostable materials: 21% food scraps, 15% paper products, 8% yard trimmings, and 8% wood waste. Landfills and incinerators produce greenhouse gases. Methane, produced in landfills, is 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide. You can divert materials from the landfill, reduce your carbon footprint, create green jobs, and enrich soil by composting!
Composting is the managed process of speeding up the way nature recycles, by creating the ideal conditions for the rapid decomposition of organic materials by effective decomposers.
Adding compost to soil is the best way to improve soil texture, suppress plant diseases, provide aeration to plant roots, and the preferred way to provide an organic source of minerals and nutrients for plant health and growth.
For more information, read the composting guides and related literature in the Handouts and Guides section below.
"As an organic gardener, I have learned that the soil is the most important determinant of how well my plants perform. It provides them with the structure and food with which to grow. The degree to which it is successful, however, depends on how well it, itself, is also cared for. My job as a gardener, then, is to ensure that it is protected from the elements through mulching and cover cropping, that its structure is maintained by avoiding excessive tilling and that it is provided with the nutrients it needs to do its work. The Master Composting Program taught me how to accomplish these tasks, within the context of composting. By participating in the program, I hope to help other gardeners learn how to be successful gardeners (of the soil)."
- Marcella Trautmann, Project Grow Member since 1972
Master Composter Class
Become a Certified Master Composter in Washtenaw County.
Class of 2024 shown above.
Project Grow Composting Education Center
The Compost Education Center (CEC) of Project Grow provides educational opportunities to learn how to compost, produces compost on site, and encourages all garden sites to adopt a standard, manageable composting system. This mission is based on the appreciation that composting is essential to community gardening, soil health, and reducing impacts on local landfills.
