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The City of Saskatoon’s Green Carts reduce the amount of waste going into landfills by diverting biodegradable materials. The Green Cart program accepts basically all food items as well as yard waste including lawn clippings, weeds, pruned branches, and more! The city estimates that this will remove 57% of waste from landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing pollution. This is because foods and otherwise biodegradable materials go into the landfill without oxygen, so they don’t break down properly. Instead, they form a non-usable material called leachate – otherwise known as garbage juice! – which is a pollutant. Rotting food produces methane, which also goes into the atmosphere. The city plans to remove these items from the landfill and place them in its own disposal, where, presumably, they will oxygenate and accelerate the biodegradation process to reduce the environmental impact of the waste.
Let’s take some of those diverted materials – you’re sorting them anyway! – and use your food waste to benefit your garden. That brings us to composting and vermicultures.
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There are a few key items which you should probably still put in the Green Carts; this includes larger branches and pieces of wood, especially evergreen branches and needles, which acidify the soil; leftover meat, animal bones, and seafood shells, which don’t break down in a backyard compost system; breads, which can attract nasty molds into your healthy compost system; corn cobs, which are tougher and take too long to break down; milk products, such as cheeses, which also attract bacterial growths which aren’t beneficial to your composting system. Greasy foods should also not be placed in a compost bin. I also avoid putting weeds and diseased plant materials in a compost bin, to prevent them from spreading.
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Items that you absolutely can compost include vegetables, their peels and inedible parts; egg shells; lawn clippings; raked leaves; coffee grounds and tea leaves; paper, cardboard, shredded newspaper; nut shells (*but not walnut shells); and so on. A compost bin should only contain items which will break down with ease.
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The nutrients in your vegetables can go back into the soil to be used by your garden. Compost can add nutrients that are otherwise missing from your fertilizer to create a healthier home garden! (We still recommend a fertilizer in addition to your compost: use a soil tester to see what your soil is missing after using compost, and fertilize accordingly!).
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When I lived in an apartment, I had no means of composting, but I still wanted to do something about our food waste, and produce a usable soil called worm castings. This is how we started a vermiculture under our kitchen sink: a container that contains equal parts soil and food waste, as well as red wriggler worms (which are easily available at your local pet store). The soil they produce is amazing! It’s great to add to houseplants or outdoor containers.
In a container that is not quite air-tight – but has a heavy lid – food waste and red wrigglers can be added to soil to produce a vermiculture system. Food waste must be placed under the surface of the soil to prevent bad smells and rotting food, and the lid needs to be replaced to prevent escapees (!), but that’s it: this allows even apartment dwellers to access the benefits of diverted food waste.
With all of the easy ways to turn your food waste into a usable gardening product, why not give composting or vermicultures a try!
With the recent roll-out of Saskatoon’s Green Cart program, we’ve seen an increased interest in composting. There are many great reasons to compost; whether you want to create a source of nutrients for your garden, or you’re just looking to reduce your food waste, we’ve got lots of resources for starting your composting adventure!
With the recent roll-out of Saskatoon’s Green Cart program, we’ve seen an increased interest in composting. There are many great reasons to compost; whether you want to create a source of nutrients for your garden, or you’re just looking to reduce your food waste, we’ve got lots of resources for starting your composting adventure!
The City of Saskatoon’s Green Carts reduce the amount of waste going into landfills by diverting biodegradable materials. The Green Cart program accepts basically all food items as well as yard waste including lawn clippings, weeds, pruned branches, and more! The city estimates that this will remove 57% of waste from landfills, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing pollution. This is because foods and otherwise biodegradable materials go into the landfill without oxygen, so they don’t break down properly. Instead, they form a non-usable material called leachate – otherwise known as garbage juice! – which is a pollutant. Rotting food produces methane, which also goes into the atmosphere. The city plans to remove these items from the landfill and place them in its own disposal, where, presumably, they will oxygenate and accelerate the biodegradation process to reduce the environmental impact of the waste.
Let’s take some of those diverted materials – you’re sorting them anyway! – and use your food waste to benefit your garden. That brings us to composting and vermicultures.
There are a few key items which you should probably still put in the Green Carts; this includes larger branches and pieces of wood, especially evergreen branches and needles, which acidify the soil; leftover meat, animal bones, and seafood shells, which don’t break down in a backyard compost system; breads, which can attract nasty molds into your healthy compost system; corn cobs, which are tougher and take too long to break down; milk products, such as cheeses, which also attract bacterial growths which aren’t beneficial to your composting system. Greasy foods should also not be placed in a compost bin. I also avoid putting weeds and diseased plant materials in a compost bin, to prevent them from spreading.
Items that you absolutely can compost include vegetables, their peels and inedible parts; egg shells; lawn clippings; raked leaves; coffee grounds and tea leaves; paper, cardboard, shredded newspaper; nut shells (*but not walnut shells); and so on. A compost bin should only contain items which will break down with ease.
The nutrients in your vegetables can go back into the soil to be used by your garden. Compost can add nutrients that are otherwise missing from your fertilizer to create a healthier home garden! (We still recommend a fertilizer in addition to your compost: use a soil tester to see what your soil is missing after using compost, and fertilize accordingly!).
When I lived in an apartment, I had no means of composting, but I still wanted to do something about our food waste, and produce a usable soil called worm castings. This is how we started a vermiculture under our kitchen sink: a container that contains equal parts soil and food waste, as well as red wriggler worms (which are easily available at your local pet store). The soil they produce is amazing! It’s great to add to houseplants or outdoor containers.
In a container that is not quite air-tight – but has a heavy lid – food waste and red wrigglers can be added to soil to produce a vermiculture system. Food waste must be placed under the surface of the soil to prevent bad smells and rotting food, and the lid needs to be replaced to prevent escapees (!), but that’s it: this allows even apartment dwellers to access the benefits of diverted food waste.
With all of the easy ways to turn your food waste into a usable gardening product, why not give composting or vermicultures a try!
Composting 101
With the recent roll-out of Saskatoon’s Green Cart program, we’ve seen an increased interest in composting. There are many great reasons to compost; whether you want to create a source of nutrients for your garden, or you’re just looking to reduce your food waste, we’ve got lots of resources for starting your composting adventure!
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