Yard waste can be recycled back to the soil. A significant volume of our trash (18% yard waste and 8% food scraps) can be kept out of the waste stream through composting. Compost is a dark, crumbly and earthy smelling form of decomposing organic matter. The decomposition and recycling of organic wastes is an essential part of soil building and healthy plant growth in forests, meadows and in your own home garden.
Composting is the most practical and convenient way to handle your yard wastes. Compost improves the soil and plants growing in it. Use it to enrich flower and vegetable gardens, improve the soil around trees and shrubs, and enrich soils in houseplants and planter boxes. Chipped woody waste makes excellent mulch or path material. By composting, you return organic matter to the soil in a usable form. Organic matter in the soil helps to break up heavy clay soils, adds water and nutrient-holding capacity to sandy soils, and adds essential nutrients to any soil. Improving the soil is the first step toward improving the health of your plants.
Anything that once was alive can be composted. Yard wastes such as fallen leaves, grass clippings, weeds, and spent flower and vegetable plants make excellent compost. Kitchen scraps from raw vegetables also make great compost. Do not compost meat scraps of any sort, diseased or insect-ridden plants, weeds with seeds, dog and cat feces, or unchopped woody waste. Meat, bones and fatty foods (cheese, salad dressing, etc.) should be placed in the trash.