Tom’s of Maine, Our Continued Gratitude
Thanks again to Tom’s of Maine for its generous support to the Kompost Kids mission of organics diversion, compost education, and sustainable business practice.
Beware: Coffee Pods Lurking!
Sorry, Keurig converts, but coffee pods are simply no fun in the compost bin, community or otherwise. Thrice in the past several weeks, I’ve pulled a load of single-serving pods out of our contribution bin at the Scooter Foundation at Buffum and Wright and brought them home to harvest the grounds and paper filter and pitch the remnant unsavories, the foil top and plastic
Spring Heat
It’s still pretty chilly in Milwaukee, but things are heating up at our compost sites. All four of our River West sites are back in action, ready for new contributions, and are looking especially good after some spring cleaning. It’s a wonderful thing to behold a once-frozen pile of material having fully thawed out and beginning to reheat as the bacteria rapidly colonize and
Bradley Tech HS – 2014 Dirt Day Winner
Kompost Kids is proud to announce Bradley Tech High School as the beneficiary of this year’s Dirt Day giveaway on May 10. We’ll be building compost bins, painting buckets, moving dirt, and working with our new partner to launch their community garden. Stop by to join in the fun, 12 – 4 p.m. Congratulations, Bradley Tech! Once again, we’ll be harnessing all the people
Spring Training for Composters
Sign up now for spring offerings in our education series. The Milwaukee County UW-Extension and Kompost Kids are pleased to offer Master Composter Volunteer Training. This program is a statewide educational program developed and coordinated through the UW-Extension Solid & Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC). The objective of the Master Composter program is to train individuals who want to become Certified Master Composters and
We’re Thawing Out
Spring is getting closer, and we’re gradually thawing out. Due to the consistent extreme cold we experienced this winter, several of our sites reached capacity and remained frozen solid for several weeks running, leaving us unable to do turnings or make room for new material. As the bins thaw out in the next few weeks, we’ll be adding to our resting piles, encouraging gardeners
2014 Dirt Day
The Kompost Kids mission includes providing donated and discounted compost/soil products to qualifying community gardens in the Milwaukee area. Contact us for more information on how we can benefit your urban agriculture project. Our 2014 compost application and Dirt Day announcement are now online. Please help us spread the word. We will collect applications through April 7, evaluate potential recipients, and announce the winning garden
Tapping the Postconsumer Bounty
Kompost Kids is poised to launch its first postconsumer compost pilot project, partnering with local businesses to divert organics from landfills and use it to create compost and soil. The central premise of the pilot is that businesses, by diverting organic waste from the solid waste stream, can reduce the frequency and volume of waste pickups. Overall waste removal costs – landfill, recycling, and
Possible Problems and Solutions
1. Not Enough Nitrogen Solution: Engage more residents and businesses as contributors. Please see Restaurant Composting for more tips on how to properly increase your nitrogen source. Coffee shops, with their huge daily supplies of spent coffee grounds, are a natural place to start. 2. Insufficient Brown Source Solution: Start stockpiling brown source material right away. Leaves, shredded nonglossy paper, wood chips, hay, straw,
How and When to Use a Resting Pile
Your resting pile can look like a heap, be enclosed in another bin, or added directly into an unused garden bed or a garden bed that you will not plant until next spring. You can tarp it or leave your resting pile open, though covering it will prevent the leaching of valuable nutrients. You can even build a simple three-sided structure for larger resting