Green 101: Composting Pick-up Service

I first heard about Bootstraps Compost over the summer and thought, hey that sounds really cool. Then went about my busy way and promptly forgot all about them until a couple of weeks ago.

I'm in my kitchen peeling apples, potatoes, carrots, you-name-it for Thanksgiving and felt pretty guilty for flushing all of this down the in-sink disposal:

Composting Dilemma

My Mom always has a giant organic garden going and has always turned kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich soil. Unfortunately for me I have the world's tiniest backyard (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration), and no room for a smelly pile of vegetable peels. What would the neighbors think?

Why Compost?

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the benefits of composting include:

• Soil enrichment: Supressing plant diseases and pests as well as reducing or eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers.
• Promotes higher crop yields.
• Prevents pollution: Imagine all of the food scraps that will be diverted from landfills.
• Cleans up contaminated soils from harmful chemicals such as heating fuels, explosives, heavy metals, pesticides and more.

Compost Pick-up Service Offers Viable Solution

For those of us with tiny yards or who lack an interest in maintaining a compost pile a compost collection service might be just the thing. I registered online with Bootstraps Compost and they'll bring an empty five-gallon bucket to my doorsteps Friday. In two weeks they will return and swap out the bucket.

I checked both and Ace Hardware here in town for a small compost pail that I can hide under the sink. I ended up making a trip over to Bed Bath & Beyond and picked up an Oggi Stainless Steel pail and a couple of extra filters. When not in use it sits under the kitchen sink, and when I'm peeling those potatoes, oranges or apples I dump the peels right in it.

Have you ever composted? Share your tips with us in the comments section below.