The Financial Benefits of Composting
Why do you compost? For many people, composting is all about
reducing waste. Compost diverts organic material away from the landfills
and into our yard where it can be used to fertilize our flower and
vegetable beds. From a practical standpoint, compost also saves us
money. Here are four ways that composting saves me hundreds of dollars a
year.
Lower trash pickup costs
Yard waste can
fill up a trash can in a hurry and if your city is like mine, the more
garbage we put out, the higher the cost of collection. Composting our
yard waste and vegetable scraps means saving money on trash pickup.
Free soil amenity for vegetable garden
Commercially prepared compost runs between $75-100 for a cubic yard,
even more if you buy it in bags. The compost bins in my yard produce
nearly 3 cubic yards of composted material a year which I use to improve
the soil in the vegetable beds. Improving the beds with homemade
compost means you can get by with less water and less fertilizer than
beds without compost.
No need for a garbage disposal
I don't have a garbage disposal and never felt the need to own one
because all my vegetable scraps go straight to the compost bins instead
of down the drain. Garbage disposals are expensive, use electricity, and
take a lot of care to keep them functioning properly. Composting
diverts your kitchen scraps away from the drain and back into your yard
where it will benefit your plants.
Free mulch
If
you have chickens and rabbits like we do, the animal waste and soiled
bedding can pile up in a hurry. I use my composter to convert their
waste products into nutrition rich mulch which I scatter around my rose
bushes and privacy hedge. Mulch made from chicken manure and bedding
acts as a slow release fertilizer while also keeping down the weeds and
preserving ground moisture.
Dont know where to start ? Here is an detailed about starting a compost pile
