We Saultites have strong reasons to keep composting all winter long, including: 1) our landfill is nearly full and will be expensive to replace, 2) in landfills, organic matter such as food and veggies gives off methane as it decomposes (methane is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide is), and 3) putting produce scraps in the trash is a waste given they can be turned into compost.
If every household in the Sault composted all their produce scraps and other organic material, we could reduce the pressure on our landfill by as much as 30%!
So how does winter composting work? Well, just dig a hole in a corner of your yard and cover it with a composter (a large trash can with the bottom cut out will do). The hole is helpful because in winter compostable material generally freezes in place rather than compressing. You don’t want your composter to fill up before spring! All winter long, keep the composter accessible by brushing off the snow, and dump organic matter in as you accumulate it.
If you are able, fashion a clear top (thick glass or clear plastic) for the compost bin to help increase compost internal temperature on sunny days.
If you don’t have a spot for a composter that you can get to through the winter, consider acquiring an inexpensive pair of snowshoes and viewing the trek to the composter as a way to burn a few calories. After you pack down a path to the composter, you may even be able to access it without snowshoes.
You can also store compostable material in a five-gallon pail outside your back door and visit the composter once every few weeks (or whenever it fills up).
Consider keeping a bag of leaves next to your composter so you can balance the wet green stuff with some dry brown stuff, but in the end, it’s ok if you don’t mix in brown stuff until spring.
Winter composting is really no different than composting in the summer. The decomposition process is slower, but the end result is the same…a beautiful, rich soil amendment for your garden, less waste going INto our landfill, and less methane coming OUT of our landfill.
What if you truly hate the idea of managing an outdoor compost in winter or don’t have a yard? Well, there’s always indoor composting with worms. Clean North sells worm composter kits for $75. Email us at info@cleannorth.org for more information.
Some surprising things you can add to your composter…
- Used tissues and paper towels (avoid ones soaked in chemicals such cleaning fluids)
- Wood ash (in thin layers)
- Pine cones and needles
- Shredded newspaper and office paper and cardboard (avoid glossy paper and coloured paper/inks)
- Hair and fur
- Crushed eggshells
- Tea leaves (avoid bags as many are plastic) and coffee grinds
Some items to avoid placing in your compost…
- Meat and bones, dairy products, fatty foods like cheese and oils
- Metal and plastic
- Barbecue ashes/coals
- Pet waste and kitty litter
Want to learn more about composting? Check out our residential composting guides.
