Barbara gave some information about how initiating compost efforts and zero waste plans will move Warren County towards being a happier, healthier community. 

 

She spoke on the efforts of the Warren County Waste Initiative to transition more and more members of our community into composting, recycling, and living a more "Zero Waste" focused lifestyle. The definition of a "Zero Waste" is "the conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health..." according to the Zero Waste Initiative Final Iteration (I will link it below!). This effort will allow the residents of Warren County to have access to resources that can help them learn how to properly compost, recycle and live a "Zero Waste" lifestyle!

 

This is very exciting for me, as Mike and I already compost and recycle! Composting is a super easy process that you can do right in your own backyard! I recommend picking a spot that is a little farther away from your house (so that it doesn't smell and so that the critters stay away from your home). You can compost all veggie and fruit scraps as well as egg shells (usually nothing that has dairy, meat, or any sort of sauce or dressing on it can be composted, egg shells are the exception)! We have a bin that is about the size of a small lunch box on our countertop that we throw all scraps in after cooking and that gets emptied 2-3 times a week. I will link a really great beginner video on composting below from Better Homes and Gardens showing what you need (which isn't much!) and how to do it! You can put more than just veggie scraps in your compost pile as well! There are layering techniques that you can use to create a more rich soil by including dead flowers from your planters on your front porch (I have many of those), fallen leaves, and clippings from your hedges! I can tell you composting works because we just started composting in May and we ended up throwing the rotten and munched on tomatoes into the compost and I found full tomato plants producing fruit growing in my compost pile long after the ones in my garden died! The soil is excellent for growing, especially if you are like us and want to have a large, bountiful garden with many different veggies and not have to pay for topsoil! :) 

 

Now, I ask you all, how can we help spread the word about the Zero Waste Initiative? What can we do to accelerate the Zero Waste Initiative in our community? Do you compost? Do you recycle? I want to hear about it! Share your tips on composting with me!

Thanks for reading, and I can't wait to see everyone on the Zoom call this Thursday!