How to Compost in Memphis

Throw organic matter into a personal compost bin.

If you find yourself regularly throwing away organic material from your kitchen and garden, consider starting a compost regiment. The city of Memphis offers some resources in the area of composting, such as access to compost bins as well as services that remove yard waste for composting, but you can also do it on your own. Composting can occur indoors or outdoors, with a mixture of green materials, brown materials and water. Fertile soil develops from this process that can be used in the garden and in pots for planting.

Things You'll Need

• Compost bin or trash can
• Container with lid
• Pitchfork
• Trash bags

Instructions

1. Attend the Memphis Farmer's Market to learn more about composting and to purchase a compost bin. As of April 2011, the Memphis Farmer's Market runs from mid-April through October on Saturday mornings at Central Station in downtown Memphis.

2. Place your compost bin outdoors and set it up according to the manufacturer's instructions. Alternatively, a trash can with holes cut out of the bottoms works as a bin. Set it up in a convenient location outside of your Memphis home. If you do not have a bin you an make a compost pile at your Memphis home without the use of a bin. Select a dry and shady spot away from your home, as Memphis is known for hot weather and you do not want your compost to smell.

3. Collect kitchen scraps such as fruits, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags, rice, pasta and egg shells in a container with a lid. Add used paper towels, coffee filters, drier lint and hair for brown matter. Pick up plant trimmings, leaves, weeds, hedge trimmings and small twigs from your yard.

4. Add collected matter to the compost bin. Make sure that you have half green matter and half brown matter. Add water if the compost is dry, but do not overly saturate. Make sure to turn your compost every week with a pitchfork to add oxygen. If you are using a compost pile, cover the green kitchen scraps with brown matter such as leaves.

5. Place extra yard debris such as leaves and branches in trash bags or on the curb for pick up through Memphis' yard waste recycling program. Contact the office of the City of Memphis' Solid Waste Management department to find out collection dates and times. This program uses these materials for compost instead of placing them in a landfill.

References

• Memphis Farmer's Market: Recycling and Composting at the Market
• City of Memphis: Memphis Solid Waste Management
• United States Environmental Protection Agency: Create Your Own Compost Pile