Garland speaks with BDN about successful composting habits
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Kate Garland, a horticulturist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for an article about how to build successful composting habits. Composting is the process of organic matter breaking down and becoming a type of fertilizer, according to the article. “I tend to think of my compost bin almost as a pet, because you have living organisms that are working for you to break down that material that you are putting in, so you need to have the right food and the right environmental conditions for them to thrive,” Garland said. Garland, who has seen an increase in people seeking advice for home composting, said anyone with a little bit of outdoor space and motivation to collect their food scraps can start composting on a backyard scale. “Starting just with a heap in your yard is so much better than putting that waste into the traditional waste stream,” she said. “You’re allowing [the waste] to return back to nature instead of having it go into a plastic bag in a landfill.”