Creative Composting
Coffee grounds, eggshells, vegetable scraps, grass clippings, leaves and manure are like jet fuel to a compost pile. You can even add “nontraditional” ingredients like dryer lint and pet hair. If your household doesn’t produce the volume of waste you need, be resourceful and collect ingredients. Ask neighbors to save their bagged yard waste for you. Stable owners may let you have manure, especially if you offer to shovel it yourself. Request bags of coffee grounds at a coffee house or restaurant—remember to be polite, and don’t show up at rush hour. Tree-removal companies will often give you free wood chips for composting and mulching, especially if they’re already working nearby. Be sure you have enough space, as they’ll probably have to dump an entire truckload.