As many Americans consider the advantages of going green to protect the environment, composting has become an ever-growing sustainability trend. Some restaurants and school cafeterias are diverting food wastes to compost bins instead of trash cans. Many families are creating bonding time by building compost castles and regularly recycling organic matter in their backyards or gardens. A staple of ancient agricultural communities which found uses for all manner of cast-off materials, composting has been around for more than 2,000 years, according to some Roman and Greek history. Some speculate the practice is as much as 8,000 years old.

• History of Composting
• Composting is More Than 2000 Years Old
• Overview of Composting

Composting enclosures like castles or bins filled with earthworms are often used to compost leftover food and scraps. Besides food, other items that can be composted include old plants, leaves, tree limbs, and lawn trimmings. Some people compost coffee filters and paper scraps. Caution, however, should be used when it comes to vegetables, fruits, or plants with disease and mold. These things should not be composted because they can spread harmful bacteria into the soil and infect other living matter. Meat and feces are also often on the “do not compost” list.

The green advantages of garden composting are many. Environmentalists encourage composting in the backyard because it’s a cheap way to enrich the planet, providing nutritive soil for growing fruit, vegetables, trees, and flowers. The use of compost for gardening results in moist, fertile soil that requires less watering and can therefore save gallons of water and money on water bills. The need for detrimental, chemical fertilizers can also be avoided. An added benefit is that by turning organic waste into usable material, less garbage is being dumped in landfills.

• Using Worm Bins to Compost Food Scraps
• Constructing Your Own Compost Bin
• Why & How Worms Work
• Buying Composting Worms Online
• Four Composting Methods
• Composting Tips
• Easy Step-by-Step Instructions
• Suitable & Unsuitable Items for Composting
• Benefits of Composting
• Advantages of Recycling Yard Waste Through Composting
• Reasons for Composting
• Approaches to Composting
• Online Composting Resource Center
• Composting Slideshow for Children
• Complete Guide to Composting at Home

Once compost is created, it can be used to fertilize lawns and gardens. Compost, when combined with layers of mulch, can also mitigate weeds in outdoor areas.

• How to Use Compost
• What to Do With Finished Compost
• Government Resource Guide for Composting