compostinginstructor

Composting Info: Paper Towels – Are they Compostable?

In this Video, Lars answers a question from Lynn, one of our readers, concerning paper towels and compost piles. Lynn asked us the following:

It would be very nice if you can add information about paper towels that are compostable. You mentioned that brown material is good for adding to your composting, would the commercial brown paper towels used in washrooms can be considered as brown material as well? I was told by an Environmental company that the paper towels are also used to be spread on landfill to prevent the smell.

Thanks for your question, Lynn! To clarify, when we say “brown material” we aren’t necessarily talking about the color, we are talking about carbon-rich material. To answer the question though…yes, you can definitely recycle and compost paper towels – be it white ones, or even recycled, brown paper towels that you sometimes see in an office washroom.

You don’t want to compost any paper towels that you’ve gotten wet with chemicals, because this can harm your compost. But if it’s just a normal paper towel that you’ve gotten wet at some point, you can totally use it with your compost, that’s no problem at all!

Thanks again for reading, and thanks for your question! Hope this is a big help!

Compost Advice: Trench Composting – An Explanation.

In the above video, Lars answers a question asked by another one of our readers, Heather. She asked us the following:

My husband’s grandmother had a beautiful vegetable garden. She just put leaves, newspaper, and vegetable scraps down the rows of her garden. She raked/tilled in under every few weeks. Is this a good idea?

Thanks for the question, Heather! Your husband’s grandmother is very wise – this is a legitimate method of composting – it’s known as trench composting, which is where you can dig a hole and place your organic materials in there. Cover it up, and it will break your materials down over time, and improve the quality of the soil. Famers have used this method of composting for hundreds, if not thousands of years…it’s a perfectly good way to compost.

So yes, it can be a great idea and has proven to work for years upon years. Thanks for your question and hope this helps!

Composting Info: Is Compost Combustable? Answers.

Often, we get composting related questions. In this video, Lars answers a question from a reader in Austin, TX who asked:

I purchased a rectangular, black, plastic, compost bin but there were no instructions regarding how often I need to “turn” the compost. I live in Austin, TX, so I’m concerned about the combustibility of the contents during the hot summer months. Any tips?
Thanks!

What a great question!

First things first, how often you turn the compost is really up to you. If you want to be an active composter, you might want to turn your compost about every 3 days or whenever you take stuff out to the bin. You can mix your compost tool up with a pitchfork or even a specialized compost turning tool. There’s no right or wrong answer, because everything will break down over time.

As far as combustibility is concerned, there shouldn’t be a problem. As far as compost spontaneously combusting is concerned, that’s usually in regards to more of a municipal scale – for example to where you may have 5 yards by 5 yards of material piled really high. You probably won’t get temperatures over 120 or 130 degrees in the middle of your compost bin. In fact, in Austin, you may have more of a worry of your compost drying out. If this happens, you can always take the lid off when it rains, or you can add some water in there. Remember, you want your compost to have the texture, dampness, and feel of a rung-out sponge.

Hope this answers your question, thanks for reading!