I used to roll my eyes at people who composted. Now I'm the guy with three bins in the backyard.

For years I thought composting was just a hobby for people with too much time and a need to feel superior about their banana peels. But last spring my wife signed us up for a city program in Portland that gave us a free countertop bin and pickup service. I figured I'd humor her. Six months in and I've watched our trash go from two full bags a week to maybe one half bag. The kicker was when I actually opened the finished compost they dropped off and saw how dark and rich it was. I put it on my tomatoes and they grew like crazy. Now I'm building a third bin for leaves and grass clippings. Has anyone else been surprised by how much less trash you produce once you start?

3 comments

3 Comments

alexbennett29d ago

Read somewhere that food waste is like 30% of what goes into landfills. Never really thought about it until I saw how little we toss now.

lilya7629d ago

Oh man, I feel this SO hard. I was literally the same way, rolling my eyes at my neighbor with his fancy compost tumbler. Then we got a countertop bin last fall and I swear it's like a game now - I get a weird little thrill seeing how little trash we actually produce. The dirt is genuinely beautiful too, like black gold for my sad little garden. My kids even fight over who gets to dump the kitchen scraps now, it's wild.

hannah40029d ago

Wait, your kids actually FIGHT over dumping scraps? Mine act like I'm asking them to clean a toilet. How'd you get them on board with it?