Recycling and repurposing have become the watch words for many in our community today. These environmentally-friendly practices have been adopted by increasing numbers of people who are looking for ways to reduce the carbon footprint, lessen the impact on over-burdened landfills, and tend their gardens without chemicals and  pesticides.

One of the most important and popular repurposing projects today is composting. Whether one chooses to create an individual compost project in the back yard or to participate in the Princeton Curbside Organic Program, the opportunities for composting are on the rise.

Started in the Princeton Township Public Works Department (PWD) in June 2011 as a 3-month pilot program for curbside organic waste collection, the Princeton Curbside Organic Program is here to stay. 900 households have already joined in, and the numbers rise daily, notes Janet Pellichero, CPR, recycling coordinator, Department of Public Works, who oversees the program. In 2013, participants kept nearly 325 tons of organic waste from reaching the Pennsylvania landfill used by Princeton. In addition, the program has won an award for innovation from Sustainable Jersey.

“There are many benefits to composting,” notes Ms. Pellichero. “Composting diverts materials away from landfills, which are an expensive and unsustainable method for our waste disposal. Buried waste in a landfill creates methane gas, which is a potent greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to global warming. Waste in a landfill can sit there creating the gas for hundreds of years.

Nutrient-Rich

“Huge amounts of organic waste and a special GoreTex cover are incorporated so the compost piles get very hot,” continues Ms. Pellichero. “This means that compost can be made using items that can’t be easily composted in a back yard, such as meat and bones, fish skins, pizza boxes, waxed paper, pits, and yard waste, including sticks and branches. Organics become compost in just 80 days after you put them out for weekly collection. The organic waste is turned into a nutrient-rich and beneficial soil amendment. Our compost is a beautiful material, fine, dark, and full of wonderful nutrients.”

Paticipants in the program receive a 32-gallon wheeled cart with attached lid, a kitchen container, and free compost every spring. The collection fee is $65 per year, and residents can join anytime throughout the year.

This program is separate from the Mercer County recycling program for glass, paper, cardboard, and aluminum, adds Ms. Pellichero, and people would continue to take part in that program.

“Our organic program is a wonderful complement to the County program,” says Ms. Pellichero. “Organic material makes up approximately 20 percent of our solid waste. Removing it from the solid waste and turning it into compost helps increase recycling rates here in Princeton and in Mercer County.

Eye-Opening

“Our program is very eye-opening,” she adds. “I have spoken to many individuals, organizations, commercial institutions, and municipalities in New Jersey and surrounding states. Even the EPA has contacted us about our program. All are interested in doing similar programs, and realize this truly is the ‘low hanging fruit’ that can easily be captured and diverted from landfills. Over time, municipal solid waste disposal costs will decrease, recyling rates could increase, and valuable landfill space will be created. It really is a win-win program! It benefits our soil and air, our own back yards, and the environment as a whole.”

In addition, Ms. Pellichero encourages residents to continue their own back yard compost projects as well. “Composting is a natural process that turns organic material into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Gardens with healthy levels of compost need less water and fertilizer to give just as much growth as a garden without compost. Our Public Works Department has distributed Earth Machines to our residents over the years. We encourage any method our residents utilize to compost.”

Many homeowners enjoy composting in their back yard. Leaves, fruit and vegetable cuttings, coffee grounds, and tea bags can all be used to create back yard compost. If leaves are used, it is best to shred them, since they break down more easily than whole leaves. Also, mix them with manure (four parts leaves to one part manure). Manure contains nitrogen, which helps the compost to break up and decompose.

Sustainable Princeton is a big supporter of composting, both individually and of the Princeton Curbside Organic Program. “In 2012, Sustainable Princeton applied for and was awarded a $20,000 grant from Sustainable New Jersey to support Janet Pellichero and the PWD in increasing the number of sign-ups for the Curbside Organics Program,” notes Diane Landis, Sustainable Princeton Executive Director.

“Build a Bin”

“Sustainable Princeton also has a back yard compost program called ‘Build a Bin’. There is a design for a back yard compost bin on our website that can be made out of palettes for very little money. One of our board members is a LEED Accredited Architect, and she created the design which has been used to build bins all over town. First by Sustainable Princeton volunteers and staff, and then by Anthony Teng, a high school senior who built bins at the public schools, Princeton University, and homes for his Eagle Scout project. He was awarded his Eagle Scout badge last fall, and received the Sustainable Princeton Leadership Award this February.”

An enthusiastic advocate of composting herself, Ms. Landis has her own back yard composting project. “I would not used cooked foods or meats in a back yard compost bin for fear of rodents. So, if you keep it to veggie and fruit cuttings, coffee grounds, tea bags, and mix it with leaves, the pile will heat right up and turn into black gold! You do want a mixture of brown (carbon-rich) and green (nitrogen-rich). The list of what to put in can be found on our ‘Build a Bin’ website.

“Also,” continues Ms. Landis, “you want to turn the pile of materials two to three times in the spring and fall. Keep it moist but not wet, or it will get slimy. In my case, I have a rolling compost bin. It looks like a side-ways barrel with an opening that locks shut for food scraps, and has aerated openings to help the food compost. I can easily spin it, and it creates lovely compost, but it’s not enough for my whole garden, which is why I love the curbside organic compost we get by being in the program. I love the dark rich soil that comes from the program, and I grow my kale, spinach, tomatoes, lettuce, and peas and flowers in it.”

She echoes Ms. Pellichero’s point that the landfills will soon reach the cut-off point, adding, “Our ground water also gets contaminated, and why not create something usable from what we consider waste? As former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, ‘Organic waste composting is the final frontier of recycling.’”

For further information on Princeton’s Curbside Organic Program, call (609) 688-2566 or consult the website: www.princetonnj.gov/organic/CurbsideOrganics.html.

Information regarding Sustainable Princeton’s “Build a Bin” program is available at www.sustainableprinceton.org.

In addition, Smith’s Ace Hardware in the Princeton Shopping Center offers a variety of composting devices and containers in assorted sizes for do-it-yourselfers. The store also sells bags for the Princeton Curbside Organic Program and compost from that program.

—Jean Stratton