Mulch ado about nothing

Mankato resident Barb Lamson and her husband use rain barrels to fill their pond and water all of their plants throughout their entire yard.

By Grace Brandt | Photos by Marianne Carlson

As people strive to live more eco-friendly lives, almost everyone knows about the need to “reduce, reuse and recycle.” But there’s another important part to that process that many people don’t understand nearly as well: composting. Much like recycling, composting takes waste and creates something new and useful. It’s also surprisingly easy to do, with different levels of participation available for different household needs.

26 • • MAY 2020 • The Free Prese A three-city-wide effort

Food waste accounts for almost 22 percent of all waste that goes into municipal landfills, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—more than any other single material in everyday trash. While you might think that food waste isn’t as harmful as the non-biodegradable waste that fills up area landfills, in reality, this waste still creates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Because of this, many cities encourage residents to participate in composting, also known as organics recycling.

Residents of Mankato and North Mankato have the opportunity to participate in city-run composting thanks to a partnership between the two cities and Mankato Area Zero Waste, a grassroots nonprofit organization focused on reducing waste in all forms.

“We’re working towards reducing waste in any form, but we first got engaged when we saw that food was one of the biggest contributors to landfills,” explained Betty Winkworth, co-chair of the group. “[Composting] was an area that had been developed more in Europe and other areas of US, [while] recycling had just leveled off at that point. This was an area that was ripe for working on.”

Winkworth said that Mankato Area Zero Waste started with a pilot program in 2016, starting with 25 families who paid $25 each to have their food scraps composted. The collection times

happened on Saturdays, with volunteers waiting at designated stations for the families to bring their compost.

After that first year, the organization entered into a partnership with the city of Mankato, which took over running the compost program. (A state grant also helped facilitate the partnership.) The city works with West Central Sanitation, with the cities of North Mankato and Lake Crystal also involved. Meanwhile, Mankato Area Zero Waste and its volunteers now focus on educational and community outreach efforts.

The composting program is free and open to anyone, not just residents of the three main cities. Anyone can come use the designated dumpsters, which can be found in several locations within the three cities. The only requirement is to sign up beforehand (which can be done on the City of Mankato’s website), so that Mankato Area Zero Waste can track how many people are using the program. Right now, about 1,130 families in the three-city area participate, with about 830 households coming from Mankato.

“It has grown a lot, and it’s continuing to grow,” Winkworth said. “I think in general, people get hooked on it. It’s very satisfying to think, ‘There is a simple thing that I can do that makes a difference,’ and it is. It’s making a difference, bit by bit. There are lots of different things we can do to be more ecologically friendly, but this is one of them.”

For people interested in participating in the city composting program, Winkworth suggested starting simply. Households can designate something such as a five-gallon ice cream tub for organic compost, which includes food scraps, food-soiled paper goods, coffee grounds and houseplant trimmings. (For more information on what is accepted, go to Mankato Area Zero Waste’s website.) Winkworth said she empties her smaller container throughout the week into a larger one lined with a compostable bag, and she ends up taking that container to the nearby dumpster about once a week.

“It’s a very simple way to start,” she said, adding that including paper goods can help keep the mixture from becoming “too juicy” or smelly—and will also prevent bugs. “You can do a great deal of good and get the whole idea by doing your food scraps and paper products. If people run into a snag, they can go to our website or give one of us a call. We want people to not be discouraged if something isn’t going right.”

Backyard composting

For people who want to become even more involved with composting, it is possible to create your own compost bin in your backyard. (It is important to remember that you can’t compost all of the same things in your own bin that the City can collect for its composting, mostly because of how hot West Central Sanitation is able to heat its organic waste during its composting process.) These bins only require a little care during the composting process and can create nutrient-rich soil for personal gardens.

Mankato resident Barb Lamson has been creating compost in her backyard for at least 25 years. The avid gardener said she set up her first compost bin because her property’s soil was full of clay and difficult to garden. She knew compost would help with her problem, so she built a bin (and eventually a second one) out of fence boards. The inside of the three-walled container is lined with mesh to hold in her scraps, and she also has flexible tubing that she sticks into the compost pile to provide more oxygen for the composting process.

Compost bins can be created out of all sorts of materials, according to Lamson. While she used fencing, people have also

Barb Lamson shows off her elaborate rain barrels. She and her husband do not use any city water in their garden.

made bins out of pallets, wood blocks or other building materials. The key is to keep the front (and top) of the container open for easy accessibility.

“Think of it as a pen,” Lamson said. “You have [the compost] penned up like you would an animal.”

She added that location is very important when it comes to setting up a compost bin, since compost needs the heat of the sun to break down materials but also can’t be too hot or it will dry out. Because of this, she recommended building a compost bin in a spot that is sometimes in the shade.

The composting process is fairly simple. Lamson said the mixture requires a “green” layer (grass clippings, food scraps and other organic matter) and “brown” layer (materials full of carbon, such as shredded paper, leaves and shredded twigs). Each alternating layer should be about a foot deep. In between the layers, people should also sprinkle the mix with water—not so much to be soggy, but enough to be “a little wet.” People can also add activators such as Super Hot (an organic activator made of nitrogen and microorganisms), but it’s not necessary, and Lamson doesn’t. She does usually add a little soil on the top of the compost mix to discourage wild animals.

“I don’t want animals to think, ‘Well,

Participating in the City of Mankato’s composting program

The City of Mankato accepts several different kinds of organic waste in its composting dumpsters, including: • Fruit and vegetable scraps • Meat, fish and bones • Bakery and dry goods • Eggs and eggshells • Dairy products • Food-soiled and non-recyclable paper • Pizza boxes, cardboard tubes, paper egg cartons • Certified compostable plasticlined plates, cups and containers • Coffee grounds and filters • Wood chopsticks, popsicle sticks and toothpicks • Houseplant trimmings • Hair and nail clippings The City does not accept: • Yard waste (grass, leaves, brush) • Plastic bags • Milk cartons/juice boxes • Animal waste, litter and bedding • Styrofoam • Non-certified compostable plastics • Plastic-lined paper products • Diapers and wipes • Recyclable items • Liquids

To learn more about composting, especially regarding the City of Mankato’s program, visit: www.mankatozerowaste.com.

golly, here’s a buffet,’” she explained.

Lamson said she leaves her compost mixture for a few weeks before “turning” it (or mixing it up). When the weather outside grows warmer (around 70-80 degrees), she starts turning her compost mix. She turns it about every two or three weeks during the summer and gives it one last turn before fall. She doesn’t have to do anything to it during the colder months.

“[Composting] is really a wonderful thing,” she said. “You have all these microorganisms that are working in the soil that you don’t see that are helping the plant to grow. It’s such a great thing, it really is.”

Lamson estimated that she gets “three-to-four wheelbarrows” full of soil from her compost bins every year—and it’s high-quality stuff.

“I’m a master gardener, and I love gardening, and I love to help other people, and I love to share my plants, but I never share my compost,” she said with a laugh. “It’s such a miracle that you put the stuff that you’re never going to use again [into the bin], and it turns into this really wonderful rich soil that helps your soil. It’s such a win-win kind of thing.”

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According to Lamson, one pitfall new composters fall into is not knowing what’s best to add to their compost piles. While many things are able to be composted, they sometimes need to be broken down further before adding them to the bin to ensure that they turn into soil in the quickest time possible.

“Before we had a mulching lawnmower, I’d put the grass down [into the bin] and rather than breaking up, it’d just mat together,” Lamson recalled. “I’d also throw in things like sunflowers and hollyhocks, but their stems are very woody. I would just cut it up into 12-inch stalks, and they’d never break down. They just were too big. If you start a compost pile and you find that you’re turning things and there are certain things that didn’t break down, it’s because they’re too big. Just reduce them in size, and then they’ll break down much faster.”

In addition, Lamson warned about letting your compost bin become wet or soggy, since then the mixture doesn’t heat enough to break down into soil. In addition, wet bins can start to smell. While occasional rain showers don’t affect the bins, it’s important not to overwater the mixture. It’s also important to make sure you don’t pack your mixture too tightly into the bin, since that will slow down the composting process.

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(Left to Right) Back Row: Matthew Michaletz, Jon Michaletz, Bob Richter, Barbara Campbell, Gail Michaletz, Scott Michaletz, Craig Hanson and Brenda Kreinbring. Front Row: Carrie Pyzick, Jan Johnson, Amanda Thompson, Stacy Witte, Holly Sens, Nicole Blackman, Not pictured: Christina Meyer