In Preparation for Holiday Decoration, Consider the Composter

In the list of frequently asked questions fielded by most composters, "What's the weirdest thing you found in the pile?” is near the top. For food scrap collections there are your usual suspects of kitchen utensils, fruit stickers, occasionally some kids toys a toddler most likely snuck in the bin while playing pretend. One time I cleaned up six or so action figures from the compost bins and gave them to my nibblings (rest assured I informed their parents of the toys' provenance.) These items of contamination popped up so often that at the Lower East Side Ecology Center’s Compost Yard in East River Park there was a roughly 50 gallon fish tank dedicated to displaying bent spatulas, flatware, chefs knives, keys, old tech, garden tools, vegetable peelers galore, and a plethora of non-kitchen items and small tools. I once returned a set of car keys dropped in a bin to a local resident after they informed the drop off coordinator. All very amusing stories and sights for folks to while on a site tour, and great examples of what not to do. 

Some of the strangest items of contamination I’ve come across in my career have been not found in food scrap collections but rather in “browns” deliveries. Primarily these deliveries are of wood chips in large dump trucks and/or roll off containers. These chips provide essential ingredients to the compost pile in the form of carbon rich tree debris that is bulky enough to provide porosity through the entire composting process, thus preventing compaction. I love wood chips - mixing piles without them always makes me so thankful for their availability when we’ve got them. Like many things in the informal marketplace, wood chip sources aren't always there when you need them, and not all sources are created equal. 

One of my favorite types of browns come from natural materials used for holiday decorations. I love to see bits of nature brought into the home to celebrate the season and I’m proud to see them returned to the natural cycle in the end. Chipped Christmas trees smell spectacular and provide a low PH ingredient important for balancing the acidity in the finished compost (should be around a PH of 7). Lots of naturally based table decorations are gorgeous and I'm always glad to see them find their way into the compost bin days or weeks later. We can always mark the end of the “decorating with gourds” season when we see the small pumpkins come through (usually after Thanksgiving here in the USA). Poinsettias of all colors and amaryllis come through after Hanukkah and Christmas especially in January. These are some of my favorites to see as they’re beautiful and easy to process into the pile. Garland and wreaths however… as beautifully crafted and organically based as they are… come bearing unwanted gifts of metal wires invisibly wound to hold together the bit of beautiful greenery. Removing the wire from the branches making up the wreath, or worse yet the garland, is a major challenge especially for anyone composting at scale. I’ve spent more time than I want to admit trying to break these decorations down so they don't get caught in tools or machinery. On busy days I've had to landfill them. For folks composting garland and wreaths, beware of the wire and do your best to remove it before sending off the organic bits to the compost pile. You could also take care of them in what I call the “20th century way” and just (safely and according to your local regulations!) burn it.

Growing up in rural Maine I learned of these invisible wreath wires at a young age when we’d burn brush. We’d toss in dried wreaths and watch the heat of the coals quickly ignite the it into a burst of short lived flame revealing the wire skeleton holding it all together. The next day raking the cooling coals we’d pull the metal out and toss it away. Fire is a powerful thing - not unlike composting. Composting wields its immense power in a more humble, controlled way though. The heat in active compost rises to only 170F at most and as a result can retain so much usable material in the end, whereas fire leaves only ashes behind. Finished compost and ashes are both soil amendments, yes, but only one of those things is sold in stores to help you grow just about anything. As I’ve grown older I learned to compost more and burn less (both literally and figuratively,) especially around this time of year.

We’re hoping you, your loved ones, and even their loved ones find each other in comfort and light as best you can this solstice season.

 Xander Shaw