Compared my backyard compost pile to the municipal green bin service my neighbor uses

My pile took 8 months to break down kitchen scraps while their bins got hauled away every week and came back as fresh soil in 3 months through the city program, so now I'm wondering if I should just pay the $35 a year fee and save the hassle - has anyone else made the switch and regretted losing that DIY satisfaction?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliverbailey11d ago

Question: is that dumpster smell and dead tomato story actually from something they did wrong, or is that just a rumor? I've known quite a few people using city compost programs and most of them say it's fine, but your mileage may vary on quality depending on your local facility's screening process. The pesticide concern is real, but industrial systems usually get hot enough to break most of that down, plus they're required to test for contaminants more than a backyard pile does.

susan42411d ago

Why would you want to give up that sense of personal accomplishment for a service that probably cuts your pile with industrial machinery? Last time I checked, city compost is a black box - you have zero control over what goes in there from other people's garbage, and I've seen plenty of complaints about pesticide residues and random junk like plastic bits sneaking through. My neighbor did the green bin thing for a year and ended up with soil that smelled like a dumpster and killed half her tomato plants, while my DIY pile, janky as it is, at least gives me something I know is clean. That $35 fee feels cheap until you realize you're basically paying someone else to zoom by and take away your chance to actually learn about decomposition and soil health firsthand.