Until lately, I haven’t thought much about composting. It always seemed like a messy business and I wasn’t sure exactly how you goes about making compost.  But according to the EPA, yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 26 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream.  That is a lot of useful material going to landfills. So I decided it was time to get educated.

There are a lot of important benefits to composting:

• Compost enriches soils
• Compost helps prevent pollution
• Using compost reduces the need for water, fertilizers and pesticides

So what can go into a compost bin?  Just about anything organic, including food scraps, wood waste, shredded junk mail, egg shells (even egg cartons), vegetable peelings, all kinds of yard waste and lots more.   The folks over at Garden Organic have some great tips on how make really rich compost out of everyday stuff that would otherwise get thrown out and wind up at the dump.

You can find plenty of composting tools for sale to help you get started.  But you can also do what this video suggests and create a compost bin out of a trash can or plastic kitchen garbage pail.

Gardening Flowers & Vegetables : Making a Compost Bin From a Trash Can

The key is to get started!  So start converting your organic waste into a rich mulch that your plants will love.  Here is a short slide show with projects that will help educate your kids (and you!) about composting.