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RECYCLE Your Organics

Help recycle nutrients and lower emissions by turning organic waste into valuable compost!

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Island County trucks an estimated 76 tons of organic waste per day to a landfill 400 miles away, where it decomposes releasing the potent GHG methane. We can do better!​​

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​Partner Organizations

Whidbey Compost Collective

WSU Extension

S. Whidbey Tilth

rePurpose

how to recycle Food Waste

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Raw Vegetable and Fruit Scraps

These are easiest to compost and compost easily, any method will work:

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Cooked Foods, Meat, Bones, Dairy

These are a bit more difficult to compost and attract animals.

how to recycle Yard and Garden Waste

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Grass Clippings

Grass is loaded with nitrogen and will make a pile hot quickly (add "browns" to slow down). 

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Leaves

Leaves are mostly carbon and, so, breakdown slowly but are great for mulch and eventually add back to soil. 

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Weeds and Plants

This also includes things like post-harvest crop stalks. (For invasives, see next section.) Could use these directly as mulch, "pull and leave in place", but generally more useful (more nutrient recovery) to compost. Be careful that they have not gone to seed unless hot composting.

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Invasive Plants

Invasive plants are those plants that are not native to the region's ecosystems and can spread rapidly. Invasive organisms are responsible in a large part for the loss of biodiversity around the globe. Get to know Island County's list of noxious weeds and dispose of them as directed (do not worry about nutrient recovery). â€‹

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Branches

Branches decompose very slowly and, so, are not desirable in a compost bin, but they can be buried for long-term composting and moisture retention (see Hügelkultur).

Recycling Methods

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Whidbey Compost Collective

This partner organization is ideal for those who do not have the space or want compost and worm bins. They pick up your food scraps, then compost them via Bokashi and worm bins. (Contact for more info.)

Whidbey Compost Collective
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Compost Bins

The process of composting organic material is what occurs naturally to build all soil: insects, micro-organisms, aerobic bacteria, and fungi slowly decompose the bits, leaving new soil. The ingredients are nitrogen and carbon in the organics, air, moisture and time (plus the organisms to get things started). As the decomposition takes place the pile will heat up then cool off over a number of days.

 

Advanced composting: Hotter piles kill off seeds and pathogens but require more attention to the organics mix and adequate aeration.

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Lots of information online, a sample:

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There are many types of compost bins, lots of DIY instructions and products, like those shown in the image. Note that only fully enclosed (or caged) ones will keep out animals when composting cooked foods and meat.

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Classes:

  • South Whidbey Tilth: provides clases, check here

  • WSU: Master Composter​

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Tips:

  • Easy: just put your organics in a pile, ignore them, they will compost

  • Compost "in place": build a compost pile or row over an area you want to turn into a garden bed and cover with mulch. No need to build a pile elsewhere and haul.

  • Blood meal: Sprinkle on some of this to add missing nitrogen and heat up your pile.

  • Bigger pile: Compost with a neighbor!

Compost Bins
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Bury

Digging a hole, dropping in your food waste, and covering with soil is an easy way to do composting (if you don't mind the digging part). Bury in a trench next to a bed to supply nutrients to the plant roots in the bed. It's particularly useful for meats and dairy if you are avoiding those in your compost bin, but be sure to protect these types from digging animals. ​

Bury
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Bokashi Bins

Bokashi is a fermentation process that will break down food scraps into more easily compostable material. It uses a special anaerobic bacteria, and the process is distinct from decomposition, which works under aerobic conditions. Bins can be used inside the home.

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Bokashi Bins
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Worm Bins

Worms will happily eat food scraps and produce frass, a nutrient-dense, all-natural fertilizer. There are many types of bins, small closed containers fit for your garage, large in-ground wood boxes and everything in between. 

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references

Worm Bins
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Leave on Lawn

This not only saves work but leaving grass clippings and leaves on your lawn provides it with nutrients and moisture. 

Leave on Lawn
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Use as Mulch

Mulch is using plant biomass on top of beds to retain heat and moisture and (eventually) decompose to add nutrients to the soil. Mulch can protect plants and soil against frost. Leaves, and particularly chopped leaves (e.g. using a lawn mower), make an excellent mulch.

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Use as Mulch
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Leaf Mold

Leaves can be collected and allowed to decompose over time to create what is called "leaf mold". Since leaves are mostly carbon, they take longer to decompose than food waste. While not high in nutrient content, it makes an excellent humic soil conditioner because of its structure and moisture retention, and provides a good growing medium for seedling roots. (Warning: leaves collected from roads and pavements may be contaminated by pollutants.)

Leaf Mold
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Hügelkultur

Branches and logs can be buried and covered with other organics and soil to create mounded beds that retain moisture and slowly decompose supplying nutrients over time.

Hügelkultur
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Public Yard Waste Facilities

These all accept yard waste for a fee:

Public Yard Waste Facilities
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