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Composting
What is compost?
Compost consists of organic materials derived from plants and some animal material that has been decomposed largely through aerobic decomposition (with oxygen). The process of composting is simple and is practiced by individuals in their homes, farmers on their land, and by industries and cities through contracts with composting businesses.
Compost is rich in nutrients. It is used in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, and agriculture. The compost itself is beneficial for the land in many ways, including as a soil conditioner, a fertilizer to add vital humus or humic acids, and as a natural pesticide for soil. In ecosystems, compost is useful for erosion control, land and stream reclamation and wetland construction.
In an effort to provide Cuyahoga County residents with how-to-compost instructions and affordable compost bins, the Solid Waste District is proud to introduce the Compost Seminar & Bin Sale program. After you attend a 60 minute seminar about backyard composting, you will have the opportunity to purchase a bin for your home.
The District is offering two compost bins and a kitchen collection container for sale:
- Wishing Well Composter - $50.00
- Ultimate Dirt Machine Digester - $50.00
- Sure-Close Compost Pail - $5.00
Check or cash sales only. All sales are final.
To help you decide, please refer to the compost bin reference guide.
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 |
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Wishing Well Composter
135 gallons |
Ultimate Dirt Machine Digester
80 gallons |
Sure-Close Compost Pail
11" W x 8-1/2" D x 9-1/5" H
1.9-gallon capacity |
For more information about the Compost Seminar & Bin Sale program, call (216) 443-3731 or krocco@cuyahogacounty.us.
The 2013 schedule of upcoming seminars is below. Scroll down to see the entire list. Please register for the date that you're interested in attending.
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Combination Rain Barrel Workshop and Compost Seminar
Mayfield Heights
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
6306 Marsol Road
Registration required. Register here.
Printable flyer.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Westlake
7:00 p.m.
Westlake Recreation Center
28955 Hilliard Blvd.
Registration required. Register here.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
North Royalton
7 p.m.
Council Chambers in City Hall
13834 Ridge Road
Registration required. Register here.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Garfield Heights
Combination Rain Barrel Workshop and Compost Seminar
6:00 p.m.
Solid Waste District
4750 East 131 Street
Registration required. Register here.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Independence
Combination Rain Barrel Workshop and Compost Seminar
6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Independence Community Center
6363 Selig Dr.
Registration required. Register here.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
City of Bedford
7 p.m.
Council Chambers
165 Center Road
Use main entrance
Registration required. Register here.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
University Heights
6:30 p.m.
Council Chambers
2300 Warrensville Road
Registration required. Register here.
Bins are also available for purchase at the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste Management District, 4750 East 131 Street in Garfield Heights (map). Hours of operation are Monday-Friday 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Directions: Exit I-480 onto Broadway Ave. Turn right onto Broadway. Turn right onto East 131 Street. As the hill crests, turn left into parking lot. The District is in the building to your right.
Check or cash sales only. All sales are final.
Kathleen Rocco presents at the Compost Seminar & Bin Sale on August 3, 2010 at Unity Spritual Center in Westlake.
The Solid Waste District has put together the following documents to help you through the composting process:
Backyard Composting
Make your own soil-enriching compost by building and maintaining a backyard compost pile with leaves, grass and other organic materials.
Vermicomposting
Learn how you can use worms to make compost from your kitchen scraps by creating your own worm bin.
Backyard Food Digester
This fact sheet covers how and whys of installing a digester, especially for small backyards that would like to reduce food waste garbage.
Hot out of the barn! County residents can kick start their compost pile with free horse manure. It is available at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds Horse Barns. Bring your own container or pick up truck and tools and load the manure yourself.
Instructions:
1. Go to the horse barn area of the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds. The speed limit around the horse area is 5 MPH for the protection of people and animals.
2. Please check with someone at the barns first, so the horse people are aware and can guide you to which large outside manure bin you can load your containers.
If you're closer to the Cleveland Mounted Unit barn, you can ask them too. Again, you'll need to bring your own containers and tools.
Once a year, the Solid Waste District will survey interested residents of Cuyahoga County to see how they're doing with their composting efforts. Your city of residence will get a recycling credit that is reported to the Ohio EPA. If you are doing backyard composting and would like to add your name to the list of people who are surveyed, please send an e-mail to krocco@cuyahogacounty.us to be added to the list. The survey will be sent to you via e-mail early in the year. Any helpful hints on composting can also be posted to our website for educational purposes. Thank you in advance.
Note: Kerrie McLean of Euclid responded to the "Compost Survey of Residents" for 2012 and won a compost thermometer. We had a 47.5% response rate to the email, which demonstrated over 147 tons of organic waste diverted from landfills through backyard composting last year. Thank you to everyone who responded.