Five Things YOU can do to Compost!

1. Start a backyard compost pile! Backyard piles have layers of dried leaves and leftover food. They kind of look like backyard lasagna! Once you've made compost, you can use it to fertilize your garden. Just think, your leftover food can help make plants healthy and might even end up back on your plate as a completely different vegetable! Ask your parents if they'd like to start a backyard compost pile.
   • This fact sheet explains how to start a backyard compost pile
   • Learn more about composting:
     www.ollierecycles.com/uk/html/compost.html
     www.ciwmb.ca.gov/organics/homecompost/default.htm
2. Get a backyard composting bin! Instead of having a compost pile, some people use a compost bin in their backyards that is specially built for composting. When leftover food and leaves are put into this compost bin, air, moisture and decomposers break organic matter down into compost. Compost bins can be purchased at some local hardware stores.
   
   
3. Use the green cart at home! The City of San Francisco has given green compost carts to every home in the city. Anything that once came from something living, like a plant, can go into the green cart. The green cart is picked up by the garbage company and the leftover food is turned into compost. So after your next pizza party, send your leftovers to the compost instead of the landfill!
   
   
4. Compost at school! More than 100 schools in San Francisco are composting their leftover school lunches using the green cart system. Get your school to sign up for our Food to Flowers! program and our magical mascot, Phoebe the Phoenix, will come to your school to help teach about the power of composting.
   
   
5. Build a worm bin at home or in your classroom! Learn about decomposers firsthand and watch worms transform food scraps into rich compost. Building a worm bin is easy! Talk to your parents or teacher about how to build a worm bin.
   • Let Herman the Worm teach you about how to build a worm bin
   • Here's a lesson you can share with your teacher!