Outdoor Pile

Many people create compost piles in their backyards that look like compost cake! That's because outdoor piles have layers of different materials like kitchen scraps and yard waste. Piles are stirred with a shovel to bring air to the decomposers. As organic matter breaks down and decomposers move around, the pile can become hot. Some compost piles get so hot that steam comes out when they are stirred! Keeping the pile as moist as a wrung-out sponge helps decomposers survive and do their job well. It can take anywhere from about a month to a couple years to create finished compost, depending on what is put in the pile and how often it is stirred. Animal products like meat, cheese and eggs should not be put in outdoor piles because they can attract rodents like rats. They can however be put into the green cart.