Successful composting is about keeping the microorganisms that drive it happy and well cared for — especially in the heat.

That’s a problem because in that environment, organic waste is deprived of oxygen, which helps break material down. New ...

Plastic compost bins are common, but this easy-to-build brick version provides better aeration - not to mention being ...

Two notes: I wouldn’t dump in 500 pounds of pasta, and NO ONE should try to backyard-compost their Thanksgiving turkey carcass. I live neither in bear country nor a city that needs a Rat Czar.

Egg whites or yolks. Fats. Cheeses. Meats. Oils and liquids. Plastic. How to compost When you’re ready to start backyard composting, the EPA recommends layering your compostable items “like ...

RELATED: If you opt for a backyard compost bin, you can toss in most food scraps, including eggshells, coffee grounds and yard trimmings. Just avoid bones, meat, fish and dairy products.

Backyard composting There are backyard composters like retired engineer Jim Hazlin of Gales Ferry, who has built his own composting container that is 4 feet by 4 feet and 5 feet deep.

“Compost is a really good way to build soil and you get to do it in your own backyard,” said Hellwinckel. “We are left with a lot of clay here, and that really necessitates good farmers.

I wouldn’t dump in 500 pounds of pasta, and NO ONE should try to backyard-compost their Thanksgiving turkey carcass. “When my freezer went bad, I chunked it in the garbage can,” Wadley said.