Garbage and Recycling

Garbage and Recycling

Solid Waste-Resource Management

Nova Scotia is too good to waste. Through our comprehensive provincial waste management strategy, we are utilizing regulation in combination with public outreach, education, and engagement, to waste less, recycle more, and reap significant environmental, economic and social benefits. By essentially turning waste from an unpleasant byproduct of modern living into an exploitable resource, our waste management approach is positioning Nova Scotia among world leaders in environmental stewardship.

The Waste Resource Management branch includes all staff from the Solid Waste-Resource Program, the Nova Scotia Youth Conservation Corps and the Environmental Education Programs. WRM is responsible for a number of initiatives including recycling, composting, disposal, and the Nova Scotia Solid Waste Strategy.

Contact Us
Nova Scotia Environmental and Labour
Waste Resource Management
5151 Terminal Road, 5th Floor
PO Box 697
Halifax, NS B3J 2T8
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The Compost Recipe

Composting is a very basic process. You can simply toss grass clippings and leaves in a heap and let nature do the rest in its own good time... or you can help it along, by providing a balanced diet for the micro-organisms who'll do most of the work, as well as a home that meets their needs.
Just like us, these decomposer organisms have three basic requirements: air, water, and food.
Air provides oxygen and enables bacteria to carry out "aerobic" decomposition. Without oxygen, "anaerobic" decomposition of the waste may take place instead. This is something we normally want to avoid, since anaerobic bacteria produce the rotten-egg smell often associated with decay.
There are two methods of aerobic composting, depending on whether or not the pile heats up. A "cold" compost pile will decompose as surely as a "hot" one, but it'll take much longer.
Cold composting is slow but it's easy. Someone with more space for compost than physical energy and time to devote to it may opt for the "cold" approach. This could also be the method to choose if your primary concern is reducing waste, rather than making quantities of compost.
In contrast, hot composting is a fairly fast method of creating compost and makes efficient use of smaller spaces. It does take more physical effort than cold composting, but gardeners who want as much compost as possible will usually choose this method.
There are many variations of approach, as individual as the people who compost. You might pick one method to start with and adapt it, as you gain experience over time. Above all, keep your system simple, convenient, and suited to your lifestyle.

Air

Air penetrates only the first few inches of the pile, so it needs help to reach the centre. A vile smell around the compost tells you that anaerobic bacteria are moving in, and the pile may simply need to breathe. In hot composting, plenty of air is essential to develop the high temperatures that kill pathogens and speed the process of decomposition.

Turning

The most effective method of introducing air is to turn the pile with a garden fork. Lift the material from the top and sides, toss it into the more active centre of the new pile, then add the partially decomposed centre to the outside.

Stirring

If you would rather not do the work of turning a pile, try stirring it with a stick instead; this won't distribute the air as evenly, however, so the composting process will be somewhat slower.

Aerator Tools
You can buy an aerator, a rod with flaps on one end and a handle on the other, at a garden centre. You jab the tool into the compost pile, and the flaps unfold to loosen the materials as you pull it back out. The result is easier than turning and produces more air than stirring.

Air Stacks

Another approach is to build your compost pile around a perforated pipe, a bundle of long twigs, or a tube of wire mesh standing on end. This carries air to the centre between turnings. With air stacks, you can skip the turning, although the pile won't heat up as efficiently.

Elevated Compost

Most compost piles rest on bare ground, but you can build the pile on a raised platform of loosely spaced boards, allowing air to be drawn up from the bottom. If you elevate your compost, however, be sure to sprinkle garden soil through the compost to introduce those essential soil bacteria.

Water

Your compost pile should be as damp as a wrung-out sponge -- moist to the touch -- but no water should come out when you squeeze a handful.

Too dry?

You can poke holes in the pile and water it from the top with a trickling hose. Better yet, pull the pile apart and rebuild it, wetting each layer as it goes on. Very fibrous materials such as dead leaves may need to be soaked in a bucket for an hour or two.

Too wet?

A soggy pile should be turned so that clumps of material are broken up, letting air in and water out. If the compost is absolutely soaked, you can spread the materials to dry in the sun, or scatter peat moss through the pile as you rebuild it with the drier materials in the centre.

Food

Decomposer organisms work best with as varied a diet as you can feed them. The ingredients are all around us -- almost anything that once lived is a candidate for the compost, so try for lots of variety to get a good mix of textures and plant nutrients.
In composting jargon, woody materials that are high in carbon (autumn leaves, paper, peat moss, sawdust, cornstalks, hay and straw, etc.) are called "brown" ingredients. Materials like garden refuse, manure, tea and coffee grounds, feathers, hair, and food scraps are high in nitrogen, or "green." Some materials can actually be both: fresh grass clippings are "green," for example, but dried grass is "brown."
For successful results, you can use the simple rule that compost needs to be about half "brown" and half "green" by weight. Don't bother to weigh your ingredients, though: an estimate is fine. Composting soon becomes a matter of instinct, like the cook who bakes without a recipe. If the pile doesn't heat up, you know there's not enough "green" in the mix, while a smell of ammonia means it needs more "brown."

Materials To Use

  • Green Algae
  • Bone meal
  • Coffee grounds
  • Eggshells
  • Feathers
  • Flowers
  • Fruit and fruit peels
  • Grass clippings (fresh)
  • Hair
  • Manure
  • Seaweed
  • Tea Leaves
  • Vegetables and peelings
  • Weeds
  • Brown
  • Buckwheat hulls
  • Coffee filters
  • Corn cobs
  • Cotton/wool/silk scraps
  • Grass clippings (dried)
  • Hay
  • Leaves (dead)
  • Paper
  • Peat moss
  • Pine needles
  • Sawdust
  • Straw
  • Tea bags
  • Wood chips
  • Wood ash

This list is far from complete. Anything organic can, in theory, be composted -- some more easily than others. But common sense suggests a few exceptions. The following materials may cause problems in a backyard compost pile.

Materials To Avoid

pet wastes can contain extremely harmful bacteria;
meat, fish, fats and dairy products are likely to smell as they rot and may attract four-footed visitors;
insect-infested or diseased plants may persist in the compost;
materials contaminated by synthetic chemicals or treated with herbicides or insecticides should never be used;
weeds with mature seeds, and plants with a persistent root system (like crabgrass, ground ivy, or daylilies), may not be killed by the heat of the compost;
leaves of rhubarb and walnut contain substances toxic to insects or other plants so most people choose not to compost them.

Can I Compost This?

  • Ashes Maybe From untreated wood or paper, yes, in small amounts; but not from barbecues, plywood, coloured or glossy paper
  • Banana Skins Yes Decompose rapidly; can help to activate a slow compost; loaded with plant nutrients
  • Cardboard Yes Shred, soak, and mix with "greens"; but try first to reuse or recycle it
  • Citrus Fruits Yes Shred rinds; bury in compost to discourage fruit flies
  • Coffee Grounds Yes Good earthworm food; use directly on many plants; compost shredded filters, too
  • Corn Cobs Yes Shred; adds both fibre and nutrients to compost; good mulch; slow to break down
  • Dairy Products No Fats seal off air from compost; odours attract pests
  • Diseased Plants No Compost heat may not destroy disease; destroy or discard to avoid spreading
  • Dishwater Maybe If water doesn't contain grease or chemical cleansers, use it to wet pile
  • Dust and Lint Maybe Use vacuum cleaner debris and lint from clothes dryer, if mostly natural fibres
  • Eggshells Yes Dry and crush first; good earthworm food; slow to break down; help neutralize acidity; as mulch, may discourage slugs
  • Evergreen Needles Maybe Highly acidic; better yet, use as mulch
  • Fabrics Maybe Small scraps of wool, cotton, felt and silk; not synthetic fibres or blends
  • Feathers Yes Keep somewhat wetter than usual; extremely high in nitrogen
  • Fish Maybe Odours and pests are problems with fresh or smoked fish, but dried fishmeal is fine
  • Grass Clippings Yes Available and valuable; mix well to avoid clumps; leave some clippings to feed lawn
  • Hair Yes Both human and pet hair; keep quite damp; avoid using if coloured with chemicals
  • Hay and Straw Yes Very good fibre, nutrients usually low
  • Leaves Yes Shred and soak; add both nutrients and fibre; tend to be slightly acidic
  • Manure Yes Cow, horse, pig, rabbit, poultry -- the fresher the better -- helps any compost
  • Meat and Bones No Odours and pests are problems; but dried, ground bonemeal is fine source of nitrogen
  • Soil Yes Adds decomposer soil organisms; scatter lightly through pile to avoid compacting
  • Nutshells Maybe Crush delicate shells like peanuts; heavier shells are better used as decorative mulch
  • Paper Maybe Shred; not glossy/coloured which contain chemicals; better to recycle if possible
  • Pet Wastes No Risk of pathogens and parasites; use only barnyard manure (horse, cow, sheep, etc.)
  • Rhubarb Maybe Raw leaves poisonous to humans; composted leaves may harm insects and other plants; stems are fine; roots may continue to grow
  • Sawdust Maybe Hardwood sawdust, yes, in very small quantities; softwoods may inhibit composting; plywood may contain chemicals
  • Seafood Shells Yes Crush or grind very finely; break down very slowly; reduce acidity; good mulch
  • Seaweed Yes Rinse off salt so it won't contaminate soil; great fertilizer
  • Sod Yes Knock off excess soil; pile upside down; cover to prevent rooting; compost separately to avoid compaction
  • Soup Maybe Vegetable, yes; do not use soups with cream or meat-based broths to avoid odours and pests; read labels on canned soups.
  • Tea Leaves Yes High in nitrogen; can be applied directly to some plants; compost tea bags too
  • Toadstools Yes Decompose quickly; excellent source of many minerals
  • Weeds Yes Discard mature seeds, persistent roots, weeds treated with herbicides/pesticides
  • Wood Chips Yes Shred if possible and soak; use big pieces as mulch first, compost when weathered