My grandparents always kept a plastic ice cream pail sitting on their kitchen countertop. 

Throughout the day, especially after meals, my grandpa would scrape the scraps from plates, or from my grandmother’s efforts in meal prepping, into this container. When the bucket was nearly full, he would take it out to the nearby cornfield and dump the organic matter near the edge of the field, always in the same spot. 

At the time, my grandparents simply explained the practice as a way to keep foods out of the kitchen trash can to avoid any odors. What they were essentially doing though, was composting (minus the need for a few tweaks, that is). 

You see, all living, growing things, sooner or later, will decompose. 

Composting is what happens when we recycle organic materials (often kitchen and garden waste) by collecting these items, storing them together thus allowing them to break down or decay.

The bacteria present in these materials combine with oxygen and moisture to create compost, an incredibly nutrient-dense, humus-like material that can be used as fertilizer, mulch, and essentially a healthy plant food to boost your floral and garden crop yield.

Where you live, the amount and type of organic waste you produce, and how quickly you wish to produce and use your compost can determine the method you choose for composting. 

Some folks choose to play the long game, incorporating a process often referred to as cold or passive composting. 

This method involves little to no effort or maintenance, breaking down the matter slowly over time.

Since organic matter decomposes naturally, those individuals with very little matter to compost often choose to leave their piles untended, allowing mother nature to take her course, yielding usable compost in 1-2 years. 

Some potential problems with this method include the possibility for lingering pathogens to remain in the compost as the pile may not get hot enough to kill off bacteria, fungi, and parasites, etc. 

Another, more popular, method of composting is known as the hot method. 

Hot composting, while it does involve some work on your part, is a much faster process that can yield mature compost in anywhere from one month to one year. 

As this is the most preferred method, the next section (how to compost) will deal with the details of this process/method.

• Obtain a plastic storage bin (10-18 gallons is recommended, but smaller options like 5 gallon buckets can work as well). 
• Drill holes on the top of the bin or bucket for aeration. 
• Meat, dairy, and fats are not recommended for indoor bins as they produce more odor.
• Particularly, smelly items like onions and watery items like melons and squash aren’t recommended for indoor bins either. 
• Add dried leaves, shredded paper, or coffee grounds to your indoor bin to provide carbon and nitrogen and keep the contents from getting too moist. 
• Turn or mix the contents of the bin to avoid both wet and dry pockets from forming. You can use a shovel for larger bins or simply roll the bin around to mix the contents if using a bucket. 
• Chopping or shredding the materials you add to your compost pile can speed up the composting process. 
• Some indoor commercial bins come with worms or other accelerators that speed up the composting process, and you can also purchase odor controllers for indoor bins. 
• Keep in mind that mature compost will come from the bottom of your bin.

• Choose a dry and shady site that is downwind from your home. Avoid areas with poor drainage and areas in direct sunlight. 
• When composting outdoors, you may choose to simply heap your compostable materials into a pile or use a built structure out of wood, concrete, or even chicken wire. These may be simple open structures that allow you to turn the compost on top and collect mature compost from the bottom.
• Some type of covering on top of the compost pile is recommended to avoid the buildup of excess rainwater and transfer from the wind. 
• You may also choose to purchase a commercial compost bin. 
• Covering the pile with soil is recommended by some who say alternating layers of carbon and nitrogen rich materials is beneficial. 
• Moisten, but do not soak, the compost. 
• After moistening, it is recommended to leave the pile for at least 4 days for the initial decomposition to begin. 
• After this time, you’ll daily monitor moisture levels, add new layers of material, and turn the compost with a shovel or compost fork to aerate the pile. Some commercial bins allow you to simply turn, or rotate a circular bin, omitting the need to turn the materials with a shovel. 
• Keep in mind, though you’ll be adding new material and turning to aerate the pile, the finished or mature compost (because it is smaller and more smooth) will settle to the bottom of the pile.

• Coffee grounds (I told you we’d be needing those grounds, and there’s more on this to come!) You can even compost your paper coffee filters (or filter bags) and napkins
• Tea and tea bags
• Kitchen scraps (These would primarily consist of things like produce trimmings, onion skins, banana/orange/potato peelings, apple cores, etc.)
• Egg shells
• Meat and dairy (It is advised to only use these in a well-maintained outdoor compost pile and when they’ve been blended in a blender or food processor to reduce size and speed up the rate of decomposition.)
• Garden waste
• Dead leaves
• Grass clippings (Just be careful not to add too much as this can cause too much of an increase in the nitrogen levels in your compost pile.)
• Sawdust
• Straw
• Newspaper
• Rinsed or soaked seaweed or kelp (rinse to remove or decrease levels of salt)

While there are several items that are easily compostable, there are some things you should not add to your compost pile.

So, skip the following when it comes to composting:

• Diseased plant material
• Any garden waste that has been exposed to the use of chemicals like pesticides or fertilizers
• Weeds (the seeds and roots can then spread to your garden when you use the compost)
• Larger branches or stalks that may take too long to break down in your pile
• Meat (depending on type and method as listed in the section above) and bones 
• Leftovers or plate scraps that are not plant material
• Human and pet waste or pet litter
• Ash or charcoal (toxic to soil)

Possibly, the biggest immediate benefit of composting is reducing the amount of solid waste you and your family generate. 

And, sure, compost can benefit your garden, your lawn, and your soil, but what about the rest of the world? Does composting benefit the whole world, or just your world? 

Actually, using compost and adding it to your soil can help to filter your local water sources.

Since compost can hold up to 20 times its own weight in water, adding it to your soil increases water penetration. As the water then seeps down through layers of rock it replenishes the local sources in your area (springs, lakes, and ponds). 

And, as we learned in Finding Nemo “all drains lead to the ocean,” essentially stating that all water eventually finds its way to the ocean. Therefore, cleaning up your local water sources can go a long way to helping clean up the water in our oceans. 

Have you finished that cup of coffee yet? And, you remembered to save the grounds, right? 

We briefly mentioned above that you can add coffee grounds and even your paper coffee filter or napkin to your compost pile, but coffee is far more fabulous than just a one-liner. You already knew that, didn’t you. ;) 

After preparing your coffee, you can use the nitrogen-rich grounds to add a thin layer to then be mixed throughout your soil as a slow-release fertilizer (you want to mix with the soil to avoid a dry layer forming on top). 

And, according to the EPA, you can even add used coffee grounds to keep away pests (from ants, mosquitoes, snails, slugs, rabbits, deer, and other mammals).