Paper Compost Bin

Compost Bin

As part of my commitment to lower my Carbon Footprint, I’ve decided to no longer throw away paper, or cardboard. This will reduce the amount of carbon that I put into the atmosphere, since this paper will no longer be burned.  These items can be composted, and in turn the bio mass in them can be turned into beautiful black dirt. I’ve built a bin to compost the paper in, and placed it right next to my walkway, for easy access in the winter.

 The process is fairly simple:

Rip up the paper, or use a paper shredder.
Add in other compostable items, I’ve added some compost from another pile as a catalyst, and some manure from my chicken coop.
Then throw in some weeds or other green items, such as the discarded portion of fruits or veggies.

Do Not include meats or bones, eggs are safe though.

Inside the Compost Bin

Here you can see the inside of my bin with the first layer of shredded paper, some compost and a bit of greens. I’ll keep layering the paper, and mix it every few months.

There is a story about a fire which was consuming the whole forest, and all the animals ran into the river and hid from the flames. Soon, they noticed a little humming bird which would scoop down and take a beak after beak full of water, then return to the fire and let the droplet fall on the fire. The other animals asked the humming bird “what are you doing, your such a little bird, you will never be able to put out that fire”, to which the humming bird said “I’m doing the best that I can”. 

We are all humming birds, and if we each do our part, we can greatly reduce the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, hopefully in time to fully understand the changes that are occuring to our planet. Now, if I can only find a way to melt down plastic into useable objects…..