WEBVTT - Composting: Nature's Most Interesting Process 0:00:00.720 --> 0:00:05.000 Hey, you may have noticed this past Saturday, you got 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:08.440 an extra episode of Stuff you should know. That's why, 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:11.280 as case selects. That's right, it was not a mistake. 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:13.960 What we decided to do here after nine plus years 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:17.080 is um, you know, maybe you don't know that we 0:00:17.120 --> 0:00:21.320 have nine plus episodes. Uh, so we're gonna start throwing 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:25.040 out all I don't want to call it a rerun. Well, no, 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:30.520 it's a it's a hand selected curated episode by us. Yeah, 0:00:30.560 --> 0:00:33.319 a classic if you will. But Joshua pick one out, 0:00:33.360 --> 0:00:36.040 I'll pick one out. Um might be Newsy, it might 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:37.760 just be one of our favorites, and we're gonna run 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:40.200 those on Saturday. If you haven't heard it, check it out. 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:42.360 If you have, we'd love for you to listen again, 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.720 So check it out in your podcast feed. It's as 0:00:46.760 --> 0:00:51.360 simple as that. Welcome to Stuff you should Know from 0:00:51.440 --> 0:01:00.320 how stuff works dot com. Hey, welcome to the pod kist. 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:05.240 I'm josh the Man Clark, There's Charles W. Chuck Bryant, 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.680 and I think I neglected to say last time you did, 0:01:10.480 --> 0:01:13.120 guest producer Noel was with us. That's right. So if 0:01:13.160 --> 0:01:16.000 you listened to the Shroud of Turn episode and you're like, man, 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.559 that sounds great. Yeah, that was an all thanks nol 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:25.560 uh this show. Today, I've been replaying my one of 0:01:25.600 --> 0:01:29.559 my favorite Simpsons jokes ever over my head. I laughed 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:33.000 already just hearing. It was from the one of the 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:37.399 Halloween episodes when um, they did the Nightmare on Elm Street. 0:01:37.520 --> 0:01:44.200 Riff is old old ones Um where groundskeeper Willie was 0:01:45.040 --> 0:01:48.480 Freddy Krueger and he turned into uh, I think like 0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:51.120 a shredder or a tractor or something and ran over 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:57.400 people or something and said, when you had, when you 0:01:57.440 --> 0:01:59.280 had done, when I'm done, that they're gonna need to 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:02.680 do a clumps bordered them. Oh wow, that is a 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.280 bad joke. It was really good one of the I mean, 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:08.360 the Simpsons didn't get too funny, but that was that 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.679 was a good one. Well, anything goes on a treehouse 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:16.160 of horror, you know, I agreed. So you know, Um, 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.800 there's a bunch of cities that have kind of gotten 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.920 woke to the idea that we should be recycling or 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:27.679 composting our food. Did you know that? Sure? I saw 0:02:27.720 --> 0:02:32.960 a stat said something like of food gets wasted. But 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:37.480 I guess suspicious because I also saw that of the 0:02:37.600 --> 0:02:42.840 um stuff that goes to municipal landfills or trash is 0:02:43.000 --> 0:02:48.000 food waste, which doesn't necessarily mean it's wasted food, because 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.560 I don't think you would count like a banana peal 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:56.200 as food waste as wasted food because the box. They're 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:59.320 not counting food packaging food. No, but I think they're 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:03.640 counting everything that has to do with food that could 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:07.640 conceivably be eaten as wasted food, which is not the 0:03:07.680 --> 0:03:11.360 same as food waste. The point is, the legitimate stat 0:03:11.400 --> 0:03:13.880 that I saw just about everywhere is that if you 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:16.840 took all the garbage that the United States throws away 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:20.799 into a landfill, of that is food waste. And I'm 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.600 sure some of it is a whole cake. Some complete 0:03:23.600 --> 0:03:26.760 moron through a whole cake away for no good reason. 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:29.520 I was on a diet. Well that's actually a pretty 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:33.120 good reason. But you know what I'm saying, Um, of 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:36.240 all that trash is food. The problem is you might say, well, 0:03:36.240 --> 0:03:40.160 who cares trash? It decomposes. That's great, that's true, it 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:44.120 does decompose. But in the landfills that the United States uses, 0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:47.640 we make sure they're anaerobic. Oxygen doesn't get down there. 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:52.560 So a whole different decomposition process takes place, and in 0:03:52.640 --> 0:03:57.440 a landfill in anaerobic decomposition, methane is produced, and methane 0:03:57.600 --> 0:04:01.119 is bad news. Methane in is something on the order 0:04:01.120 --> 0:04:06.520 of sevent worse. I know, there's a much more scientific 0:04:06.520 --> 0:04:10.760 way to put it, but it's seventy batter than carbon 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:15.960 dioxide as far as greenhouse gases go, more potent, how 0:04:16.000 --> 0:04:20.279 about that? Okay, So you don't want methane. If you 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:23.040 have to choose between methane and carbon dioxide, you want 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.440 to go with carbon dioxide. And it just so happens 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:31.360 that if you compost food waste, mostly carbon dioxide is produced. 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:34.080 Methane is not. So if you're diverting this food waste 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.960 from landfill, there's a whole bunch of different stuff you're doing. 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:41.080 Number one, you're saving all that the space for actual trash, 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:44.320 So you're extending the life of your land sir. You're 0:04:44.760 --> 0:04:48.240 keeping all that methane from being produced. And as if 0:04:48.279 --> 0:04:52.560 it couldn't get any better, you are creating an amazing 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:56.799 fertilizer that you can use to grow. You could grow 0:04:57.200 --> 0:05:00.440 a tree out of a shoe, for eyes are so 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:06.080 good the old shoe tree. Uh yeah, it's Um, we've 0:05:06.160 --> 0:05:08.760 danced around this a lot. We we well, you just 0:05:08.800 --> 0:05:11.520 referenced star and I don't like to tutor on horns 0:05:11.520 --> 0:05:14.840 a lot, but that Landfills episode was great landfills And 0:05:14.880 --> 0:05:19.880 don't forget the plasma incinerator one. Yeah, basically any of 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:23.760 our waste management ones are Yeah, what else? I think 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:27.400 grilla gardening we touched on this, sum and um, a 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:31.839 couple of others. We've mentioned composting and to the extent 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.279 where I thought we had done one on composting, but 0:05:34.360 --> 0:05:39.240 we had not until about five and a half minutes ago. Um, 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:40.880 And that's a guess. So if you're rite and say 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:45.320 it like it was eight minutes, chuck, you're grounded. So, 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:47.599 like you mentioned, we didn't. I don't think these numbers 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.400 are accurate anymore. But we generate. Let's just say a 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.320 lot of millions of tons, hundreds of millions of tons 0:05:53.360 --> 0:05:59.120 of trash, and about twenty five of that is recovered 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:04.400 through recycling, which includes composting, which is good. But that number, 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:09.320 if it was se would be amazing. Does that include composting? 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:13.960 That that recycling number? Yeah, okay, yeah, fifties seventy would 0:06:13.960 --> 0:06:18.480 be great? Why not let's shoot for ninety. Well, supposedly, 0:06:18.520 --> 0:06:22.120 Seattle itself um has a goal of something like six 0:06:23.120 --> 0:06:25.480 of all of its trash being recycled by the end 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:27.640 of the year. Of course they do, because Seattle does 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:31.840 it right, and they actually have compulsory mandatory composting. Now, 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:34.479 like you have to compost if you live in the 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:36.800 city of Seattle. Why don't I live there? I don't know, 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:39.880 I don't know. I asked myself that a lot. You know. 0:06:40.120 --> 0:06:43.880 Emily and I went for our two shows ago on 0:06:43.960 --> 0:06:47.120 that lovely spring weekend. It was gorgeous and we we 0:06:47.360 --> 0:06:49.680 stayed extra in Seattle, and after we were like, we're 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:52.000 moving here. That's it. It's a great town. I've said 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:55.719 it before on the show Dogs and Bars. That was 0:06:55.760 --> 0:07:00.560 all it took, uh Dog bar tenders. But again, and 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:03.800 I'll explain poker again, it's easy to fall in love 0:07:03.800 --> 0:07:06.400 a Seattle on a perfect weekend in April. Yeah, I 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.760 hear it. Range there a lot though I'd still live there. 0:07:09.840 --> 0:07:12.200 That's a great place. And you know what, you may 0:07:12.200 --> 0:07:17.040 see us again this year's Seattle tease tease. You're such 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:19.880 a tease, all right, So composting is great for a 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:23.080 thousand reasons. But one, uh, first and foremost is that 0:07:23.720 --> 0:07:27.360 it's it's not hard to do and it's not expensive 0:07:27.400 --> 0:07:30.960 to do if you just want to be uh. And 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.080 there are many different levels of composting, from big city 0:07:34.080 --> 0:07:38.840 programs to the home farmer that takes it super seriously, 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:42.160 to just if you just want to lessen the impact 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:45.880 a little bit on your landfill, your local landfill, feel 0:07:45.920 --> 0:07:48.520 like you're doing the right thing, and get a little 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:53.200 bit of nutrient rich goodness fertilizer to use. You can 0:07:53.240 --> 0:07:55.720 have it just a little, small, little composting operation going 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.760 on at your house. Yeah, this is all. This is 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:01.320 all you need organic waste. And we don't even mean 0:08:01.400 --> 0:08:04.800 something that's like organic. We mean like organic, meaning it's 0:08:04.840 --> 0:08:08.600 composed mostly a carbon. It was once alive at one point, right. Yeah, 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.760 and I made a poopy noise, which you can't use poops. No, 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.840 that's night soil. It's the opposite of what I should 0:08:14.840 --> 0:08:25.480 have done. Uh. What's a banana sound? That's a banana souniol. Ah. 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:29.520 You need soil, you need water, need air or oxygen. Right, 0:08:29.560 --> 0:08:31.840 So the organic waste is the stuff you're gonna have 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.600 broken down, which in this case, in the case of 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:39.280 a compost pile is food the soil, well partially sure, 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:42.000 but no, no, it's food for the things that in 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:46.439 the soil, right, it's an energy source and nutrient source 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.079 for what's in the soil. So you add soil. When 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:54.400 you're adding soil, you're basically adding starter culture to the compost. 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.320 What you're doing is grabbing microbes from say, in your yard, 0:08:57.679 --> 0:09:00.840 and putting them on the compost pile and say dinners 0:09:00.880 --> 0:09:05.679 on boys. Yes, but you don't want to poop in it. 0:09:06.120 --> 0:09:07.680 You need a little bit of water, like you said, 0:09:07.679 --> 0:09:09.199 to keep it moist, but you don't want to keep 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:13.560 it over wet because microbes like slightly moist soil. And 0:09:13.600 --> 0:09:16.880 then air because again again this is really really important. 0:09:17.120 --> 0:09:23.000 You can let your compost pile um degrade anaerobically, but 0:09:23.080 --> 0:09:26.160 it's gonna produce methane, which is bad for the for 0:09:26.240 --> 0:09:28.760 the environment, a for your neighbors, bad for your neighbor's, 0:09:28.760 --> 0:09:31.240 bad for you. It's gonna stink, it might blow up, 0:09:31.360 --> 0:09:33.840 who knows. You don't want to smoke near a what's 0:09:33.840 --> 0:09:36.440 called a passive compost pile, so you want to just 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.719 introduce oxygen and all this sounds very complicated. It's not 0:09:40.080 --> 0:09:43.360 it's hitting it with your hose. It's um and by 0:09:43.360 --> 0:09:45.439 that I mean spraying water on it with your hose. 0:09:45.920 --> 0:09:49.319 Just realized you can with your host too. Um. It's 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:53.280 like turning it over right the pitchfork to add oxygen. 0:09:53.320 --> 0:09:56.400 It's as simple as that. Yeah, it's really easy. Um. 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:58.120 So what you're gonna end up with the end, like 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:01.400 we said, is is really fertilizer. But it's a it's 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:05.560 called humus. I don't call it hummus. No, that's different. 0:10:05.720 --> 0:10:09.640 Has has two ms, right, Uh, this is just one M. 0:10:09.640 --> 0:10:13.080 And um. Those little micro organisms in there, they're gonna 0:10:13.120 --> 0:10:14.920 break this stuff down. They're gonna eat it, they're gonna 0:10:15.000 --> 0:10:17.880 poop it out, and they're gonna multiply, and there's gonna 0:10:17.880 --> 0:10:19.880 be we'll we'll talk about the critters a little more later, 0:10:19.880 --> 0:10:21.760 but they're gonna be different critters along the way that 0:10:21.880 --> 0:10:25.800 eat those gritters than gritters that eat those gritters. And 0:10:25.960 --> 0:10:28.520 it's gonna get really hot up in there. It might steam, 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.400 then it's gonna cool back down. It's gonna get smaller, 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:34.880 and it's just like this little micro environment. It is 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.440 really really neat. There's actually a food web in there. 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.000 There's a lot of physics and chemistry that's going on. 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.760 It's it is very neat. I'm fascinated by it too. 0:10:43.240 --> 0:10:49.480 But the upshot of composting is that you're taking something 0:10:49.920 --> 0:10:54.040 and it's being broken down into its constituent parts so 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.720 that it can be reused by plants and the whole 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.520 circle of life can start over again. Yeah, you're sort 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:05.120 of just accelerating the natural process of like rot, you're 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.679 optimizing it. Yeah, Like you mentioned a passive composter, which 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:14.319 is to say, you know, lazy hippies, you could you 0:11:14.360 --> 0:11:16.000 could just throw all that junk out of your window 0:11:16.000 --> 0:11:19.480 if you wanted, in a big pile and throw your 0:11:20.160 --> 0:11:24.199 some grass clippings on and throw throw your your fall 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:26.920 leaves on there. Just leave it there, and that thing 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:32.920 will eventually compost itself. Well again, it'll produce methane. You'll 0:11:32.920 --> 0:11:34.920 blow up, or you can turn you know, you can 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.040 turn it every now and then and maybe avoid that. 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:42.040 But no, I think that makes it an active pile. Well, uh, 0:11:42.480 --> 0:11:45.600 slightly active pile then, I don't mean like every other 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:48.760 day just to avoid methane. Maybe, but that would still 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:52.040 technically be an active pile, would be a poorly managed, 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:59.160 active pile, slightly active, poorly managed. So I'm serious, that's 0:11:59.200 --> 0:12:01.720 what they call it. I know, Okay, I'm just we'd 0:12:01.720 --> 0:12:03.080 like to make up our own names for things. I 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:05.680 didn't know you were going to cease that and in 0:12:05.760 --> 0:12:10.280 year nine. Sorry, we'll call that the dooby pile. Okay, 0:12:11.840 --> 0:12:14.560 now it's called active management. I just wanted to make 0:12:14.600 --> 0:12:17.840 sure that we got it on the record. So, uh 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:20.520 the big goal here is to reduce your waste. They 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.080 say in this article. Ultimately we'll save you tax money 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:26.079 because your landfill won't. I thought that was hilarious. Yeah, 0:12:26.280 --> 0:12:29.000 I mean, don't count on seeing any any tax breaks 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:32.760 coming anytime soon. But that that got William F. Buckley's 0:12:32.760 --> 0:12:36.120 attention probably, so, uh so, how do you how do 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:38.679 you do this? Let's say you want to start composting. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:44.040 There's a one, two, three, five step process to get 0:12:44.040 --> 0:12:46.760 this thing going. Okay, well, let's talk about them. The 0:12:46.760 --> 0:12:49.000 first thing you want to do is just pick out 0:12:49.040 --> 0:12:51.560 the place you want to do it, all right, because 0:12:51.720 --> 0:12:55.240 it's you know, it's a bit of a mess. It's 0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:58.360 it doesn't have to be necessarily, but it depending on 0:12:58.400 --> 0:13:00.720 your neighbors. They might be like, well, great, I'm glad 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:06.480 you started an unsightly pile of kitchen rubbish in food 0:13:06.520 --> 0:13:08.720 waste I can see from my deck. Thanks a lot 0:13:08.800 --> 0:13:13.160 for that. So that's something you want to keep in consideration. Apparently, 0:13:13.320 --> 0:13:19.600 even if you do have a very well managed active pile. Um, 0:13:19.679 --> 0:13:22.400 what would you call that. I'm not making it funny 0:13:22.440 --> 0:13:27.240 name anyway, I've ruined it. Um, It's still it's still 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.319 may stink here there. So you want to kind of 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:33.839 away from the house, but not so far away that 0:13:33.880 --> 0:13:36.240 if you're feeling lazy, you're not gonna go out and 0:13:36.400 --> 0:13:39.040 tend to it on a daily or every other day 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:42.160 lead basis. Yeah, and if you have that much land 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.120 that you have a compost pile a mile from your house, 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.760 good for you. Yes, you got some acreage. Uh, there 0:13:50.840 --> 0:13:53.280 might be some local rules, either from your h o 0:13:53.360 --> 0:13:56.120 A heaven forbid if you have to belong to one 0:13:56.120 --> 0:14:00.080 of those, or maybe just your municipality might have of 0:14:00.559 --> 0:14:03.840 rules and regulations. Yeah, so check with them first. That's 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.160 what everyone does before they started compost pile. They go 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.000 down to city hall and say, what tell men the 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:11.839 rules and regulations surrounding composting in my yard? And I 0:14:11.920 --> 0:14:14.160 think the first thing everyone does is start throwing their 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:16.880 eggshells out the window. Sure, that's how it always starts. 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.680 It's like I'm tired of these things being in my trash. Uh. 0:14:22.000 --> 0:14:24.080 They recommend down wind because, like you said, it might 0:14:24.120 --> 0:14:27.760 stink a bit. Uh. Sun it's good in a way, 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:29.560 but you don't want it baking in the sun all 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:31.840 day no, because it will dry it out. Remember, you 0:14:31.840 --> 0:14:34.400 want it to be kind of moist, and the sunlight 0:14:34.440 --> 0:14:38.840 can actually dry it out, so you want Apparently the 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:41.040 best place to put it is under a deciduous tree. 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:44.400 Good spot. Yeah, because in the in the wintertime there's 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:46.560 no leaves on the tree, so the sun is gonna 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:49.520 keep it warm when it's cold. But during summer it's 0:14:49.520 --> 0:14:51.640 going to be shaded by the tree so it won't 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:57.440 dry out. It's just perfect. It is deciduous tree equals love. Uh. 0:14:57.600 --> 0:14:59.640 Wind is good to provide little air, but you don't 0:14:59.640 --> 0:15:01.600 want it low and scattering the stuff all over the 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:05.520 place drying it out again. No good. What else drainage? 0:15:05.560 --> 0:15:08.480 Don't start one in that old baby pool that you 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:13.960 don't want to throw out, especially if your baby's in there. Uh. Yeah, 0:15:14.000 --> 0:15:17.200 you want good drainage, like generally you build either build 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:19.920 a bin. We'll talk about this stuff actually right now. 0:15:20.400 --> 0:15:26.240 But it's off the ground, it's on legs. Yeah, although 0:15:26.280 --> 0:15:29.640 you can't have a pile. But um, you know generally 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:31.360 you want to you want to build a bin or 0:15:31.400 --> 0:15:35.080 buy a bin, and those things sit off the ground, 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:40.680 right because of drainage, that's part of it for sure. Yeah. Um, 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.240 you also want dirt rather than say like a concrete 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:47.080 pad or something like that. Yeah, don't come post in 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:50.680 your driver. It's not a good idea. Um. As far 0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:52.760 as structures go, you can, like you said, you can 0:15:52.760 --> 0:15:56.920 go buy one. They're not very expensive from what I understand, right, Yeah, 0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:58.920 it depends on the size. You can also say go 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:02.760 buy some cinder block and build something like that. Um. 0:16:02.800 --> 0:16:07.920 But basically you can cut compost structures into two. There's 0:16:08.000 --> 0:16:13.000 a single bin and there's a three bin system. So 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:15.760 in the single bin system, you put new stuff on top, 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:18.680 new banan appeals. This is what I think of when 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:23.000 I think composting. You know, Um, you put new stuff 0:16:23.000 --> 0:16:26.280 on top, and then you take a pitchfork or shovel 0:16:26.360 --> 0:16:28.640 or something like that and you work you work it 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:33.280 in to the compost and at the bottom of this structure, 0:16:33.720 --> 0:16:36.680 say it's open when you're walking up to it, that 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.520 the finished compost will accumulate at the bottom. And the 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.480 reason it accumulates at the bottom because it's of a finer, 0:16:43.840 --> 0:16:48.600 finer grain um and that's it single bin new stuff 0:16:48.600 --> 0:16:52.080 at the top, stuff that's in the process in the middle, 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.400 stuff that's finished in the bottom, and it will just 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:57.480 naturally kind of separate like that. And when we're talking 0:16:57.480 --> 0:16:59.520 structure like that, if you want to build one, you know, 0:16:59.520 --> 0:17:01.760 build a way frame and it's like got chicken wire 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.080 walls and a chicken wire bottom, and that gives you 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.640 the air. And if you've got something that collected underneath, 0:17:07.720 --> 0:17:11.200 it's gonna fall, you know, when it's small enough, Uh, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:12.960 some other stuff might fall. You may need to add 0:17:13.000 --> 0:17:16.480 it back in. But with the three bend system, you've got, 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:19.479 well you've got three bends, you've got the starter stuff, 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.000 you've got the once it starts to break down a 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:24.399 little stuff, and then you have the more finished product 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:29.560 and you have to actively manage that system. Yeah, that 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:34.080 system sounds unnecessarily difficult, kind of like it. Oh you're 0:17:34.119 --> 0:17:36.680 a three bing guy. Well, we're about to get into 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.480 this for real. We've been um, lazily composting for a while, 0:17:41.040 --> 0:17:44.520 but um, we're we're doing our whole backyard, like we're 0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:48.280 getting rid of our grass. Basically, what are you gonna 0:17:48.320 --> 0:17:54.639 do compost mulch in beds and plants and herbs and 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:59.080 cacti in and all that. Uh no cacti that we 0:17:59.119 --> 0:18:02.360 do have a palm tree. We've that forever though. Um, yeah, 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:04.640 just getting rid of the grass basically because it takes 0:18:04.680 --> 0:18:09.520 up so much water. Just it's just it's not good 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:13.040 grass to begin with. And I'm not the best about 0:18:13.040 --> 0:18:17.720 cutting it. Lawnmowers are terrible enough. You never let a 0:18:17.760 --> 0:18:22.320 quarter inch of water accumulating exactly, Yeah, just into you know, 0:18:22.359 --> 0:18:24.879 it'll it'll look nicer. So part of this in this 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:28.359 company that's doing it is it's not just a landscaping 0:18:28.400 --> 0:18:32.480 company there there. They are a bunch of hippies. So 0:18:32.600 --> 0:18:34.760 they're they're designing it in such a way that that 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:39.000 feeds itself. And part of that is composting anyway, A 0:18:39.119 --> 0:18:41.679 long long way of saying, we're gonna start like for 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:44.560 real composting very shortly, and you're going with the three 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:47.600 bin structure. I don't know, I think I'm gonna build 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:52.320 it it's well, it's the structure Emily tells me to build. 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:56.080 It's the easiest way to say it. Yeah, but if 0:18:56.080 --> 0:18:58.480 you buy one, like you were saying, Um, there's all 0:18:58.520 --> 0:19:01.119 different kinds, just you know, look look it up online 0:19:01.160 --> 0:19:03.320 or go to a hardware store, and you know, many 0:19:03.359 --> 0:19:07.360 of them will look like a big barrel on legs 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:10.679 and it literally turns like has a crank on it 0:19:11.400 --> 0:19:14.119 where you can turn this thing in circles. It's old timing, 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:16.960 so you don't have to use a pitchfork at all. Right, 0:19:17.080 --> 0:19:18.760 you don't have to muss your hands or your hair. 0:19:18.880 --> 0:19:23.800 It's like a bingo, yeah, spinner, but with banana pill. 0:19:24.000 --> 0:19:26.000 Have you ever played bingo, like legit bingo in a 0:19:26.119 --> 0:19:30.920 room with hundreds of people, not hundreds, well more than 0:19:31.000 --> 0:19:34.240 like you and you me, yes, like a bingo parlor? 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:37.960 Is that what they're called. I've actually gone to um 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:42.520 a couple of like uh senior retirement homes and helped 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:47.680 out with bingo And that's a pretty pretty cool experience actually, 0:19:47.720 --> 0:19:52.160 because do you run the bingo? It's qualified to run 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:55.040 the bingo, right, just walk around and point out if 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:57.920 somebody missed one that they you know, it was called 0:19:57.960 --> 0:19:59.720 that kind of thing. But did you want to talk 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:02.800 about taking it seriously? Oh my god. And then you 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:06.920 have to be a certified bingo master to run the show. Yeah, 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:09.520 and they'll like tell you to hurry up and like 0:20:09.640 --> 0:20:12.359 shout if you're if you're not like loud enough for 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:15.440 fast enough, for going too fast. Like. So the point 0:20:15.520 --> 0:20:18.840 is not to have fun now, the point is to win. Wow. 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:22.440 What do they win their prizes? Yeah? Nothing much usually, 0:20:22.640 --> 0:20:24.639 I mean, but you can, I think, like you can 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:28.120 play bingo and casinos for thousands and thousands of dollars 0:20:28.880 --> 0:20:31.520 usually at old folks humes. They don't, you know, sure 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:35.360 there's not thousands of dollar prizes like honey bunds ugarettes, 0:20:35.560 --> 0:20:38.560 right exactly. All right, Well let's take a break here 0:20:38.800 --> 0:20:42.680 after we have talked structure and uh, we'll talk a 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:44.560 little bit about what you want what kind of junk 0:20:44.600 --> 0:21:07.000 you want to throw in that pile? All right, chuck, 0:21:07.800 --> 0:21:10.520 So we're talking what you want to throw on the pile. Right, 0:21:10.520 --> 0:21:14.400 you got your ben either a triple three banger cat 0:21:14.480 --> 0:21:16.920 your site or single. You got your site. You bribed 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:20.800 your neighbor to look the other way, right, your neighbor exactly, 0:21:20.880 --> 0:21:24.359 You bought a goat, oh man talking about green living. 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:27.360 My neighbor has goats now, like five of them. Are 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:30.880 they loud? No? Oh that's great. Everyone's while to hear them. 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:33.400 But it's a joy to hear. So it's like it's 0:21:33.400 --> 0:21:35.800 not like a rooster. Do you wake up and look 0:21:35.800 --> 0:21:40.320 out and say morning satan. No, Well, goats one of 0:21:40.359 --> 0:21:42.280 my favorites, so it's kind of nice to have them around. 0:21:42.359 --> 0:21:44.560 But baby goats or adult goes, No, they're big ones. 0:21:44.600 --> 0:21:47.399 I mean she got them to maintain the property because 0:21:47.400 --> 0:21:49.680 she was started cutting. I guess she didn't want a 0:21:49.760 --> 0:21:54.080 zero escape it, so she bought goats. Anyway, it's it's awesome. 0:21:54.960 --> 0:21:58.040 Uh kitchen waist, Josh, that's what you want to throw 0:21:58.080 --> 0:21:59.840 in there? Well, yeah, that's the first one. That's the 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:04.240 one that everybody says. That's why you compost, right, And yeah, 0:22:04.760 --> 0:22:08.280 banana peels everybody knows that. But did you also know 0:22:08.760 --> 0:22:11.840 you can compost apple cores in orange rins. You can 0:22:11.880 --> 0:22:15.159 also eat apple cores. Yeah? You you believe there is 0:22:15.200 --> 0:22:17.359 no such thing as a core, right, that's because there's 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:22.160 not um seeing people who leave their apple cores left over. 0:22:22.640 --> 0:22:25.320 They can compost those things. Those are the easy ones. 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:28.720 You can also do coffee grounds. Yeah, that's a good one. 0:22:28.800 --> 0:22:32.560 Paper filters through that filter and all in there. Okay, 0:22:32.640 --> 0:22:35.040 So let's just say I a maybe a whole pizza 0:22:35.080 --> 0:22:37.800 to myself. I've got a couple of napkins wadded up. 0:22:37.920 --> 0:22:41.840 What do I do with those? Chuck? Uh? I think 0:22:41.840 --> 0:22:44.960 you can throw those napkins in there, Josh, Yeah, isn't 0:22:44.960 --> 0:22:49.840 that crazy? It is crazy. Newspaper Yeah, corn cobs if 0:22:49.840 --> 0:22:51.760 you still read a newspaper, if you get your news 0:22:51.760 --> 0:22:58.280 on the internet, throw your laptop in there. Watermelon rins, yeah, seeds, 0:22:59.080 --> 0:23:03.520 leaves uh, you know the butt end of the asparagus 0:23:03.520 --> 0:23:06.840 that no one cooks, but that junk in there. Um. 0:23:06.920 --> 0:23:10.119 You can also do yard waste too, sure, right, So 0:23:10.280 --> 0:23:12.840 you've got grass clippings, which we'll talk about in a second. 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:14.680 We got a couple of warnings as far as grass 0:23:14.720 --> 0:23:18.280 clippings goes, not too much. Um. But like, let's say 0:23:18.320 --> 0:23:21.200 you're raking leaves or something like that, throw some leaves 0:23:21.240 --> 0:23:24.040 on their good crunchy brown ones. And you can also 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:28.159 throw like, um, trimmings from your like shrubs if you 0:23:28.200 --> 0:23:33.119 trim your woody shrubs. Um. The key here is this, chuck. 0:23:33.960 --> 0:23:39.280 You want to cut all this stuff up in small bits. Yeah, 0:23:39.320 --> 0:23:41.760 don't throw a whole corn cob in there. You can 0:23:42.000 --> 0:23:45.080 know your compost pole. Just throw it right back out. Yeah, 0:23:45.080 --> 0:23:47.399 it'll just spit it right back out right. It's very funny. 0:23:47.400 --> 0:23:50.840 It'll make a burping noise. Uh. They say to shred 0:23:50.880 --> 0:23:53.160