For many people, composting still evokes images of elderly, 'back-to-the-earth' couples with piles of rotting vegetation in the corner of their back yard. 

But composting and optimizing your yard waste is actually beneficial on a number of levels. And it's an easy way to be 'green.'

Composting and Yard Waste: It's What All the 'Cool Kids" are Doing

It's been said that California sets the pace for the rest of the nation. And, while this is often true for fads and fashion, it is definitely true when it comes to legislation.  What gets passed in California, more often than not, is eventually emulated in most other states.

And starting on January 1, 2022, California residents are now required to separate their organic waste from inorganic waste before disposing of it.

For some residents, this might seem to be a bit of governmental overreach and a tad draconian.

According to an article at Green Matters, 

On Jan. 1, 2022, California rolled out the first step of its statewide composting mandate, as part of SB 1383, which was passed in 2016 according to The Los Angeles Times. Over the next two years, mandates will go into effect city by city and county by county; by the end of 2024, the law is expected to have taken effect in every municipality across California, according to local news affiliate ABC7 News. And those caught violating the rule — aka throwing food scraps in the garbage — will be fined.

However, for many residents - in California and elsewhere - composting scrap food and other kitchen waste is nothing new.

In fact, if you have anything growing on your property such as trees, shrubs, flowers and such, compost is a huge boon for the health and growth of just about any plant life. Even your lawn.

Here are some kitchen items that will work well in most composting bins:

• Fruits and vegetables, and their peels, pits, etc.
• Nuts and nut shells
• Seeds
• Grains
• Beans and tofu or tempeh
• Bread, pasta, baked goods, and snack foods
• Egg shells
• Coffee grounds
• Tea bags that are certified compostable

In other words, pretty much all foods aside from certain animal products will break down in a home composting arrangement.

And, when it comes to your great outdoors, yard waste of all types make for excellent compost ingredients including yard waste, grass clippings, leaves, twigs and even small branches.

Yard Waste, Food Waste, and Composting: Being Green the Easy Way

Aside from having a compost bin or structure - which can be purchased or you can build on your own - composting simply requires the input of materials and occasional attention.

Composting is a natural process that uses organic material to produce what is essentially organic fertilizer. Or, as the American Chemical Society describes it, 

The end result of aerobic composting is carbon dioxide, water vapor, and a dark-brown or black organic material. This material, called compost, is about half the volume of the original material and can be used to enrich soil in farm fields and gardens.

Here is a great graphic explaining composting from the folks at Moscow Food Coop:

Even those of us living in apartments or townhouses without yards can still benefit from making compost. Of course, if you live in California, you'll be contributing to the collective composting process anyway!

For those who have yards and, perhaps, gardens, as well, composting can be a beneficial and natural extension of your landscaping and lawn care activities. 

All the ingredients will already come from your plants and lawn, as well as your kitchen, so all you really need is a composting bin of some type. These can be purchased or built from various materials that are inexpensive and easy to find. 

Here is a graphic that illustrates some of the common approaches people use for their composting bins:

According to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln website, this graphic shows holding units in the top row, which work well for passive composting and turning units in the bottom row, that make turning compost easier.

One of the main components of any composting bin is the material that comes from yard waste.

However, at Junk King, we understand that oftentimes the sheer quantity of yard waste is far more than you can use or even fit into your composting bin. And we also understand that not everyone has access to a municipal recycling bin for organic waste products. 

Which is why Junk King specializes in picking up, removing, and disposing of yard waste. 

And this can include other "yard waste" items like old lumber and timber, broken down lawn equipment or furniture, and even that aging hot tub that needs to be replaced.

The best part is that, at Junk King, we only use green, eco-friendly disposal processes which means most if not all of your yard waste and other junk will never see the inside of a landfill.

Junk King: Your Local Yard Waste Removal and Disposal Service

Yard waste can come in many forms.

\Did you have winter storms that left huge tree branches strewn across your yard? Have you recently undertaken a gardening or landscaping project that’s left dirt and debris everywhere? Or do you simply have a piles of junk and clutter in your yard that you haven’t had time to clean up?

Junk King provides an efficient, safe and eco-friendly yard waste removal service so you don’t need to worry about the pick up or disposal of your yard debris. Our experienced debris removal team will break down and haul off any types of yard waste you have.

And, unlike the backseat of your car, our junk removal trucks are made to handle those dirty yard debris items.

Need to get rid of excess yard waste? It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3.

Our professional and insured yard waste removal team will show up at your home (or office!) We'll call 15 minutes before we arrive on site and give you a free estimate based on how much room your debris takes up in our truck. You point and we haul yard waste into our junk removal trucks, with no hidden fees.

You can make an appointment by booking online above or by calling 1.888.888.JUNK (5865).