What is composting?
Composting is the controlled aerobic (oxygen-using) biological decomposition of moist organic (biologically derived carbon-containing) solid matter to produce a soil conditioner. Because it requires oxygen, it cannot be immersed in water (saturated). The emphasis is on “controlled.” This sets it apart from the uncontrolled decomposition that occurs in the natural environment: A leaf falls from a tree branch to the forest floor, and microbes transform it into a nutrient from that the tree can consume. The biochemical process is the same. In a composting toilet, the objective is to transform potentially harmful residuals — mostly human excrement — into a stable, oxidized form. The primary microorganisms responsible for composting are bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi. However, algae, mixomycetes (slime molds), viruses, lichens and mycoplasmas are other organisms present in the compost process. Soil animals, such as protozoa, amoeba, nematodes, earthworms and arthropods, also perform ma
Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil–dark brown, crumbly and smells like a forest floor.
The EPA Terms of Environment Glossary defines composting as, “The controlled biological decomposition of organic material in the presence of air to form a humus-like material. Controlled methods of composting include mechanical mixing and aerating, ventilating the materials by dropping them through a vertical series of aerated chambers, or placing the compost in piles out in the open air and mixing it or turning it periodically.
