Sustainability & Environment

The seven mending techniques that extend the life of clothes, linens, and household textiles by years — none of them require a sewing machine, and a beginner can learn the whole set in an afternoon.

A field-tested guide to indoor garage composting through winter — bin choice, carbon ratio, freezing prevention, rodent-proofing, and what to do when something goes wrong in January with a 30-pound frozen pile.

A field-tested playbook for running a staff sustainability survey at a foodservice or hospitality operation — question design, sampling, anonymity, the analysis pass, and turning answers into purchasing and ops decisions.

Wax-coated papers — butcher paper, cheese wrapping, candy wrappers, some baking papers — are partially compostable depending on the wax. Natural wax coatings (beeswax, carnauba wax, soy wax) compost cleanly along with the paper. Petroleum-based paraffin wax doesn’t compost well; the paper portion breaks down but the wax persists as residue. Synthetic plastic coatings on…

The maximum useful compost temperature is around 160°F (71°C). Above this, the beneficial microbes that drive decomposition begin to die, and the pile loses biological activity. The optimal range is 130-160°F for fastest decomposition. Some piles reach 170°F or higher under specific conditions, which is too hot — the pile may go anaerobic, develop odors,…

Used cat litter is one of the most common questions in home composting — and one of the most carefully answered. The short answer: not for vegetable garden compost, and generally only for ornamental garden compost with specific precautions. The reason is Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite present in some cat feces that can survive standard…

Hot compost is the term for compost piles that reach thermophilic temperatures — 130°F (54°C) and above — during active decomposition. The heat comes from concentrated microbial activity in piles with the right materials, moisture, and size. Hot compost finishes faster than cold pile composting (14-30 days vs 6-12 months), kills weed seeds and most…

Healthy finished compost has a pH between 6.0 and 8.0, with the sweet spot around 6.5-7.5. Active compost piles drift through different pH ranges during decomposition — initial pH around 4-5 from organic acid release, climbing through neutral as microbial activity proceeds, finishing at slightly alkaline. Testing pH at different stages reveals whether the pile…

Office composting programs differ from restaurants, stadiums, and schools in operational scale and worker engagement. A typical 200-person office generates 5-12 lbs of compostable waste daily, mostly from coffee grounds, lunch leftovers, and pantry waste. Programs work best when integrated with existing facilities management, when properly sized for actual volumes, and when employees develop simple…

Compost applied to garden soil produces nine documented improvements: it adds slow-release nutrients, increases organic matter content, improves soil structure, enhances water retention, supports microbial diversity, reduces fertilizer needs, sequesters carbon, suppresses plant diseases, and buffers pH variation. The improvements aren’t just gardening folklore — agricultural research at land-grant universities has documented each effect across…

Yes, you can compost onion and garlic skins. The common warnings against them are partly true and partly overstated. The sulfur compounds that give alliums their pungent smell can discourage earthworms in vermicomposting systems, and the dry papery skins decompose slowly. But for most backyard compost piles, onion and garlic skins are fine inputs that…

A first vermicomposting setup takes about 30 minutes once you have the bin and worms in hand. The Worm Factory 360, Hungry Bin, Urbalive, or a DIY rubbermaid tote all work for apartment-scale or small-home vermicomposting. The basic recipe: bedding (shredded paper or coconut coir), worm-friendly food scraps, and red wigglers (Eisenia fetida). Once set…