It all started when I read an article on-line about a guy who composts everything including human waste. Wow! Now that’s really going green. I thought. And that’s when I got excited about composting. You can probably tell that it doesn’t take much to get me excited.

In the past, I piled all the grass clippings, weeds, leaves, etc. in an inconspicuous pile on my property. The whole idea of turning the compost was a turn off. I know myself and that would be a job so low on my priority list that it would never happen. But here was a guy who didn’t turn his compost and he added everything to it including meat, oil, cheese, weeds, human and animal waste.

However, to do this he builds his compost to produce a lot of heat. So I decided to break down and build an actual compost bin and give his method a try (less the human waste). I’m not squeamish about such things, but I wasn’t ambitious enough to build the toilet needed to do that.

Out I went and scavenged four pallets from a friend. I assembled three sides as walls and left the front open. I then designed the open side with slots so I could slide boards to make the fourth side as the bin proceeded to fill. I then brought in a truckload of sawdust from a local mill. So far the total cost was the gasoline to get the materials and a few screws and nails. The pallet boards were free and so was the sawdust. That’s when I started talking compost to my friends and family.

You have no idea how few people were interested in listening to my raves about composting. Some were totally turned off, particularly when I explained about recycled human and animal waste. Even my family, usually feigning interest at my occasional outbursts over a new product or project, looked at me blankly when I spoke compost to them. No matter how hard I tried or what marketing technique I used, I couldn’t raise a spark of interest in anyone about composting.

Despite this, I remain excited for two reasons. One, I now have an easy way to create rich mulch for my garden without a lot of work. Two, I am doing my bit for the environment by limiting what goes into the local land fill. It seemed like a total win win deal to me and I can’t understand why everyone wouldn’t be thrilled at the idea. Shows you what I know, huh?

If you are interested in learning more, you should read The Humanure Handbook by Joseph Jenkins. You can download the whole book free at http://weblife.org/humanure. It’s more than a handbook on composting, it’s an eye opener. I downloaded a copy, but I’m going to buy one just to support his efforts. A lot of work and research went into that little book and I think he deserves to be paid.

Oh, and by the way, I’ll keep you posted on how my compost is coming along. So far he was right about one thing. There is no odor or flies around the pile. At least, no more than on the useless pile where I dumped weeds and yard waste.