No-Waste Composting: Small-Space Waste Recycling, Indoors and Out. Plus, 10 projects to repurpose household items into compost-making machines

by Michelle Balz

Overview

In No-Waste Composting, you’ll discover the hows and whys of composting and find over a dozen practical step-by-step plans for building both indoor and outdoor composting systems that require a minimal amount of space. 

“I don’t have enough space to compost.” 
“I don’t know what’s safe to compost and what isn’t.” 
“I live in the city, so I don’t think I can compost.” 
“Indoor composting systems are smelly.” 
“I don’t have a garden, so I don’t need to compost.”

If any of these is your excuse for not composting, then this is the book for you! Small-space composting has never been easier, more efficient, and more eco-friendly. Composting keeps millions of tons of waste out of landfills and creates carbon-sequestering, nutrient-dense compost that can be used to help fuel plant growth (including houseplants!) and build soil health. 

• Build a DIY worm-composting system for a cupboard or garage
• Craft a layered, under-the-sink composting system from terra cotta pots
• Construct a simple outdoor compost bin from repurposed wooden pallets 
• Use upcycled wire fencing to build a mobile composting system on the driveway
• Learn how to compost larger sticks and branches to build new food and flower gardens
• Upcycle a plastic bucket to make an indoor compost fermenting system

Plus, you’ll find plans to keep cat and dog waste out of the landfill by using a groundbreaking (and safe) DIY composting system. And if you don’t garden, author and composting professional Michelle Balz offers plenty of other ways you can utilize the wonderful, crumbly compost you create. 

Whether you’re just starting your no-waste journey or you’re a seasoned recycling and repurposing pro, No-Waste Composting is an invaluable tool to have at your side.

This book is part of the Cool Springs Press No-Waste Gardening series, which also includes No-Waste Kitchen Gardening and No-Waste Organic Gardening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760368718
Publisher:	Cool Springs Press
Publication date:	03/09/2021
Series:	No-Waste Gardening
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Michelle Balz is a long-time backyard composter with a passion for reducing our impact on the planet and the author of Composting for a New Generation. She spends her days writing laid-back advice for home composters in the Confessions of a Composter blog, teaching classes on backyard composting, and learning everything she can about composting, recycling, reusing, and waste reduction. Since 2002, Michelle has worked as a solid waste (a.k.a. garbage) professional encouraging residents and businesses to reduce their waste and use fewer resources. Michelle has a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a master’s degree in Professional Writing, both from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michelle Balz is a long-time backyard composter with a passion for reducing our impact on the planet and the author of Composting for a New Generation. She spends her days writing laid-back advice for home composters in the Confessions of a Composter blog, teaching classes on backyard composting, and learning everything she can about composting, recycling, reusing, and waste reduction. Since 2002, Michelle has worked as a solid waste (a.k.a. garbage) professional encouraging residents and businesses to reduce their waste and use fewer resources. Michelle has a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies and a master's degree in Professional Writing, both from the University of Cincinnati. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Chapter 1 No-Waste Lifestyle and Benefits of Composting 9

Chapter 2 Composting Basics 17

Chapter 3 Low-Maintenance Outdoor Composting 39

Chapter 4 Integrate Composting into Your Garden 59

Chapter 5 Unique Indoor Composting Systems 77

Chapter 6 Composting Pet Manure in Your Backyard 99

Chapter 7 Harvesting and Using Your Finished Compost 109

Bibliography and Reference List 122

Acknowledgments 124

About the Author 125

Index 126