Submitted by Terry Mcguire

Composting at Collington started in November 2018. For variety of reasons, that initial attempt failed. In 2020, the Compost bins located near the greenhouse had to be shut down. All compost operations were moved to the Hilltop Gardens. In April 2021, all of the commercially available plastic bins were replaced by four custom-build wooden bins. Each of these bins holds about 160 gallons of kitchen and green waste.

I have recently given talks about composting at several District meetings. It has become apparent that many residents believe that there is no composting remaining at Collington. Nothing could be further from the truth. Behind the black fence in the 5000’s is the Hilltop Garden. In the Hilltop Garden are four active compost bins that produce 100’s of gallons of rich compost each year.

All residents may use these bins. Add kitchen waste to the bins marked with green dots. There is a metal tool which you may spread out your waste into thin layer. You dig a hole in the existing leaves or add a handful of dried to cover the waste. You are done. The compost committee will take it from there.

As of April 1, 2022 residents in the apartments may deliver their kitchen waste to the green buckets (pictured above) in the recycling rooms on the first floor of the apartments. The collected waste will be delivered to the Hilltop Gardens on Tuesday and Fridays.

Items you may compost in the Collington bins.
• You can compost any plant material (fruit, vegetables and grains). These foods may be cooked or uncooked. A small amount of salad dressing or vegetable oil is fine.
• You may compost egg shells and coffee grounds (including the paper filter).
• Trimmings from house plants may be composted if they are cut into pieces 4 inches or less in length. However, do not compost plant material if it is diseased.
• Tea bags; You can always compost the tea leaves. However the tea bags holding the leaves may be composted, if and only if, the box indicates that the bags are acceptable for home composting. Many tea bags contain plastic.
Items you should not compost in the Collington bins:
• No meat, fish, seafood, or bones.
• No dairy products.
• No kitty litter or dog waste.
• No wine corks.
• No paper (except for coffee filters)
• No seeds from pumpkins and squash (they survive composting and sprout everywhere).
• Large avocado and mango seeds should be discarded unless they are chopped into pieces. (They take years to compost).
Recommendations (to help both the microorganisms and the Collington composters)
• It is best if you chop up peels, rinds and cobs into 2 to 3 inch pieces.
• Whole fruits and vegetables should be chopped.
• Please remove the stickers from produce – they never compost.

This post is available as a handout: Composting