It’s Compost Awareness Week!

There’s no better time to kick-start your backyard composting journey than during Compost Awareness Week, on now until Saturday, May 7. The City of Vaughan is here to help you with this process. Backyard composters, with instructions on how to successfully turn your food scraps and leaf and yard material into garden fertilizer, can be purchased from the convenience of your home at vaughan.ca/ServiceVaughan.

What is compost?

Compost is the natural process of recycling organic matter, such as food scraps, into a valuable fertilizer that enriches soil and plants. By composting, a household can reduce curbside waste by up to 30 per cent!

Backyard composting – how does it work?

1. Once you have a composter, follow this step-by-step guide on getting started:
2. Place the container in a level spot on the earth where there is good water drainage and significant sun exposure. Dig a shallow hole in the ground, one or two inches in diameter, for a secure spot to place the composter.
3. Add organic materials, such as banana peels, apple cores, cabbage stocks, eggshells and bread. When adding fruit and vegetable scraps, either dig it into the existing compost immediately or cover it well with soil or a layer of leaves. Add both nitrogen-rich green materials, such as grass clippings, and carbon-rich brown materials, such as leaves or straw. Chop or shred materials into small pieces to make the composting process faster.
4. Keep the compost moist but not wet, like the dampness of a wrung-out sponge. Use a tight-fitting cover to keep it from becoming too wet from rainfall. If it gets too dry, water it with a watering can or hose. Using a tight-fitting cover will also help keep animals and flies away.
5. Provide air to the compost by turning it with a pitchfork or shovel.

Curbside composting

The City’s leaf and yard waste and green bin collection programs are ways for citizens to “curbside compost.” The City collects green bin materials and leaf and yard waste and takes them to facilities to be composted and brought to farmlands throughout Ontario. When added to farmlands, gardens and yards, compost creates healthier soil and crops. The 2022 Compost Awareness Week theme – Recipe for Regeneration: Compost – focuses on the crucial role composting our food scraps and yard trimmings plays, which, when added to soil, make our food more nutritious, the air we breathe cleaner and our climate healthier.

Compost Awareness Week reflects the City’s commitment to Environmental Stewardship, a priority outlined in the City’s 2018-2022 Term of Council Service Excellence Strategic Plan.

For more information on waste services in Vaughan, visit vaughan.ca/compost.

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