BACKYARD COMPOST SPOTLIGHT #2: Rob Palmer

Go Green Park Ridge is proud to spotlight our neighbors COMPOSTING! This interview is part of a series raising awareness of reducing wasted food, seeing the various opportunities to compost right outside our doors and inspiring each other to keep making a difference. 

Join us in becoming better stewards of the soil, partners in sustainability and proud participants in a greener future. Together we are building a more resilient Park Ridge by composting.

What motivated you to begin composting?
We started when we lived in Colorado, where there were strong eco-friendly vibes. It sounded like a win-win way to keep food waste out of the landfill while generating free fertilizer for the garden.

Please describe any a-ha moments when you began composting.
On the weeks where we don’t compost (and just throw all the vegetable scraps in the garbage), the kitchen garbage gets MUCH stinkier MUCH faster!

More recently, I figured out that a bale of straw next to the outdoor bin is great for balancing out the wet green (high-nitrogen) kitchen scraps with some dry brown (high-carbon) material, to keep a healthy green:brown ratio and help aerate the scraps.

How long have you been composting?
So long that I can’t remember exactly when we started. Over 20 years?

Do you have advice for new folks on how or where to begin?
There’s no one right way to compost; don’t let anyone tell you you’re doing it wrong. Start small, experiment with different techniques, and find something that works for you.
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Any advice to help Park Ridge increase participation in composting?
Make it easy, and make it popular. Maybe work with schools to get kids interested, and then those students can convince their parents to try it.

Composting in Park Ridge