Our study is underway! Thank you to all the project managers for uploading your household’s data for Week #1. The amount of food diverted to the composter ranged from less than one pound to more than twenty-five pounds per household: really fascinating! We’ll post a spreadsheet next week of everyone’s totals so far, using the unique household codes we assigned you. This week, just a few more practical elements:
HOUSEHOLD CODE: Have you figured out the code? The two letters are based on the locality where you live: Buena Vista (BV), Lexington (LC), or Rockbridge County (RC). The numbers are your unique participant number per locality, like BV01. You will need to enter your same unique code on the online data form each Saturday. If you have forgotten your code, check the email you received from elise@boxerwood.org on March 19. As last resort, contact Elise.
PAIL: To ease cleaning, some folks recommend lining your pail with newspaper or a paper towel, then tossing in your everything. You can dump that paper with the scraps into the Earth Machine. Some folks also like to chop scraps so they fit better in the pail, but no need to get out the blender or anything like that. Lid on or off? It’s up to you. If you empty daily, odor is usually not a problem.
SCALE: Weigh the pail & food scraps each time you plan to head to the composter. The hand scale has settings for kilograms or pounds. Make sure your reading is always on pounds. Beware: there is also a “tare” feature which we suggest you avoid. If the weight of your food + pail seems way off in some way, double check your settings--the tare might be activated by accident. Remember your week’s total is for food weight only, not the pail. Math involved!
EARTH MACHINE: Check out our new Composting FAQ for basic tips, as well as your Earth Machine manual. We’ll provide more tips in future posts. Note your compost will develop best if you are layering in dry “browns” like old leaves in addition to your “greens” (food scraps).
Happy Composting!
