Composting With a Facility

• 1). Purchase or make a compost bin. You can usually buy a compost bin -- which is typically green in color -- from your local waste or recycling facility, or even its website. To save money, use any old trash can and periodically drive your compost to a composting center.
  
  
• 2). Compost only appropriate foodstuffs. These include fruits, vegetables and coffee grounds. Don't place meat, fish or dairy products in a compost bin, as they'll start to smell and may encourage visitations from insects and animals. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has on its website a list of what is appropriate to compost (see Resources).
  
  
• 3). Wheel your official green compost bin to the front of your house for curbside pick-up, along with your recycling and garbage bins. If you have more than one bin of compost, put your second bin out front and call ahead to schedule the extra compost pick-up. If you made your own bin, drive it to a compost facility when it gets full. Visit FindAComposter.com to search for a composting facility near you (see Resources).
  
  

Composting in Your Yard

• 1). Compost in your backyard whenever you can. Grays Harbor County Recycling Center's website recommends using a wire bin placed in the backyard. Putting it in an enclosed bin will keep it warm and may speed up the decomposition process, according to the Stanford Recycling Center website.
  
  
• 2). Place yard debris -- such as mowed grass or dead leaves -- into the compost bin. You can also put old foodstuffs inside, but make sure you cover them up with a layer of yard debris to cut down on the stench.
  
  
• 3). Water the pile occasionally to keep it moist, but not too wet. The Stanford Recycling Center website states that it should be "as damp as a wrung out sponge."
  
  
• 4). Turn the compost bin contents with a shovel every few days for quick composting.
  
  
• 5). Put a lid on your compost bin to keep hungry animals at bay.