On Jul 30, 5:59 am, RichD wrote:
The local grocery has a compost recycle bin,
for food scraps etc. Even the plates and utensils
go in there.

I was wondering, what constitutes 'composting'?
I mean, does it simply get dumped into a big grinder,
or is there some enzymatic chemistry involved?

Pile up a bunch of stuff and let bugs, worms, microbes,
fungi do the rest.

And who/how/where receives it? Is it really
superior to petrochemical fertilizer, or is it
guilty conscience liberal feelgoodism?

Has low levels of NPK, so it's not a potent fertilizer,
although it can be used as potting soil if aged a couple
or more years; my five-year old lawn waste compost
outperforms expensive, quality bag soils like Pro-Mix
Ultimate Organic. It improves soil texture (or "tilth"), most
notably helping heavy clay soils drain better and loose
soils hold moisture.

Compost also boosts soil's beneficial microbe count,
helping plants extract nutrients from otherwise poor
soil with less need for fertilizers.