On composting, and other dirt.

As you may or may not know, my husband and I are currently living in a tiny 2-bedroom apartment (shared with our two cats, Mike and Butters).  We have no outdoor space, save for our tiny patio and lil’ windowboxes, which don’t provide us with much gardening opportunity.

As someone who grew up in a home with lots of garden space and a little “plot” of my own, it’s heartbreaking for me to not have a bit of dirt.  Thus, it’s become our goal in the next year to have a truly viable spot of land on which we can grow things.  Along these lines, I was reading the WSJ yesterday (no, this is not a habit of mine, though it probably should be) and stumbled upon an article on composting.

{Photo via greenbudget}

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you all the benefits of composting, both for your garden and for the environment. :) Unfortunately, composting is not a current habit of mine and dr. dave’s (there are certain limitations of countertop composting in an apartment).  This article, however, takes composting to the next level…it brought up the “new generation” of composting, which includes neat new products designed to make composting easier, such as the ecomposter.

The cool thng about the ecomposter is that it allows you to put the composting materials into that ball and roll it around to mix up the materials inside: a notoriously difficult job.  Typically it must be done with a pitchfork, which is difficult for obvious reasons.  This product makes it a lot easier on the arms (not to mention the eyes!) to compost…which I’m all for.  It also is made from recycled materials, which is great!  HOWEVER.

The article mentioned several other new “technologies” of composting. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love technology, and if they make composting “hip,” then that’s great too..  And if they’re using recycled materials, I think it’s awesome.  But at what point does this become another excuse to promote consumerism, produce excess waste, and end up counteracting the positive effects of composting itself? Thoughts?

Much love,

-B