The Riverside County Department of Waste Resources hosted a free backyard composting class and Make Your Own Worm Bin workshop on Saturday, December 2, in Moreno Valley.
Participants learned how to recycle organic resources, such as yard trimmings, as well as fruit and vegetable waste into a dark, crumbly, sweet-smelling soil conditioner. The hands-on class taught residents how compost can be used to enrich the soil in gardens, lawns and house plants. Instead of putting organic waste into the garbage to be hauled to the landfill, learn to compost.
The free Backyard Composting class and demonstration began at 9 a.m. at Riverside County Department of Waste Resources at 14310 Frederick Street. Composting is nature’s way of recycling. It’s a great way to turn waste into a resource for the garden. In composting, organic material is mixed together in a pile or bin, where literally millions of tiny microbes digest the material and turn it into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.
Low-cost compost binswere sold for $18 were made available for purchase by Riverside County residents (limit three per household).
Residents then were taught how to further breakdown food and yard waste with help from worms, through a process known as vermicomposting. The Vermicomposting and Make Your Own Worm Bin workshop began at 10:00 a.m., immediately following the composting class.
Put worms to work with vermicomposting to break down organic waste into material containing nutrients for plant growth. Volunteer master composters will teach county residents how to set up, build, care for and harvest castings and worms.
The class and workshop were free and ended by 1:00 p.m. Residents were able to pre-purchase compost bins and worm bin kits. The classes and workshop was held outdoors. These programs are offered to teach residents about the ease and advantages of organic material recycling and how composting helps preserve valuable space in county landfills.