I'd like to think of myself as an environmentally conscious fella, but the fact of the matter is that I have a long way to go in reducing my footprint. I'm nowhere near as accomplished as No Impact Man [1], but I'm trying to live the change [1] one step at a time, altering certain aspects of my life so I can live more sustainably. The latest chapter in that process has been learning how to compost [2].

Thanks to a class at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden [3], my girlfriend and I set up a vermicomposting [4] system in our Brooklyn [5] apartment last November. Setting up the worm bin [6]-which we keep under our kitchen table, no less-was far easier than I anticipated. The bin, in case you're wondering, doesn't smell; and as long as you feed them every couple days and do some occasional bin maintenance [7], the worms pretty much take care of themselves, transforming food scraps (carrot shavings, spinach stems, banana peels, orange rinds, etc) and other organic [7] edibles (shredded newspaper, et al) into vermicast (aka worm poo), a nutrient-rich material that is incredibly beneficial for soil and plants.

Composting at home has been a revelation for me, and from my firsthand experience, I can tell you that it's easy as pie-easier, in fact (I've never made pie). In the hopes that it will inspire you to set up your own composting system, or give you more of an understanding of what it entails, I'm writing this blog to share with you, dear readers, what happens when I transform from an ordinary vermicomposter into a (cue trumpets and superhero music) Master Composter [8]. I'm now taking the "MC" class, through the BBG's Urban Composting Project [9], and once it's finished, I'll be able to teach other folks how to set up indoor and outdoor composting systems.

A quick primer: Composting in its essence is transforming organic "waste" in the form of food scraps, yard waste, farming byproducts, manure, or even human sewage into a soil-like material. Compost [9] offers a universe of benefits. I can't enumerate the litany [10] in this space, but here's a few: it provides nutrients to soil and plants in a manner that they can be easily absorbed, it improves soil structure, and it deters pests and diseases. On the footprint-reduction front, composting prevents organic material from going to landfill. This is important, because when landfilled food waste decays, it releases methane [11], a greenhouse gas that is a much more potent contributor to global warming [11] than carbon dioxide.

For all these reasons and more-did I mention the fact that it's easy as cake?-you should set up, or at least consider, a home composting system [12]. All of us-backyard gardeners, urban dwellers, and suburbanites-can benefit from composting at home, at community gardens, or in centralized municipal sites.

Next week: The Master Composter Orientation Class