As we approach the new year, many of us like to think of resolutions for the coming months. Clean Air Council would like to recommend adding composting to your new habits for 2026. This blog post will provide you with what you need to start composting in your own backyard.
If you’re located in Clairton, Braddock, North Braddock, or Swissvale, PA, and are interested in getting involved with a local composting effort in your community, fill in our contact form. The Council will be distributing more FREE compost bins to households and community centers in the new year. Fill out the form now to apply for yours!
On the 12 days of Compost my true love gave to me…
- A pear core in a compost heap
To get started with composting, you’ll need access to a compost bin or heap. Whether you prefer composting in an open pile, a multi-stage bin, a worm composter, or a tumbling bin, make sure to have an area or a container for this purpose.
- Two turning shovels
Other equipment you might want to consider for your composting needs include a shovel or pitchfork, a kitchen countertop bin for collecting your kitchen scraps, and a thermometer to keep track of the health of your compost pile.
- Three friendly worms
While vermicomposting is its own ecosystem altogether, compost bins of most kinds will benefit from having some friendly earthworms in the mix, breaking down your compost waste quicker and more efficiently. You can buy red wigglers to add to your bin, or you can wait for them to naturally turn up in an open-bottom stationary bin.
- Four carbon browns
It’s important to know what can and cannot be composted. One crucial element to add into your pile is browns, or carbon-rich materials, like dry leaves, straw, or plain shredded cardboard.
- Fiiiive nitrogen blends
The second essential material to add to your bin is greens, or nitrogen-rich materials, such as grass clippings, fruit peels, or coffee grounds.
- Six scraps a-layering
Adding greens and browns to your bin, make sure to layer them to the best of your ability to ensure the two types of materials mix together well. This will kickstart the biodegrading process and offers microbes, bacteria, and fungi ideal conditions to get to work.
- Seven heaps a-heating
It’s very important for your pile to achieve a high enough temperature in order for your compost waste to mature into nutrient-rich compost. You can track this by using a compost thermometer – very similar to the meat thermometer you might use for cooking your Christmas meal.
- Eight neighbors sorting
Composting can be more fun and efficient if you team up with your neighbors! Maybe one of you has a bigger yard with ample space for a compost bin, but is lacking enough greens. Recruit the vegetable-loving family of four across the street to donate their scraps to an effort to create you both organic, home-made compost.
- Nine bins a-breathing
It’s also essential for the microscopic friends in our compost bins to have enough oxygen to break down matter effectively. Help them by turning or mixing your compost pile regularly, ideally once a week or two.
- Ten drops a-dripping
In reality, you don’t want your compost bin to be soggy – the texture of your compost should resemble a wrung-out sponge. If the bin gets too wet, add more browns and mix well.
- Eleven leaves degrading
Ensuring all these conditions are met, composting will be a breeze and you’ll help divert waste from landfills to save you money in the garden instead!
- Twelve gardens growing
The final result is fresh, earthy compost for your garden beds, potting mixes, and lawns. The best part is that you get to share these results with your neighbors and community, creating a healthier environment for us all.
July 9, 2025 – When Philadelphia’s AFSCME District Council 33 union went on strike earlier this month and sanitation workers paused curbside pickup, it was no surprise that garbage began to pile up around the city. But if you were shocked by just how much trash took over our streets, you weren’t alone. It can be easy to overlook the volume we each produce. Once it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind.
And when it’s in sight? Well, it’s hard to forget! Now that we’ve experienced this valuable reminder, we can work together to reduce waste. After all, although environmental issues like these are collective problems with collective solutions, individual actions add up. With the easy tips below, each of us can build new, sustainable habits that keep our city clean and support a more livable planet.
1. First & Foremost: Compost
When our garbage cans start to stink, food scraps are likely the main culprit. Luckily they’re a key ingredient in a delightfully useful dish: compost! Composting is the practice of turning organic waste into a soil amendment.
Whether you compost in your own backyard or use a local service like Bennett or Circle, you’d be surprised how much of what you throw away can be composted, like:
- Fruit and vegetable scraps – think: peels, stems, and husks
- Those plants you forgot to water again
- Shredded brown bags from the overflowing pile of bags you saved “just in case”
- The evidence of your shopping habit (aka shredded cardboard)
- The evidence of your caffeine habit (aka coffee grounds, filters, and paper tea bags)
When contributing to a local program, just be sure to ask what materials they do and do not accept beforehand.
2. Say “So Long” to Single-Use
Listen, no one likes doing the dishes. But think of how much room we’d all save in our trash cans if we finally did away with the plastic cutlery, iced coffee cups, and paper plates and towels. Making just a few changes during our daily routines can keep even more single-use plastic (created at petrochemical facilities that produce a lot of harmful pollution) from sitting in the landfill forever. See how many of the following you can do in a day – then find a fun podcast to listen to while you scrub-a-dub-dub after dinner.
- Bring a reusable cup to the cafe each morning
- Stash a metal yogurt spoon in your work bag
- Shop the bulk section and bring your own containers
- Cut up old towels or t-shirts for cleaning rags
- Switch out your shampoo and conditioner bottles for bars
- Take those reusable totes out of the hall closet and put them in more useful places, like your backpack, at your desk, and by the front door
3. Get Organized by Getting Creative
If you’re the member of your household who always says, “That’s a nice box!” it’s your time to shine.
We truly don’t need a Container Store’s-worth of clear acrylic bins to stay organized. Each of us may be throwing away perfectly good storage solutions every week without realizing it! Before you toss another jam jar or take-out container, take a look around. That jar may be just the thing to rein in your scattered makeup brushes, its lid can handle your hair pins, and that take-out container could be the right size for all the batteries rolling around in your junk drawer. It doesn’t have to be Instagram-able, it just has to be functional.
4. If It Is Broke, Try to Fix It
Online shopping has made it all too easy to dump an item just because it feels easier to replace it than to repair it. Fixing our belongings instead of tossing them not only keeps valuable items out of the bin, it also saves us money and helps us learn new skills.
- Mending clothing is the hottest trend in crafting. Local sew shops like Sew + Sew and Approved Textiles teach classes on it.
- The internet can be a wonderful place full of experts who want to share their knowledge. Sites like YouTube and TikTok have plenty of simple tutorial videos, and Reddit has a forum for everything.
- When you need the help of an in-person human, check your local tinkering and repair groups. The Philly Fixers Guild hosts events to help you with everyday fixes.
5. Buy Less, Share More
The easiest way to reduce the waste on the curb is to buy fewer things that produce waste in the first place. Next time you feel the need to make a purchase, ask yourself, “Can I use things I already have access to instead? If not, are there people in my community who might have what I need and be willing to help, share, or lend it to me?” You may find what you need in the following resources:
- “Buy Nothing” and “Neighbors of” groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Nextdoor. Members often post unwanted items for others to pick up free of charge, and many of them allow members to ask for things they need, either to borrow or keep.
- Organizations like West Philly Tool Library lend you specific tools so you don’t have to buy a new one for a single household repair.
- The Free Library isn’t just for books anymore. You can find movies, health devices, and even musical instruments! Your local Little Free Library may also be bursting with giveaways, and your neighborhood may even have a “Free Book Exchange” Facebook group.
Whether you try just one of these tips or all five, you’ll be helping reduce the waste that enters landfills, the energy required to make items that end up there, and the pollution they produce.
