Periodic composting workshops are sponsored by the County
of Los Angeles Department of Public Works, which also sells composting bins. Refer to their Smart Gardening website for schedules of local workshops and information on backyard composting, worm composting, grass recycling, water-wise
and fire-wise gardening. The City of Alhambra also assists residents who would like to compost by selling composting bins
for just $15. For more information, call 626-570-5010.

• Composting is a natural process of recycling leading to decomposition of organic matter such as fruit and vegetable wastes, grass clippings, leaves. etc.) into a useful product for your landscape or garden. 
• Food and paper are the two largest contributors to landfill, and make up more than half of all landfill waste – more than all plastics, diapers, Styrofoam and tires, COMBINED. [source: US EPA];
• Food is the #1 least recycled material [US EPA];
• Composting can reduce homeowner trash at the curb by 25 to 40%;
• Compost produces a quality organic amendment that can be used in flower beds, gardens or lawns to upgrade the soil.
• Residents can save their municipalities valuable tax dollars by composting, since it is much cheaper than municipal waste collection and disposal.
• Compost is a gardener’s gold: high in nutrients (nitrogen-based), and highly absorbent so you have less of a need to water.
• Compost materials are free and readily available in comparison to commercial fertilizers and other gardening products on the market.
• Composting is the most efficient type of recycling – it is organic and does not involve chemicals, huge amounts of power, or the use of diesel trucks for transport (as do other types of recycling). Since it is organic it is not a chemical fertilizer which can contaminate drinking water and kills fish, frogs, etc.
• High-temperature composting can kill weed seeds, insect pests and disease-causing bacteria, and reduces the odors associated with animal manure. Compost loosens up clay soils so air and water can penetrate and helps sandy soils retain water and nutrients;
• Compost is known to suppress various root diseases in crops and can help them better tolerate an insect attack.
• Composting allows what is produced by the earth to return to the earth.
• Food and paper are biodegradable in nature but not in landfills, due to lack of oxygen being buried deep and saturated with water. Landfills “embalm” food and paper for many years. The only real decomposition is anaerobic (lacking oxygen) which produces harmful methane greenhouse gas.