Leftover food, garden trimmings and other organic waste items don’t need to be discarded. Instead they can be recycled in a process called composting. Composting is the L breaking down, or decomposition, of organic material into nutrient-rich soil. After decomposition, these materials turn into organic molecules made up of carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and salts. Compost heaps are places where this process is accelerated from years to months or even just a few weeks.
Composting mostly takes place outdoors, and there are two main types: cold, or passive, and hot, also called active compost. Cold composting is much slower but is easier to manage. All you need to do is add the right materials and allow the natural process to take place. The soil created from this process usually can’t be recycled for at least one year, as much of the decomposition takes place slowly without oxygen.