East Lansing residents are learning new ways to put their table scraps to use.
Educational programs run by Urban Options, 405 Grove St., and Ingham County MSU Extension are spreading the word about composting.
With the correct information, residents can improve their soil quality and cut back on the amount of waste sent to landfills. Composting is a process that involves decomposing dead materials, such as yard and food waste.
Jim Meyerle is an educational specialist at Urban Options, and, for the last 11 years, he has taught elementary school children about worm bins, a type of composting system.
"Two-thirds of what we throw away can be eaten by worms," he said. "Worms produce compost that can enrich your soil to grow fresh vegetables and other plants."
Meyerle is working with large, outdoor worm bins at four elementary schools in the Lansing area.
Throughout the week, he visits the schools and teaches children how to dispose of waste using the composting system.
The children place food waste from the cafeteria and newspapers into the worm bins. In addition to the elementary schools, Meyerle is planning to build a worm bin at the Green River Café, 211 M.A.C. Ave.
Jeremy Rizik, a manager at the café, said it's vital to dispose of waste in an efficient way.
"It's important for our children and our children's children to make sure the environment is stable," he said.
Everyone should learn the ins and outs of composting, said Gary Heilig, a horticultural educator for Ingham County MSU Extension. Heilig runs a class designed to teach residents how to compost.
"It's designed for the backyard composter, for people who have never composted before or for those who have done it for years," he said.
The class has been taught for the last 15 years, and Heilig said it covers many issues related to composting.
"We talk about a wide variety of topics," he said. "We graph all the information so people can see what's going on inside (the compost pile)."
The class covers why composting is necessary to society, how to correctly compost and how it can benefit people on an individual basis.
"When the compost is ready to use, it's like a fine peat moss," he said. "It really improves the quality of your soil."
Meyerle said composting is more than just a local issue. Many environmental problems are closely related to the way people manage waste.
"In the coming years, we are going to see a rise in energy cost," Meyerle said. "We will continue to see an increase in locally grown organic food.
"We all need to do our part in enriching our soil."
