Composting/Landfills - Chomping microbes
Chomping microbes
How does composting work? Let us begin with the basics, the organic waste. That would be vegetable scraps such as carrot tops and peelings, plus leaves, paper bags, grass clippings, tea bags, and coffee grounds. Carbon in these organic waste materials provides food for the microorganisms, starting the composting process. When these microbes chomp away and begin digesting, the carbon is burned off or oxidized, causing the composting pile to heat up. The heat kills any harmful organisms. MacroorganismsVisible organisms that aid in breaking down organic matter.—such as earthworms, insects, mites, and grubs—continue the composting process by chewing the organic matter into smaller pieces. Through digestion and excretion, both types of organisms release important chemicals into the compost mass, which then becomes humus, a nutrient-rich soil.
The...
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