Composting at Home

Composting

Why Should I Compost? Yard debris and food scraps can easily be broken down and converted into a valuable soil amendment for your garden. This natural process is called “composting.”

Composting occurs in nature as vegetation falls to the ground and slowly decays. This process provides minerals and nutrients needed by plants. Setting up a composting system in your backyard speeds up this natural process. Organic materials like fruits, vegetables, and yard debris are collected and then decomposed with the help of oxygen, water, and microorganisms.

The resulting material is called “finished compost” or “humus,” an important component of healthy soil. Humus that results from composting adds nutrients to the soil that can increase the health of your plants and help save money ordinarily spent on fertilizers.

Vermicomposting is simply using worms to compost food scraps. The best kind of worms to use is Eisenia Fetida (aka “Red Wigglers”). These worms are incredible eaters of food scraps! They eat half their own weight every day, so even a small bin of red worms will produce several pounds of all-natural, chemical-free fertilizer to mix into potting soil or garden mulch. 

Compost Programs

The City of Rancho Palos Verdes typically hosts 1 County sponsored composting workshop a year. Other workshops are regularly held at the South Coast Botanical Garden on Crenshaw Boulevard in the neighboring City of Rolling Hills Estates and/or other neighboring cities. You may also visit the County's Smart Gardening website  (https://cleanla.lacounty.gov/smartgardening/) for workshop dates and useful information.

Rebate Program

The City has a rebate program for the purchase of compost or worms. Click here for more information.rebate program (PDF)          (https://www.rpvca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/15012/Composting-Program-June-2020?bidId=)