I don't know much about the electric composters, but judging from a quick scan of the promo material it looks like a great option for those who can afford it. I saw an episode of "Get Wasted" where they gave one to a very wasteful family and they ended up pulling it out and sticking it in the garage - so you're still going to need to have some patience for working out the kinks in the system.

Post-consumer composting is really hard to do. One chicken bone in a recycling bin - not a big deal. One plastic bottle in a compost bin? Much bigger deal without a contamination sorting system, as that bottle could get ground up and fuck up a whole load of compost. I wonder how SF et al sort out the contamination in their compost bins? Hmm... We do composting only in our all-you-can-eat dining halls, since the staff can be trained a lot easier than the entire student body.

Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week.

I love it, smonster. I'd love to start composting with worms. I could do it in the garage, too. Or get one of those small composty things Jessica linked to.

My county picks up yard waste separately, and the only bags allowed are special compostable paper bags. The yard waste is composted and the compost is free to county residents.

I've always done some type of composting, so my yard waste is mostly sticks, and I've been known to steal other people's bags of leaves on the curb. I felt like a complete garden nerd when I was excited that my compost was steaming this winter.

Timelies all!

At home we have one recycling bin. At work there are a variety of bins.(Plastic, aluminum, paper, mixed...)

I have zero desire for worms. That would give my Virgoness the creepin' squiggins.

We recycle, use green cleaning products, try to buy earth-friendly but no compost. I am sorry, Earth. I cannot live with worms or stank. I am bad enough with the hate/gagging on the cat boxes, and I am only as on top of them as I am because I love my kitties. I know I would NOT feel the same about a compost barrel or pile.

I WOULD own a goat if we lived on land. Seriously, we had one as a kid. NPI. Damn thing ate everything. Got rid of it when it surreptitiously ate part of mom's dress...with her inside it.

We try recycling bins at work--though I have no clue if the people who pick up the bins actually bother to keep the stuff separate--but too many people go "Plastic trash bin--I'll throw anything in there" without bothering to see what's supposed to go there.

I have zero desire for worms. That would give my Virgoness the creepin' squiggins.

Ha! I'm a Virgo but worms have never bugged me.

Goats do in fact eat pretty much anything. I love that you can hire them to eat your weeds.

when it surreptitiously ate part of mom's dress...with her inside it.

You really didn't mean to insinuate that you used the goat to, well, remove your mother, right?

Plastic bags do gum up recycling equipment

Oddly, we're allowed to recycle plastic bags, but you're supposed to ....bag them up together, or something. But then put them in with teh rest of your recycling in the bin. I'm unclear if the recycling workers then have to like, pick that out as they toss the bin in the truck.

Goats are awesome. I love how when billy goats get excited they jump up and slam their foreheads together like Klingons.

I wonder if used kitty litter could go in one of the electric composters? If it were one of the flushable kinds, maybe?