Compost is organic material that can be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants.

     According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there are many benefits to composting, such as eliminating the need for chemical fertilizers and promoting higher yields of agricultural crops.

      Ann LeClercq, master gardener and master composter, came to Kaneland High School and spoke about the importance of composting and how to make compost .

     LeClercq has been and has been composting for 20+ years. She works at the University of Illinois extension in Kendall County and has been going around to schools teaching students about composting, including Kaneland and Oswego High School, for the past year.

     “I want to get everyone to compost because this is the way that we will save our planet,” LeClercq said.

     LeClercq demonstrated to the students how to compost using worms. Worm composting is using worms to recycle food scraps and other organic material into a valuable soil amendment called vermicompost, or worm compost.

     According to Census.gov, if every one of the 10,388 households in Oswego put only one pound of food waste into compost every week, it would keep 540,176 lbs of trash out of the landfill.

     If one’s interested in making their own worm compost, choose a large bin and make sure to drill holes in the lid for ventilation.  Fill the bin to the top with shredded newspaper about 1/2-1” and dampen the newspaper with water.  Make sure when buying worms to buy red wigglers, not earthworms.

     “Although worm composting is very simple, there are a lot of ‘do’s’ and ‘dont’s’ when it comes to what food to put in the bin,” LeClercq said.

     Fruit peels, vegetable peels, crushed eggshells, coffee grounds and shredded newspaper are all examples of what you can put in the bins.

     Citrus peels, meat and animal bones, dairy products, acidic foods and salty foods are all examples of food that should not be put in thebins because they could result in the in the worms death.