Under a cloudy sky at the Center for Agriculture, Science, and Environmental Education (CASEE) gardens on Wednesday, volunteers from across Clark County gathered to build something deceptively simple: a pile of scraps that will soon become fertile soil.
The workshop, hosted June 4 by Clark County Composts, part of the county’s Solid Waste program under Public Works, taught residents how to compost at home using everyday materials.
“Today’s turnout was great,” Pete DuBois, Environmental Outreach Specialist Senior for the county, said. “We got a lot done. We built the bin, we got some weeding, we moved some of our compost and had our volunteers show up.”
DuBois guided attendees through each step of building a healthy compost pile, explaining how layering “browns” (carbon-rich materials) and “greens” (nitrogen-rich materials) — along with moisture and air — kickstarts microbial life. Newspapers, like the one you’re reading, can be used as browns, he added.
Volunteers gathered dried hay and ferns for the browns, then added greens like shredded nipplewort, a common Clark County plant, and coffee grounds, which are considered nitrogen-rich “greens” despite their brown color. In 30 minutes, the group layered materials inside the bin, watering throughout to maintain moisture balance.
Once built, the bin was removed to show the compost pile’s layered structure. In the weeks ahead, the pile will be turned weekly, temperatures will be monitored, and moisture levels will be adjusted. After about a month of turning, earthworms and other decomposers will break down the last bits, enriching the soil further.
“This is a way to amend your soil, fertilize your gardens,” DuBois said. “It’s nutrient-dense, especially if we put our food waste in. And we know what’s in it … Really, it’s magical material.”
DuBois said the hands-on activity not only showed how composting works but also highlighted what is unnecessarily sent to landfills.
“We’re anticipating or estimating 250 to 500 tons a year of coffee grounds going to the landfill from Clark County,” DuBois said, referencing a volunteer-led survey. “It’s pH neutral. There’s really no reason this should be ending up in the landfill. It’s one step away from being soil.”
DuBois emphasized that composting reduces the amount of food waste sent to landfills — a goal in line with a new Washington state law requiring a 50% reduction in organic waste sent to landfills by 2030. For those who can’t compost at home, the county’s “We Compost” program allows residents to bring all food waste to collection carts for industrial composting.
“Our top priority is to get folks to use that,” he said. “It’s easy. We even provide kitchen countertop pails to make collecting scraps simple.”
For residents interested in more involvement, the county also offers a free 8- to 10-week composting course every winter, which includes volunteer hours and deeper training. More information regarding local programs and local compost bins is available at clarkcountycomposts.org.
