Dee, I too work at a library and started by "comandeering" banana and orange peels. Since I'm only in a couple of times a week, I asked if I could leave a 5-gal bucket in the breakroom. I pointed out that my bucket has a lid and our breakroom garbage does not, promised to switch it for an empty one atleast once a week, and would gladly accept plant materials from our houseplants and the floral arrangements a Friend of the Library freshens up regularly. I now have 2 co-workers who take buckets home with them and return when full plus the breakroom bucket. Slowly but surely! We have an old 10-gal aquarium that was donated eons ago for a summer kids project and I'm currently trying to figure a way to use it as a worm bin. I've never vermicomposted (yet), but I think it would be neat to have one in glass so the kids could sort of "watch the process". We get a lot of field trips during the school year and I'd like to make the most of their time at the library. If it's successful it could perhaps lead to worm bins in the classroom too :) Like Tox said: " As long as they get into a bin somewhere, consider it a success."

Albert ... The advice/technique described in that blog are rife with misinformation. The food waste/wood chip mixture plus some air and 3 days MIGHT prep the material so that the composting worms will 'eat' them. But that has not been my experience. May I suggest that you look in on the excellent vermicomposting blog = redwormcomposting.com While food scraps are usual worm 'bedding/food', one seldom sees anything about wood chips....worms don't seem attracted to material that breaks down as slowly as wood chips do. Here is a link that might be useful: Vermicomposting

youll probably need to allow a few months before it's properly cooked with a few turns from bay to bay, but the pile will reduce quite a bit in size after a few turns aswell so you could set up a larger maturing bay where the piles get combined after they cool down and have reduced in size, that way you could free up the working bays sooner if it's an issue. keeping them in the shade will make turning easier (on whoever's turning them) and reduce the evaporation, but if they need to be in sun then youd want to cover them with plastic sheeting or something to help keep the moisture in. have a look at the soil and compost forum aswell Here is a link that might be useful: soil & compost forum

One of the biggest things I did to cut down on waste was to unplug my freezer. I'd buy things and never use them. And for a single person to need more than just the freezer on the frig is rare. I do need to clean out the frig and freezer both but I'm making dramatic improvements. I wasn't cooking at home much for a stretch of time. Wasn't eating right to start with (even for me!) and just not feeling well enough to stand and cook. So I started buying a few convenience foods to work my way back into cooking and it's gotten better. Been enjoying a lot of eggs lately! Even with the price that I complained about. Making a list helps a lot too. When I get home from the store and put the stuff away, I make a list of the perishibles I have purchase adding to a running list that I modify as I use up and it gives me ideas and reminders that, hey I have some chili in the freezer to use, or I have a lot of bacon right now, or I have whatever meat. Sometimes the biggest frustration can be deciding what to make! This way it gives me ideas. I also started to log my meals to see what I've been having. Check my eating patterns a bit. Had a number of times I just plain didn't eat all day. Put it off, was tired, whatever the reason, just didn't, and I know that I can skip a meal or two and not suffer that much but I know that I should be having some nutrition going through the body. I despise going to the grocery store. I'm seeing that coupons often contribute to a lot of waste, with buying things "because I had a coupon" and not using it, or liking it or whatever. Now, buy being more organized, using my checklist for commonly purchased stuff as a reminder, checking ads for TRUE sales, not just that markup/markdown scam and buy less at a time and a little more often. Less frustration, less money spent, less money wasted from less waste and less money spent overall I think. I do buy some better quality things now, and of course there's the price increases, but my grocery budget is still within reason I think. I got caught up in keeping too large a pantry supply. I'm whittling that down. Still keep some soup, canned vegs, pasta, rice, etc around so if there's a snowstorm, well I can usually get out anyway but I don't have to either. Plus when I get the right prices I do save this way. I do try to having something around that's simple, just in case I do get sick or if I'm extremely tired or whatever. Whether it's some summer sausage and cheese to snack on, can of soup or whatever. The other way I'm improving is to buy more appropriate sizes and then prepare for few if any leftovers. No waste that way, or at least minimal. Problem is that it's tough to make a small batch of good chili! If I had a garden, and prepared everything from scratch with no canned items, it would be different. Now for some frustration.... I wish more people would buy the small sizes of canned veggies so they could sell them at a reasonable price! The way it is, the little "single serving" size costs 50¢/can and the conventional size is on sale for 30¢! So even if I throw away half of it, I still save money buying the bigger size. I realize the packaging and shipping cost roughly the same for each so I understand why they're priced that way... but it's still frustrating. I have some baskets I'm going to try in the refrigerator to see if it helps for organization. Still have no ideas on how to organize the freezer on my top-freezer frig. I'm thinking some dishpans or heavy clear totes that will stack would help keep things from falling out as I open the door and let me see better what's in there or what I need. And it'd give me a chance to clean it out, wash it out and start fresh. I had to throw a bunch of stuff when we had a power outage a while back but I think there's still a lot that should be tossed. But at least it's not as bad as when I had the freezer going... Ah, the stuff freezing into the frost buildup. Don't miss it though!