Good points, greenguy :-) Unless you can get humans to stop generating garbage, you will never be able to do away with landfills completely. Not everything we throw out as waste is recyclable or compostable. And I'd venture to say commercial waste/garbage is a far bigger contributor to the problem than residential garbage production. And I'd avoid making generalizations about dumping of toxic wastes in landfills. I don't doubt that it HAS happened but I'd venture that it is an extremely limited occurrence. The EPA fines for illegal dumping of toxic wastes are enormous and can carry stiff prison terms as well. Rather than a blanket letter writing campaign, we would all be better served if we individually did our part in changing local practices. Focus on local municipalities and encourage recycling practices and organic waste recycling/composting. Make it a community outreach project. I am fortunate to live in an area that places a huge emphasis on recycling of all kinds. Local waste/transfer stations separate all recyclable products - old appliances, TV's and electronics, light bulbs, metal parts, car batteries and motor oil as well as the more common paper, plastic, tin and aluminum, and yard waste. In fact, ALL areas have curbside recycling for the common stuff and if it is not sorted and placed in the proper recycling pick-up container, you can be fined. Just last year, the yard waste recycling was expanded to include ALL domestic organic waste, including kitchen scraps and compostable food containers (like take-out and pizza boxes). This also includes all the organic waste generated by groceries and restaurants - they have the same recycling requirements. These get taken to a huge, state-of-the-art, commercial composting center and get converted to a highly desirable, certified compost product. Of course those who compost at home can still do so, but the alternative is out there for those who do not.

If you want a Âhelicopter view of your property and the area around it, check out your town/city/municipalityÂs website, specifically the tax map section or whatever they call it. I idly checked mine out last year and found that they had taken aerial photographs of the entire city. These have multiple layers that can be turned on and off to show property lines, topography, vegetation types, utilities, roads, buildings, etc. The level of detail is amazing  I can count my bee hives, see the arbor in the back garden and even see a few chickens in their enclosure. I know within a month of when the photo was taken, because of the bare trees and lack of snow cover (early spring) and what is present on the property (probably April 05). Below is an example of the full-size lot, greatly reduced in quality, of course, and a zoomed image to show some detail. I can zoom in even more, but it doesnÂt show well at the low resolution necessary to post the pic. Full lot from city webstite: Enlarged for detail: There are websites that offer aerial shots, but they usually want you to pay for detailed images. From your municipal website you can get them for free - your tax dollars at work. Good luck, narcnh

Maybe they are trying to get out, and maybe they are just crawling around on the damp plastic. They seem to like to do that sometimes, and it doesn't always mean anything is wrong, in my experience. I'd like to know more about your situation before I know what to suggest. What is your bedding? And how much bedding is in there? You say it's "still dry." Do you mean it's not too wet? It should be damp, as you probably know. I like to use a lot of torn-up corrugated cardboard as bedding, and it's pretty easy to have it damp but not soggy. They worms will consume it over time, just as they do the "food." (It's all food to them.) Also, what kind of bin do you have? Knowing the answers to these questions will probably help folks make good suggestions. Also, on the subject of how much food scraps to put in, you are not the first person who has said they wait for one batch to disappear before adding more. This is not what I do. I add garbage as I have it. Sometimes I will hold off on adding more, if I have an especially large amount, because things can turn aerobic in the bin. Basically, however, I like to have deposits of kitchen waste in various stages of decomposition in the bin. That way while the worms are working in one area, the next batch is getting to the stage where the worms can consume it. (Okay, so that's a little off topic from your question. And while your bin is new and you don't have a huge number of worms, you are wise not to overfeed them.) Anyway, Andy, you may be fine, but I'm interested to know if you have enough bedding and it is at a comfortable moisture level for the worms. If that is the case, and you have sufficient aeration, I wouldn't worry. mbetts

Smells a little like that company who tries to push their countertops on these forums. I forgot the company name, but it's the one whose people sign on as regular consumers, then slooowly recommend this amazing granite product, I'm almost reluctant to post their name, but it's Granite Shield "permanent sealer". Now as to Bill, I'm pretty dern sure he's a guy, lol Last I checked, I still am!! :-) I was a little surprised by the positive response from so many posters. Well, if nothing else, this thread brought out alot of the KD's who DO spend alot of time in here giving up their time. Here's to them!! :-)