It’s Good for the Soil!
Composting is the controlled decomposition of organic materials. It's a rewarding way to recycle your yard and kitchen wastes into a valuable, nutrient rich, sweet-smelling soil amendment. There are probably as many ways to compost as there are creative people composting! The County of Santa Cruz offers many resources to start and maintain successful composting systems. We hope the information on this web site will help Santa Cruz County households, schools, and businesses achieve their unique composting goals.
Why Compost?
- Composting saves you money by lowering garbage bills and replacing the need for commercial soil amendments and fertilizers.
- Composting benefits your garden and container plants by improving the fertility and health of your soil. Plants grown in healthy soil are more resistant to pests and diseases. As a mulch, compost suppresses weeds and reduces the need for pest controls and sprays.
- Composting saves water by helping the soil hold moisture, reducing evaporation and water runoff. Using compost as mulch will also benefit plants by keeping roots cooler.
- Composting helps the environment by recycling valuable organic resources and extending the lifetime of our landfills.