Eco friendly solutions in St Maarten / Sint Martin
One of the most frequent questions we get is “My apartment block has a small shared space and we would like to set up community composting, what do you suggest?”
One of the first steps is to get an idea of how many of your neighbors would like to contribute, as the solution for 4-5 households is quite different to the setup and management required for 20! Many systems are scaleable; you simply add more tumblers!
Continue reading “Community Composting for Apartments”
The Green SXM Pilot Compost Project is an add-as-you-go pile designed and scaled to process the waste created in a restaurant that serves between 400-500 meals a week. While the restaurant could provide more waste, we chose the 1 cubic meter limit because of the work required balancing the fruit and vegetable waste with enough carbon. Also, 40-50 lbs of food waste every two days is just the right amount to mix in one standard size wheelbarrow.
Continue reading “Green SXM Pilot Compost Project: Intro and Week 1”
A lot of our waste can skip the landfill and go straight to the compost. If you find yourself wondering ‘What Can I compost?’ here is a handy list! For more information on balancing greens (nitrogen sources) and browns (carbon sources), please see Composting 101.
Continue reading “What Can I Compost?”
Anyone who has tried to garden in rocky clay-based soils knows the challenge: you need to add organic matter to encourage both water drainage and retention. We needed an easy way to remove the rocks from the ground, as well as process the large amounts of compost necessary to build healthy soil. We built a DIY rotating compost screen that is robust enough to sift the soil and also doubles as a workbench.
Continue reading “DIY Rotating Compost Screen – Tutorial”
Composting is the process of turning organic matter into soil. The organic matter in home composting is usually a mix of vegetable trimmings, fruit peels, garden waste, and a small amount of cardboard. In the tropics, we can compost year round, and the warm ambient temperature helps keep the process moving swiftly. Continue reading “Composting 101”
There are many types of composting and various ways to make compost. These range from super easy (a tumbler) to super efficient (forced-air). All types have the same end result – valuable garden soil to help us grow our gardens and help combat soil erosion. Continue reading “Types of Composting”
St Maarten, we have a garbage problem. The St Maarten garbage dump is a dangerous eyesore and the toxic mess frequently catches fire – polluting our air and shutting our businesses & schools.
Continue reading “The Garbage Dump”
Want to begin helping our environment but don’t know where to start? Here are 3 small changes to help the environment (and a bonus) you can make today to reduce your impact.
Continue reading “3 Small Changes You Can Make TODAY (and a big one!)”
