There’s another option for items like coffee grounds, fruit peels, grass clippings and dryer lint besides the landfill.

The community is invited to learn the basics of home composting from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 16 at The University of Toledo Stranahan Arboretum, 4131 Tantara Road.

Children and adults are welcome to participate in the free educational event titled “Composting Cups.”

Participants will learn how to start a compost pile and create a starter kit to take home.

“Plants need nutritious food, just like people do,” said Pam Struffolino, event coordinator at the arboretum and research operations manager in the Department of Environmental Sciences. “Composting is an example of decomposition, the final stages of the food web. Decomposers, like worms, break down food scraps and grass clippings into new soil and return the nutrients locked inside back into the soil for plants to use. It’s a process that reduces the need to buy commercial fertilizers and creates a more sustainable environment.”

Tags: College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics